I found this very interesting, it is from Playboy in 1969(they didn't specify the exact timeframe of the interview but it sounds like early in the 1969 season). There's a lot of interesting info from a young Joe and at the time he and the Jets were defending champs looing to go back to back. http://thestacks.deadspin.com/playb...ith-the-superswinger-qb-1229873187/1256933548
a-ha. I wonder if he used a Delorean? we are only one year away from flying cars and the Cubs winning the World Series.
Don't forget moving sidewalks. Like George Costanza, I'm sick of walking when we were promised we wouldn't have to by now.
There is a misconception I don't like Joe. I do like him and I appreciate what he did for our franchise BUT I have to be honest, his career was mostly mediocre(and I understand health had a lot to do with that but durability counts) and as much as I appreciate SB III I get tired of hearing about it. I want to win one in my lifetime.
Haha. This aptly parallels "The Big Whistle" Bill Chadwick's assessment of Gene Carr's puck handlling ability.
When I was a young child, I heard all these great things about Joe Namath and then my dad took me to my first football game. He was awful and people were very angry. I became disillusioned with him ever since.
"Gene Carr handles the puck like a cow handles a gun!" I hear your frustration junc and while it's been a long time ago I still don't tire of it. And frankly, why should I? It's not about me so much as it's about the New York Jets and even when they win another one (and they will win several - just a matter of time) I will still never tire of SBIII which - like it or not - will always represent the defining moment of Jet history. There are a lot of things football-wise and otherwise that were before my time (Art Tatum, The Colliseum, etc.) which I'll never tire of. My affection for this team is a constant, is enduring, and not something I 'compartmentalize' with respect to different eras. To admittedly belabor the point: while I hope for a repeat of the below in the very near future - I do not and will not tire of this independant of my current and sustained affection of this team. That would make absolutely no "big picture" sense to me. There's a saying: take the bitter with the better. Well, here in the midst of 2-11, I'll take the better with the (current) bitter. Helps keep me sane…sort of.. Matt Snell & Joe Namath at NY City Super Bowl III victory celebration, January 23, 1969. Joe Namath with Mayor John Lindsay, at NY City Super Bowl III victory celebration. “Denise, Mary, Rosie, Love You,” reads the banner for Joe Namath at a “rock star”-like reception during NY City 1969 Super Bowl III celebration. At Alabama, Namath started out as a running QB as well as a passer, until his first knee injury. As a sophomore in the 1963 Orange Bowl, he went 9 of 17 with 1 touchdown pass. Something to consider: while Namath's career's been discredited because of his injuries, if athletes today can return from totally blown out ACLs and achilles tendons, injuries that were often career killers back in Namath's day given the invasive surgical proceedures at the time, I wonder how a more mobile (and not a "sitting duck") Namath would've fared using today's surgical techniques and rehab programs especially considering his original speed afoot. Joe Namath & Bear Bryant. In 1962-64, Namath led Alabama to an overall 29-4 record, with a running & passing total of 3,652 yards and 44 touchdowns.
Can you imagine with the internet and social media now a days how much of a lightning rod he would be if he was playing now? Like Johnny Football X 50.
