Did you know the Chiefs organization played a pivotal part in creating the Super Bowl? Boardroom’s Gabe Oshin breaks it down below.
If it wasn’t for Lamar Hunt, the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs organization, there may never have been a “Super Bowl.”
Remember the American Football League, the professional football organization that rivaled the NFL in the 1960s? Well, that league only came to be after Hunt was denied an NFL expansion opportunity (multiple times), driving him to combine forces with other NFL rejects to create the AFL. Hunt would then become the owner of the AFL’s Dallas Texans, which would soon boast hefty competition after the NFL felt pressure to create a new franchise in one of the league’s most storied organizations, the Cowboys.
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In turn, Hunt made the decision that Dallas could not support two pro football teams, moving the organization to Kansas City in 1963. A few years later, the two leagues agreed to a soft merger, where the AFL and the NFL champions would play each other at the end of the season to determine superiority. Initially, Hunt suggested the game be called the “Super Bowl,” but many at the time found the term to be corny (yet, the AFL–NFL World Championship Game was found appropriate…).
A few years later, in 1969, all parties finally agreed to call the big game the Super Bowl. Now, 55 years later, it’s still going strong and the Chiefs are seeking their fourth victory.
So, if you’re struggling to find a team to root for this weekend during Super Bowl LVIII, you may want to consider cheering for the Chiefs.
