Rewinding Super Bowl History!

Super Bowl II had the Green Bay Packers vs. the Oakland Raiders, playing in Miami's Orange Bowl on January 14, 1968. Days before the Super Bowl rumors circulated that Lombardi would resign as coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers after the championship contest.

Reluctant to discuss the report, Lombardi said only: "It's too early for such a decision. I'm going to give Vince Lombardi a real hard look."

Green Bay football players were ready for a farewell party for the coach who had won more than 75 percent of his games and five National Football League championships in his last seven years in the league's smallest city.

"About Thursday," remembered quarterback Bart Starr, "Coach Lombardi came to our meeting dressed in a business suit, which was not at all characteristic of him. He was going to a reception and told us how much he had enjoyed coaching us and how proud he was of us. We all had lumps in our throats. He was proud of us, but we were just as proud of him."

Before a Super Bowl sellout crowd of 75,546, the proud Packers saw their coach off in a style befitting a royal monarch with a 33-14 victory over Oakland.

Favored by 14 points, the NFL champions forged their triumph from the matchless play selection of Starr, the faultless place-kicking of Don Chandler and the superb football team-wide execution born of the dedication demanded by Lombardi.

Lombardi had observed that "to beat Oakland, you have to pick on the entire defense, not just on one man. They don't stand and take the play. They jump around and try to confuse you."

The well-disciplined Packers converted the Raider’s mistakes into points. The Green Bay Packers also took away the Raiders' most potent weapon, the power sweep.

"Anytime you take away a team's big play," noted Lombardi, "you force them into trying something they're

Summing up the Packers' performance, Lombardi observed, "We didn't miss an opportunity. When we got down there, we got points. When you do that you have no complaints. “