Description
Book Synopsis The 1960s were a tumultuous period in U.S. history and the sporting world was not immune to the decade''s upturn of tradition. As war in Southeast Asia, civil unrest at home and political assassinations rocked the nation, professional football struggled to attract fans. While some players fought for civil rights and others fought overseas, the ideological divides behind the protests and riots in the streets spilled into the locker rooms, and athletes increasingly brought their political beliefs into the sports world.
This history describes how a decade of social upheaval affected life on the gridiron, and the personalities and events that shaped the game. The debut of the Super Bowl, soon to become a fixture of American culture, marked a professional sport on the rise. Increasingly lucrative television contracts and innovations in the filming and broadcasting of games expanded pro football''s audiences. An authoritarian old guard, best represented by the revered Vince L
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments—vi
- Preface—1
- Introduction—3
- One. Lombardi and Namath—13
- Two. Crisis Brings Change—22
- Three. The First Star—38
- Four. The First Tyrant—46
- Five. Ground and Pound—57
- Six. New Neighbors—70
- Seven. Man of the Decade—80
- Eight. Can We Just Get Along?—98
- Nine. New Leadership—113
- Ten. War—129
- Eleven. Cease Fire!—144
- Twelve. Settle It on the Field—158
- Thirteen. New Generations—174
- Fourteen. Beating Big Brother—191
- Fifteen. Keepers of the Flame—199
- Sixteen. Instant Replay—208
- Seventeen. The Dream—219
- Eighteen. Closing—222
- Chapter Notes—225
- Bibliography—233
- Index—239
