Happy Birthday, Joe Willie

by Mario Granata
We have broached many topics here at Hashtag Sports that have to deal with our take on various ideas and concepts.  How fitting is it then, that we discuss Joe Willie Namath on his 72nd birthday?  Broadway Joe, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985, is most known for two things: defeating the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III and his attempted makeout session with Suzy Kolber.  One landed him in the Hall of Fame and the other in the Hall of Shame. 

However, thinking of the former, Namath certainly had his impact on the NFL back in 1968, and its interesting to hear him, as it seems that any topic that is discussed involving quarterbacks in the NFL, Namath has a comment for.  So, I took a look at Namath's stats over his career to see what separated him from the greats, so that we can take his opinion seriously.  I was a little shocked at what I found out.

Career Record: 62-63-4
Career Yards: 27,663
Career Completion Percentage: 50.1%
TD-Int: 171-220
Rings: 1

Okay, hold on a minute.  How is this guy in the Hall of Fame again?  I am a huge fan of the historical significance that some players have on the game, and the New York Jets (from the AFL) defeating the Baltimore Colts (from the NFL) was a monumental achievement, but is that Joe Willie's ONLY achievement?  Shouldn't there be some more substance that comes with being a Hall of Famer?

Was Namath tough as nails?  Absolutely.  Did he bring a certain 'flash' to the game?  No doubt.  Did he sign a contract that started all this crazy in the league today?  Yup.  If you remember, players in Namath's day had jobs in the offseason, as their NFL contracts didn't pay them all that much.  But, what else did he bring to the table to be elected to the Hall of Fame?  I mean, I could list a bunch of quarterbacks, but I'll just pick one at random: Brad Johnson.

Here are Johnson's numbers:
Career Record: 68-50
Career Yards: 29,054
Career Completion Percentage: 61.7%
TD-Int: 166-122
Rings: 1

So, who is calling Canton for Brad Johnson?  Yup, thought so.

Joe Namath is certainly an icon when it comes to the NFL, but when he starts to open his mouth, that is when we should stop listening.  Happy Birthday, Joe Willie, and just remember, when you want to voice your opinion about something, take a page out of Joe Montana's book, and don't.