Broadway Joe "A football life of Joe Namath"

[jets82]

So I'm watching the two part show of a football life of Joe Namath (which I don't think they're done for any other person) and I didn't actually realize how much of a celebrity this guy was or still is. I was to young during that time to know as I was born in 1970 and didn't become a Jets fan until 1982. Broadway Joe was like God during that time, WOW! He was deserving of it also because he was just that good. I never realized that he won an league MVP and was the first QB in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards. He was Dan Marino or Elway or Kelly or Montana or Farve or Brady or Manning before they were. If it wasn't for that injury he mainly suffered at Alabama who knows how good he could of been. You could also say if he didn't live such a hard night life who knows how good he could of been also. How many more SBs could the Jets have won with Broadway Joe had the injuries and nightlife not cut his career short. Through it all he fought and played more years then he probably should have because he was just that tuff. Don't know how many years he played but with the his injuries and hard partying life he probably lasted 4-5 more years then he should have. Overall Jets faithful, Joe Namath could have been recognized as one of the greatest QBs or players to ever play this game had the injuries and nightlife not killed it for him.

 

[jetgreen13]

joe was, still & always will be new york jets royalty..

bothers the hell out of me when he gets badly disrespected by some jets fans on the boards..

joe is the jets..

 

[jets82]

joe was, still & always will be new york jets royalty..

bothers the hell out of me when he gets badly disrespected by some jets fans on the boards..

joe is the jets..

Yeah, he is one Jet that NEVER deserves to be criticized. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have the one SB we have or the notarity that we do. Broadway Joe was and is the New York Jets. Question is will we ever get a QB to come even close to him let alone pass him?

 

[butterscotch]

Yeah, he is one Jet that NEVER deserves to be criticized. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have the one SB we have or the notarity that we do. Broadway Joe was and is the New York Jets. Question is will we ever get a QB to come even close to him let alone pass him?

Well we had Tebow....but we let him go

 

[jets82]

Well we had Tebow....but we let him go

Now that was funny, LMAO!!! I was talking more of the talent, not the hype of a HOFer like Broadway Joe but no delivery of it.

 

[Green Jets & Ham]

If Joe took care of himself and stayed healthy, he could have been broken every record in the books, his talent was that transcendent, even Vince Lombardi called him the best pure passer he had ever seen, and Bear Bryant called him the best player he ever coached. When he was at his (short lived) peak, other pro players were in awe of Joe Namath.

Namath was also a cultural icon who dated the hottest women on the planet (Raquel Welch etc.), even the non famous women he dated were ridiculously hot. Only Elvis was consistently scoring with the level of hotties Namath was tapping.

If you were a young guy in that era, you wished you could be Joe Namath, star QB with a cannon for an arm and movie star good looks, with more beautiful women than any young heterosexual man could dream of.

He had a good sense of humor too.
Like the title of his book; "I can't wait till tomorrow cause I get better looking every day" :frisky:

 

[jets82]

If Joe took care of himself and stayed healthy, he could have been broken every record in the books, his talent was that transcendent, even Vince Lombardi called him the best pure passer he had ever seen, and Bear Bryant called him the best player he ever coached. When he was at his (short lived) peak, other pro players were in awe of Joe Namath.

Namath was also a cultural icon who dated the hottest women on the planet (Raquel Welch etc.), even the non famous women he dated were ridiculously hot. Only Elvis was consistently scoring with the level of hotties Namath was tapping.

If you were a young guy in that era, you wished you could be Joe Namath, star QB with a cannon for an arm and movie star good looks, with more beautiful women than any young heterosexual man could dream of.

He had a good sense of humor too.
Like the title of his book; "I can't wait till tomorrow cause I get better looking every day" :frisky:

It's funny you say this because I'm thinking Joe was the third ever really recognized franchise QB in NFL history behind Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas and they couldn't throw the ball or run like Joe could. Maybe there were other franchise QBs besides those but I can't think of any during that time. Broadway Joe could have been Mount Rushmore of QBs had it not been for his injuries and wild night life which is sad to say but true. All the great coaches and players back then said couldn't nobody throw the ball like Joe could. Wow!

 

[butterscotch]

Sonny J. was a F. QB

 

[soj]

If Joe took care of himself and stayed healthy, he could have been broken every record in the books, his talent was that transcendent, even Vince Lombardi called him the best pure passer he had ever seen, and Bear Bryant called him the best player he ever coached. When he was at his (short lived) peak, other pro players were in awe of Joe Namath.

Namath was also a cultural icon who dated the hottest women on the planet (Raquel Welch etc.), even the non famous women he dated were ridiculously hot. Only Elvis was consistently scoring with the level of hotties Namath was tapping.

If you were a young guy in that era, you wished you could be Joe Namath, star QB with a cannon for an arm and movie star good looks, with more beautiful women than any young heterosexual man could dream of.

He had a good sense of humor too.
Like the title of his book; "I can't wait till tomorrow cause I get better looking every day" :frisky:

What many do not understand is that he could run as well as throw and if he could have stayed healthy well....

 

[Namath12]

Well, my screen name indicates how I feel. To me, Joe was very similar to my other main idol growing up, Mickey Mantle. Both had unbelievable physical gifts, but both had bad knees that prevented them from being even better players. In Joe's case, he was a great athlete in high school pre-injury, and was a good runner. In college, he was a stud, despite limping around in the pocket. When he came to the Jets, he played in an era when defensive backs could mug receivers all the way down the field. Yet, he threw the ball down the field all the time. I remember him saying that he would complete 80% of his passes if he dumped the ball off to the backs as some other QBs did.
I distinctly remember Vince Lombardi touting him as the best QB of his era. Did he throw too many interceptions even for that era? Yes, he did. He reminds me of Favre in that respect. But for anyone who doubts Joe's ability, check out the YouTube videos of the famous game against the Colts of Johnny Unitas. Joe threw consecutive 80 yard bombs to our tight end, Richard Caster. These were real bombs, not 6 yard slants that got taken to the house. I think that Joe threw for over 500 yards that day. It was a damn shame that medical science was not what it is now. With modern knee surgery, Joe (and MIckey) would have had totally different careers.

One last point: Joe had charisma that I have not seen in any athlete since, other than Michael Jordan. I first saw him in a college bowl game when he came into a bowl game late due to his latest injury. He started flinging darts all over the field and would have led Alabama to a stunning come-from-behind victory had not Ray Perkins (The guy who eventually coached the Giants) dropped a pass in the end zone. When Joe came into the game, there was a sense of electricity that came over everyone who was watching the game with me. Impossible to describe adequately.

 

[Bigmoe]

1970's was the deepest darkest time for a Jet fan. 1970 till 1980 not one winning season, with 3 years in a row at 3-11.
Paint the pic: 1976
The Jets are 3-10 facing the Bengals. Sitting in the metal bleachers as I have since 71'. We all knew it's Joes last game. Cold , damp, overcast misty rain Dec,12.
The entire stadium had complete empathy for Joe, he wanted out. He's 4-14 and is replaced by Todd. Trots off the field ,head down, hands in Jersey pockets, absolutely pathetic for our hero. (The cold damp cloud has not yet lifted for me'40 years later)
We leave the stadium and into the car , losing 42-3; a Pat Leahy FG. Demoralizing .
Radio goes on as usual. Marty Glickman " It's a cold rainy, dismal day for Jet fans......there's a sign in the far corner.....Thanks Joe"
I believe you can see that sign in the documentary . It was on a big white sheet. "Apathy"
Burned into my memory :
The deepest darkest day a true Jet fans soul can stand.
And lives on today...........
Thanks Joe, he seems like a mythological hero now.....

 

[Fudbutter]

1970's was the deepest darkest time for a Jet fan. 1970 till 1980 not one winning season, with 3 years in a row at 3-11.
Paint the pic: 1976
The Jets are 3-10 facing the Bengals. Sitting in the metal bleachers as I have since 71'. We all knew it's Joes last game. Cold , damp, overcast misty rain Dec,12.
The entire stadium had complete empathy for Joe, he wanted out. He's 4-14 and is replaced by Todd. Trots off the field ,head down, hands in Jersey pockets, absolutely pathetic for our hero. (The cold damp cloud has not yet lifted for me'40 years later)
We leave the stadium and into the car , losing 42-3; a Pat Leahy FG. Demoralizing .
Radio goes on as usual. Marty Glickman " It's a cold rainy, dismal day for Jet fans......there's a sign in the far corner.....Thanks Joe"
I believe you can see that sign in the documentary . It was on a big white sheet. "Apathy"
Burned into my memory :
The deepest darkest day a true Jet fans soul can stand.
And lives on today...........
Thanks Joe, he seems like a mythological hero now.....
View attachment 1527

Nicely done.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. That '76 season was probably the most painful year of this franchise. I was also on those metal seats behind home plate that year (you weren't the 6 1/2 tall burley guy who sat in front of me with the huge bag of peanuts, were you?). Namath could hardly move by then and Todd was a clueless rookie (40% completion pct!). It was the first year at Shea when you could walk up to the window at the 598 Madison Ave offices and get season tix. Bleak times indeed. Also wasn't that the year Ed Marinaro played for the club?

A great moment to balance this memory was that SF game a few years prior when Namath came off the bench after an injury. Bob Davis started, got hurt and when Namath came in, one of the top ten moments in the history of that ballpark occurred.

People forget that Namath was a turnover machine for a good 4 years. This board would have crucified him if it existed back then. Philbin was right, they should have won in '67 also despite Boozer and Snell missing huge portions of the season. He figured it out for '68 and we all know the results of that.

I sure loved watching that guy throw a ball. Too bad they don't have tapes of all those games.

 

[Bigmoe]

Nicely done.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. (you weren't the 6 1/2 tall burley guy who sat in front of me with the huge bag of peanuts, were you). It was the first year at Shea when you could walk up to the window at the 598 Madison Ave offices and get season tix. Bleak times indeed. Also wasn't that the year Ed Marinaro played for the club?

Thanks brother
No not burley or 61/2 '
I remember also as you can see, this is when the " true " JetFan was born.
Not to many left?
Not the SB but "The times that try men's souls " bore the diehard...
Never mind buying a ticket remember standing room for $2?
Or parking in the junk yard when the lot was full?
Yup Ed M.

 

[jetgreen13]

Thanks brother
No not burley or 61/2 '
I remember also as you can see, this is when the " true " JetFan was born.
Not to many left?
Not the SB but "The times that try men's souls " bore the diehard...
Never mind buying a ticket remember standing room for $2?
Or parking in the junk yard when the lot was full?
Yup Ed M.
View attachment 1529

hill street blues, right??

 

[Bigmoe]

^^^^^
Yes sir!

 

[BigDan]

I was 19 in 1969, living in NYC. Everybody knew who Joe Namath was....






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