Super Bowl V - 1971

Baltimore 16   Dallas 13

Super Bowl V pitted two NFL teams against each other for the first time. The excitement of the "Old Guard NFL" vs. "The-Up-And-Coming AFL" was no more. As was expected, the game was less hyped. This was exaggerated by the fact that both participants in the 1971 game were old NFL franchises. As the Associated Press commented:

The countdown to Super Bowl V accelerated today for the Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys, but the big buildup inherent in previous summit scraps remained conspicuous by its absence.

In contrast to the bruhaha that preceded each of the four AFL-NFL confrontations, the main conversation piece as the Colts and Cowboys began final preparation for Sunday's championship showdown was the physical status of Walt Garrison, No. 2 wheel in Dallas' dynamic running game.

Through no fault of their own, the Super Bowl foes have the look of a pair of Crusaders with no Holy War to fight.

Source: AP, Wichita Eagle

Source: Bill McClanahan, Dallas Morning News

The Colts and Cowboys were dominant teams from 1968 to 1971, both coming from the NFL in that merger season Super Bowl. But, this cartoon was inspired by the upcoming Ali-Frazier fight which had captured the nation's attention.

Source: St. Petersburg Evening Independent

This was the first year that the idea of "Super Bowl Sunday" came into being as seen in this cartoon.