How a Hungover Player From Texas Had A Super Bowl MVP Performance

Super Bowl MVP's From Texas

At the end of every Super Bowl, a Most Valuable Player is named and celebrated. That is the person who supposedly had the most impact on the game.

Several native Texans have won that award over the past 57 years. Patrick Mahomes (Whitehouse, TX) has two to his credit. Nick Foles (Austin), Harvey Martin (Dallas), and Von Miller (Dallas) have each been given the title as well.

Injustice at Super Bowl I

The first Super Bowl (although it wasn't called Super Bowl until a few years later) in 1967 featured the Green Bay Packers taking on Kansas City. Green Bay would win the game 35-10.

Many who witnessed the game felt that Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr should not have been awarded the MVP for his performance in the Packer's victory. They felt that a player from White Oak in East Texas should be given the honor.

Max McGee, a reserve player past his prime, who did not even expect to get any playing time at the game, would catch 7 passes for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns. These are MVP numbers but also take into consideration that McGee was sporting a major hangover.

An MVP Performance by a Man Who Didn't Want to Play

34-year-old NFL veteran Max McGee who was born in Overton, Texas, and played high school football for the Roughnecks of White Oak, never expected to play in Super Bowl I, in fact, he was counting on it.

The story of Max McGee's unlikely participation and huge success in Super Bowl I has become quite a legend throughout NFL history. To appreciate this tale, you must go back to the night before the game.

McGee apparently had a reputation for breaking curfew and partying, which is exactly what he did after bed check the night before the game. He didn't get back to the hotel until daybreak and he was not feeling well when it came to game time.

In fact, the story goes that McGee told the first-string receiver to not get injured so that he could just sit on the bench and recover. On the first offensive series of the game, that receiver badly hurt his shoulder, and McGee, pounding head and turning stomach, would play the rest of the game...and turn in the performance of a lifetime.

(caution...brief NSFW language in video)

McGee would play one more year with the Packers and earn another Super Bowl win before retiring. He passed away in 2007 at the age of 75.