The National Pastime

Bless pro football. It almost makes up for all the intentional bases on balls, the endless fouls and hopeless pickoff attempts. If any doubt remained about what the U.S. national pastime really is, it was dispelled even before the pro-football season began last week. The National Football League's Baltimore Colts drew 31,000 paying customers to watch, of all things, a scrimmage, while baseball's Baltimore Orioles, the No. 1 team in the American League, could draw only 23,000 fans for an honest-to-goodness game against the second-place Detroit Tigers.

Quite a season it promises to be, too. Johnny Unitas' knee is fine; Joe Namath's isn't so hot, but his arm is. Season-ticket sales are running 20% ahead of last year. The N.F.L. and the American Football League have kissed and made up, which means that Commissioner Pete Rozelle is now free to entertain antitrust suits by impoverished players and would-be franchise owners--while he simultaneously tries to sell Congressman Emanuel Celler on legislation that would exempt pro football from antitrust actions.

As a matter of fact, nobody would know that eight months had passed since the 1965 season ended, the way the boys were cracking helmets last week. It was championship all over again at San Diego, where the hometown Chargers played the Buffalo Bills--the same team that demolished them 23-0 for the A.F.L. title last year. The Chargers were bent on revenge, and they got it, as Flanker Lance Alworth caught a pass for one touchdown, set up another with a crushing block, and San Diego won 27-7.

Things were no more complaisant at Milwaukee, where the Packers and the Baltimore Colts met in a replay of their N.F.L. Western Conference play-off of 1965. Last year, with Quarterback Unitas injured, the Colts lost to the Packers 13-10. Last week, with Johnny back in action again, the Colts did even worse. Intercepting four of Unitas' passes (two for TDs), the Packers walloped Baltimore 24-3.

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