It's no secret Namath has been unhappy, blasting the Jets Management for bringing in Tim Tebow in a recent trade, feeling that Mark Sanchez is the better quarterback. This week, however, Namath has lashed out at both quarterbacks -- for different, more personal reasons.
With both athletes having model-like looks, Namath, nicknamed "Broadway Joe" in his playing days, possibly feels threatened. Namath said, "They may be paying all of these quarterbacks millions of dollars, but I'm still the best-looking quarterback to ever put on the green and white. Tebow may be Mr. All-American and drive the young girls wild but Broadway Joe was the first to make girls faint. I was a regular Beatle in the backfield in my day. Everyone knows I was the first NFL Rockstar."
Namath is a member of The Pro Football Hall of Fame but his stats are not as impressive as most quarterbacks. His critics suggest Joe's success came more from his easy charm and good looks. They say his pretty boy image brought him more fame than his game ever could.
Namath was the NFL's first true media star appearing in many commercials and several legendary TV shows including "Here's Lucy", "The Brady Bunch", "The Flip Wilson Show", and others. On several occassions he even co-hosted The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. He announced Monday Night Football in 1985, but was let go because critics felt he was overcritical of players. Appearantly, things haven't changed.
Jets fan Mike Lamb is supportive, "Namath has always been THE Jet. If he said he was going to do something -- he did it. Look at the Super Bowl victory against the Colts. Namath wasn't just a pretty face. These nancy boys they got now are afraid of getting their hair out of place. Chad Pennington was a pretty boy but he played hurt. He was even better than those two sissies, Tebow and Sanchez!"
"If it wasn't for my two bad knees," Joe says "I'd give these guys a run for their money and I'm almost 70. And I guarantee you I'd still get more women than these guys. I'm still "Joe Willie". I'm the biggest stud to ever play in The Big Apple. There ain't been a Jet quarterback to win the big game since me. They may be pretty but there ain't been a quarterback as pretty as Broadway Joe. That Pennington boy from Marshall was almost as cute with that curly blonde hair."
Joe Namath made his comments at a press conference in Atlanta for "Athletes Against Bullies". He is also on a book tour with his latest memoir, "Pigskins & Pantyhose".
