Revisiting Len Dawson's iconic Super Bowl I photograph

During halftime of Super Bowl I against the Green Bay Packers, Dawson was photographed by Bill Ray smoking a cigarette while sitting in a chair. A bottle of Fresca rested below him. 

The Chiefs lost the game, 35-10.

The image became part of the meme world recently, and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes even wore the picture on his hoodie before a game in 2018. Mahomes himself has been photoshopped on the image as part of a meme.

Although popular now on social media. the photo did not earn an immediate reaction in 1967. Athletes during the era often smoked during games.

“It seems impossible now,” Ray told The Ringer’s Kevin Clark. “People smoked all the time, and it was amazing that the star quarterback was doing it.”

Dawson beat the Vikings, 23-7, in Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970. Besides playing in the NFL for 19 seasons, he was an analyst on HBO's "Inside the NFL" for more than 20 years and served as a color commentator on Chiefs radio broadcasts from 1984 until 1987.