Thanks to the Super Bowl, the N.F.L. is often discussed in terms of a before and an after.

The era before the 1966 season, when the N.F.L. and A.F.L. created a championship game between the leagues that became the greatest spectacle in American sports, was defined by strong defenses, running games and a group of star quarterbacks — Sammy Baugh, Otto Graham, Y.A. Tittle — who are discussed in the vaguest, yet grandest, of terms. Each was a Paul Bunyan-like hero who dealt with impossible weather and poor equipment, yet accomplished feats we can’t possibly understand but are meant to appreciate.

The time after the Super Bowl has its own star quarterbacks — Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Tom Brady — each of whom has been scrutinized to an almost unimaginable extent.

In the middle is Bart Starr, who died on Sunday at 85. He ushered in the Super Bowl era with two championships for the Green Bay Packers. The most valuable player of Super Bowl I? Starr. Super Bowl II? Starr again. Despite that, Starr manages to get lost in history. We know too much about him for a mythology to carry him through the years, yet most fans don’t know enough about him to truly appreciate how much he meant to his team.