Fuel for the Feud

For years, the talk in the bars and barbershops of the land has been about the American Football League and the National Football League and which had the better teams. At first, since there was no interleague play, the argument was a standoff. Then, in 1967, the champions of the two leagues played the first of four Super Bowl Games. The results--two N.F.L. victories followed by two stunning upsets by the A.F.L.--only added fuel to the feud. This season, with the ten teams of the A.F.L. merged into the N.F.L., the match-ups have given new dimensions to the old discussions:

A.F.L. Fan: Guess you saw what my Kansas City Chiefs did to your Baltimore Colts last week? A 44-24 shellacking, in case you didn't notice. And boy, did the Chiefs' front four cream old Johnny What's-His-Name.

N.F.L. Fan: Johnny Unitas, wise guy.

Speaking of shellackings, what do you call that 27-10 defeat that my Minnesota Vikings handed your big bad Chiefs the week before?

A.F.L. Fan: Listen, after being humiliated by the Chiefs in last year's Super Bowl, the Vikings had to win. They played way over their heads.

N.F.L. Fan: And the Cleveland Browns? Did they play over their heads when they trounced the almighty Joe Namath and his New York Jets 31-21?

A.F.L. Fan: Cleveland is tough, I admit, but not so tough that the little old Cincinnati Bengals couldn't beat them 31-24 in an exhibition game.

N.F.L. Fan: You mean the little old Bengals who were clobbered 38-3 by the Detroit Lions last week?

A.F.L. Fan: I mean the Bengals who are going to be one of the strongest young teams in football as soon as their quarterback, Greg Cook, gets off the injured list. And speaking of quarterbacks, what's happened to Terry Bradshaw and the Pittsburgh Steelers? Seems they lost their first two games to a couple of old A.F.L. patsies called the Houston Oilers and the Denver Broncos.

N.F.L. Fan: Hold on now. If you're going to keep score, you have to include the Colts over the San Diego Chargers 16-14 and the Los Angeles Rams over the Buffalo Bills 19-0. Let's see, in the first two weeks of the season, old N.F.L. teams have played former A.F.L. teams a total of eight games, with the N.F.L. winning five and losing only three. Now that's a significant score.

A.F.L. Fan: The season is still young.

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