Super Bowl XLIII Does Not Mark First Arizona Connection
UA band buses lined up outside the Los Angeles Coliseum. (Credit: Desert yearbook)
The UA Marching Band in formation at first Super Bowl. (Credit: Desert yearbook)
UA Marching Band at 1967 Super Bowl. (Credit: Desert yearbook)
This may be the first trip to the Super Bowl for the Arizona Cardinals, but not for the state.
The Arizona Cardinals will match up against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.
Many long-suffering football fans in the state are giddy at the prospect of seeing a team from Arizona play in the biggest professional football game of the year.
But this is not the first time Arizona has had a connection to the Super Bowl. The first Super Bowl also featured an Arizona connection.
The first game – on Jan. 15, 1967 – was played by the National Football League champion Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that was from the upstart American Football League. During that time, the Super Bowl was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
The 225-member UA Marching Band, under the direction of Jack Lee, provided music during the halftime show, along with the band from the University of Michigan.
Also, the UA Marching Band and the Grambling University Band played with Al Hirt during the pregame show, according to NFL.com.
The Green Bay Packers, led by Bart Starr and Paul Hornung, beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Today, the UA band – the "Pride of Arizona" – has more than 250 members and comprises the University's offical marching and pep bands.
The "Pride of Arizona" includes a battery-unit drumline and award-winning auxiliary units of baton twirlers, pompom dancers and color guard. It was first organized in 1902 as a military unit and began performing at the UA's football games in 1922 with about two dozen members.
et cetera
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