With the passing of the great John Madden and some other related conversations below, it got me to thinking of the greatness of the NFL in the 1970s.

I'm an early Gen-X'er, so I might be bias due to these being my impressionable years, but I truly think this was the golden age of the league. My earliest Super Bowl that I remember is the Cowboys defeating the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. I was 6 years old.

The teams back then had great personality and coaches. They were uniquely different from one another. In addition to Madden and the Raiders, there was Shula and the Dolphins, Noll and the Steelers, Landry and the Cowboys, Grant and the Vikings and so any more. The teams seemed to have a true identity, often similar to their respective communities. Coached dressed how they wanted to dress. Acted how they wanted to act. Always loved the Bum Philips cowboy hat and boots and the John McCay bucket hat. I think the only franchise from today that would have fit in with the 70s crowd in terms of uniqueness and identity is Belichick and the Pats.

Anyway, it was great era from the broadcasters to the players to the names of the stadiums.

I don't watch the NFL much anymore for a bunch of different reasons. But the 70s NFL sure was a great time to be a kid. I remember my brothers and I going along with my Dad to Sunoco to fill up the tank when they were giving away these sweet stamps: