Super Bowl XXVII : THROUGH THE YEARS : Footnotes To History : II : GEORGE BLANDA : OAKLAND RAIDERS

At 40, George Blanda of the Raiders was no stranger to big games. He had played in an NFL title game for the Chicago Bears in 1956 and in AFL title games with the Oilers in 1960, 1961 and 1962, after Houston owner K.S. (Bud) Adams coaxed him out of retirement after a 10-year career with the Bears.

So when Super Bowl II rolled around, well, if this big game was sort of new, Blanda certainly wasn’t.

“The Super Bowl wasn’t that big,” Blanda said. “It was just a game. The Super Bowl just wasn’t hyped up back then as it was today. We kind of took it in stride.”

Super Bowl II will be remembered as a 33-14 Green Bay victory over the Raiders, whose only bright spots were two touchdown passes caught by wide receiver Bill Miller and two extra points by Blanda. Other than that, there wasn’t much to talk about as far as Raider fortunes were concerned.

But it could have been a different story, Blanda suggested, if not for one play just before the half.

The Raiders had just scored on a 23-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica to Miller that got Oakland to within 13-7. The Packers failed to move the ball on their next possession and Donny Anderson punted.

At the Raiders’ 45-yard line, Rodger Bird signaled for a fair catch, but muffed the catch and the Packers recovered with 23 seconds left. Three plays later, Don Chandler kicked a 43-yard field goal and the Packers led at halftime, 16-7.

“We just muffed that punt, they got that field goal and that just seemed to turn the whole thing around,” Blanda said.

Not long afterward, Green Bay’s lead was 33-7 and there wasn’t much to do except take it and get off the field. Chandler wound up kicking four field goals, drawing Blanda’s admiration, even if he was from the rival NFL. Late in his career, Blanda had been converted to the ways of the AFL, later the AFC.

“You know that kid from Buffalo (Scott Norwood in 1991) misses a field goal and all of a sudden the NFC is so superior to the AFC,” Blanda said. “Because he happened to miss by four inches?”

* 1968 AT MIAMI

Green Bay 3 13 10 7 -- 33 Oakland 0 7 0 7 -- 14

GB--FG Chandler 39

GB--FG Chandler 20

GB--Dowler 62 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)

Oak--Miller 23 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)

GB--FG Chandler 43

GB--Anderson 2 run (Chandler kick)

GB--FG Chandler 31

GB--Adderley 60 interception return (Chandler kick)

Oak--Miller 23 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)

A--75,546

Winning Coach--Vince Lombardi

MVP--Bart Starr