Every NFL player dreams of leading their team to victory in the Super Bowl.

The scream of 70,000 supporters in a full stadium and the sense of pride as teammates celebrate their victory must be an electrifying experience.

On Sunday (February 9), Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will try to capture the Kansas City Chiefs’ third consecutive victory when they face the Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome.

Forbes estimates that about 120 million people will watch the match, which will also feature megastar Taylor Swift and President Trump.

The first Super Bowl took place 58 years ago.

Ray Nitschke, a Green Bay Packers hero, helped his team win 35-10 over the Chiefs in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California in 1967.

The Packers defended their championship status for the second consecutive year, defeating the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in the second Super Bowl in 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.

However, if linebacker Nitschke had not survived a terrible accident some years prior, the Packers’ tale might have been drastically different.

In 1960, while practicing on the team’s practice field with coach Vince Lombardi, the NFL star narrowly avoided death.

During morning practice, Nitschke put on his helmet to protect himself from the rain that had just started.

This gesture ultimately saved his life.

Moments later, a violent gust of wind crashed a 25-foot steel coaching tower, knocking Nitschke to the ground and trapping him.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette stated that a projecting steel bolt punctured his helmet above his left temple.

Without his headgear, a stab to the skull would have most likely resulted in Nitschke’s instant death.

The linebacker’s teammates had to assist him in removing the 2,000-pound (900-kg) structure.

Lombardi raced over to see what had occurred, but when he saw it had landed on Nitschke, he allegedly said, “He’ll be OK.” Get back to work.”

Nitschke survived unharmed, except for a twisted ankle and a hole in his helmet.

Despite this, he persisted with the day’s practice.

The helmet, complete with a hole, is presently on display in Green Bay’s Packers Hall of Fame.

Around a year after the event, Nitschke married girlfriend Jackie Forchette, and the couple adopted three children together.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978 and remained loyal to his squad for the length of his 15-year career.

The football player led the Packers to five NFL championships, including two historic Super Bowl wins.

Nitschke died of a heart attack in Venice, Florida, in 1998, at the age of 61.