Ben Gilbert

Walking up the stairs of the rotunda when the vote looked like a sure thing, Rozelle was ever his usual humble self.

Congressman Boggs, I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for this.

This is a terrific thing you've done.

What do you mean you don't know how to thank me?

He said, New Orleans gets an immediate franchise in the NFL.

And Roselle says, I'm going to do everything I can to make that happen.

At that

Boggs stopped and turned on his heels, heading back into the committee room.

Well, we could always call off the vote while you... Rizal took two giant strides after Boggs turned around him gently and said, it's a deal, Congressman.

You'll get your franchise.

Amazing.

So it's like, how many presidents and how many congressmen and how many... The NFL requires this perfect storm of...

post-war America, technology, the growth of television, all these innovations, all this flywheel, and also the repetitive cooperation of the U.S.

government.

Totally.

And you mentioned before during the Johnny Unitas game, the greatest game ever played, that that drew 40 million people.

And that was much earlier in the TVification of America.

It wasn't really the NFL that we know.

There's all these other teams.

There's all these other markets.