One Last Football Note

Some interesting thoughts about the greatest Jet, cut and pasted from Sports Illustrated's website.



Nobody remembers that Joe Namath didn't even throw a touchdown pass against the Colts in Super Bowl III. Nobody remembers that the real heroes for the Jets were Matt Snell, who rushed for 121 yards; George Sauer, who caught eight passes for 133 yards; and Randy Beverly, who intercepted two passes. Nobody remembers that in his career, Namath lost 31 more games than he won and threw 47 more interceptions than touchdowns. And nobody certainly remembers that in 33 career games against winning teams after the Super Bowl season, Namath had a 2-31 record.

No, we remember the guarantee and the final score, 16-7. That makes Namath's guarantee the ultimate defining Super Bowl moment. Because for the rest of his career, he had no other moments at all.

This painting is kind of like that for me. I may spend the rest of my life stinking up the joint, but when push comes to shove, I can always point at this one.

I keep it rolled up in my studio. And when things are going badly, I take it out, unroll it, and staple it on the wall. Then I drink some tea and look at it.

It's on my wall now. Because you should see my first shot at David Tyree.