- [Seth] Guys here's a fun fact.
The first ever touchdown in the first ever Super Bowl
was scored by a guy who was extremely,
debilitatingly hung over.
- That's great.
- That's the way you want it.
- That's a great start to a wonderful franchise.
- Yeah!
(NFL Films music)
So the year's 1967
we are in Los Angeles for Super Bowl one,
it wasn't called that at the time
it was just the AFL-NFL championship game.
The Chiefs are representing the AFL,
Green Bay Packers representing the NFL.
So Packers coach Vince Lombardi really
wants to show out for the NFL,
he has a lot of pride riding on this game.
And so he has instituted a curfew for his players
who are hanging out in L.A.,
doesn't want them to go too nuts.
- [Ryan] No funny business. - No funny business,
everybody's gotta be in the hotel room by 11 p.m.
On the Packers is a 34-year-old receiver
named Max McGee.
(Ryan laughs)
- [Ryan] Cool. - [Seth] It's a cool name.
- [Clara] Children's book character, Max McGee.
- Max McGee and the Steam Shovel, yeah.
So Max McGee has had a great career with the Packers
but he's 34, he's barely played all season,
he knows he's not getting in the game.
He's also sort of a party animal he's in L.A.,
might not have this opportunity again.
So he checks into the hotel and is in the right place
for the 11 p.m. check-in.
It's kinda cute they have an assistant coach
or someone going around checking.
Like you're on a school field trip.
After that check-in is over, he slips out,
finds two flight attendants that he had met
at the hotel,
and they all go out on the town, drink,
carouse, have a wonderful time.
- That is the most 1967 we're in L.A.,
I'm a professional football story
I've ever heard. - Yes.
So he rolls back to the hotel around daybreak
I've seen four thirty a.m., I've seen six thirty a.m.
- I hate even hearing those times.
- The sun is coming up.
Some of the Packers players are on their way
out of the hotel,
or getting up for breakfast or whatever.
He calls up to his hotel room, hey did they check again?
No they didn't check again.
Cool.
So he's not feeling great.
Shows up for the game, has a meeting with
his fellow receivers.
The guy who is first string ahead of him
is a gentleman named Boyd Dowler
who had a chronic shoulder injury,
but he was healthy enough to play.
And Max McGee's like listen Boyd, that shoulder injury?
We need to keep that intact today,
I am feeling extremely hung over, take care of yourself.
- I love the image of Max following him around
the locker room and being like hey how is everything,
can I get you anything? (group laughs)
Don't touch him please!
- So as you might suspect Max is sitting on the bench
probably with a headache,
probably feeling not so great in the tummy.
Probably sweating. - Oh stop, stop!
- On one of the very first plays of the game
Boyd Dowler goes in for a block,
and completely separates his shoulder.
(group groans)
Like there was no question the dude's day's over.
And sure enough, Max McGee has to get off the bench
and go play professional football in the NFL-AFL
championship game in front of tens of thousands of people
with a ringing hangover.
I wanna show you guys a couple photos that I found
of Max McGee during this game.
It's funny this has been a thing on Twitter recently
that people in the 60's and earlier,
they just looked older at younger ages than they do now,
and I think that's especially true
when you're hung over.
But take a look at Max McGee
on the sideline of this game. - Oh no!
He's so sick! - Oh God.
- He's trying to breathe in cold air, you can tell!
- [Seth] That is a 34-year-old.
- Okay first of all you're absolutely right,
he looks like a dad who's helping his kid
move to college.
This guy's easily 50 years old.
- So he got in on one of the very first drives of the game.
He ended up finishing the drive with a 37-yard
touchdown reception from Bart Starr.
- Doesn't say much about the defense there.
- It doesn't say much about the Kansas City Chiefs defense
in this instance,
but he actually ended up with seven receptions
for 138 yards, and two touchdowns,
he had another one that day.
- Had himself a day!
- Had himself a day.
Some people argued that he should've been MVP,
the Packers did go on to win.
He could go tell the story after this
because he didn't end up getting in trouble for it.
- Did the people who want him to be a MVP
know that this was under duress?
- I assume so.
It's funny because this, when you research
the story which has been told many many times,
it gets shared in a sort of bro legend context
of this dude had a ranging hangover
but had one of the best games ever, what a champ.
But he must've been terrified at the time.
- [Ryan] Yeah.
Among the physical ailments of I feel like my organs
are gonna fall out of my body,
there's also the mental fuck, what have I done?
(laughs)
What have I done?
- What if I let the team down?
- [Ryan] What if I die?
What if I actually die on the field?
You're standing up you're looking for
your helmet or whatever,
and you're like oh no, I'm gonna die.
- You actually just reminded me
he went on the field,
he was called into the game by surprise
didn't have his helmet at hand,
and went on the field wearing
a lineman or defensive player's helmet
with the much more aggressive cage.
So he also couldn't see that well.
Imagine having a football helmet on
when your head feels like that too.
- Very hungover thing to put on whatever's around
and be like I gotta get out.
The most I've ever done in that state is
drag my ass to the bodega for Gatorade.
- Yeah with hoodie, a lug vest and sunglasses on.
- Yeah you come with the Kenny,
Kenny from South Park like (mumbles).
- So not to put you guys on the spot but
hangover or otherwise, do you guys have a story like this
where you were unprepared for something,
maybe you had taken the risk of not preparing
yourself for something
and then you got
you look like you have,
you got pushed in the line of duty?
(groups laughs)
- Yeah so in high school, despite my small stature
I played high school basketball,
but played is a generous term.
- [Seth] Point guard?
- Yeah point, how'd you know?
(group laughs)
My main role was to take charges, very fun.
But I didn't come off the bench much,
and at my school we had a rule where
if you happen to skip any classes
and also play in a game in the same day,
the team forfeits the game.
So for awhile I was abiding by the rule,
but you get frustrated after a couple weeks without playing.
So on a certain day there was a game
but my friends were skipping school,
and that's fun and cool also.
So I went with them,
and that just so happened to be the very first game
that I got called in to play.
I was just awash with guilt.
That's my first chance to play,
it's my first chance to show everyone how wrong they are.
- Right that's different 'cause this guy's a veteran
he's seen it all, he's done it all,
he doesn't really care whether he gets in the game anyway.
- Right that mentality is insane to me,
I cared so much!
(laughs)
- If you found yourself in this situation
extremely hungover, sitting on the bench,
feeling terrible but knowing that you don't
have to move for the next few hours
and hopefully you'll get a Super Bowl ring for nothing,
and then they said you have to go in the game.
You have 60 seconds until you're gonna be called upon.
Do you have a strategy,
is there something you're gonna do
to try and get yourself ready?
- Maybe I would tell the quarterback
don't throw it to me.
(Group laughs)
I'm sick, don't throw it to me.
- Yeah I just realized my fingers are broken, so.
- Wouldn't it be fun if you were in the huddle calling plays
like okay we're not gonna pass to me,
and break!
What, I'm really hung over break, get set!
What?
- Or you could go the opposite way
and go to the quarterback or the coach
and be like hey I just noticed that
their defensive line looks really weak
there's a hole, we should definitely run the ball.
Run the ball. - Yeah establish the run!
Establish the run!
If it were me I would've just gotten up on my own,
and started setting up they didn't have this back then
but the tent,
you know the tent that they pull up now?
I think I would just be like I'm good
you guys go ahead right now,
I'm gonna just get on the table and lay down.
I wouldn't have done it is what I'm saying.
(group laughs)
- In short, in short. - In short.