Joe Namath talks football concussions, Super Bowl 52
Gridiron great weighs in on the rising number of concussions among NFL players, previews the title game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.
When Joe Namath was turning 50 years old, one of his friends said to him, “Damn you’re getting old, huh?”
The Hall of Fame quarterback thought about it a little. Both of his parents had lived into their 80s. For Namath, 50 did not feel old.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - FEBRUARY 02: Former NFL player Joe Namath attends the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVIII Pregame Show at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
“I made a plan,” Namath said in a interview with The Post a few weeks ago. “Being a quarterback, we’re dealing with sports we hear about making a plan and trying to move on with the plan.
“My plan was simple. I plan to live to be a hundred and hopefully further. When this dude said I’m getting old at 50, I said no, no, no, this is halftime at 50. I’m planning on living to be 100.”
For many people, Namath will always be 25 years old with his right index pointed to the sky, jogging off the Orange Bowl field as the Super Bowl III MVP, his famous guarantee realized.
On Thursday, Namath will have made it halfway through his plan. Broadway Joe turns 75. It is a thought that is hard to wrap your brain around if you watched him star for the Jets on the field in the 1960s and become a massive celebrity off it.
For many people, Namath will always be 25 years old with his right index pointed to the sky, jogging off the Orange Bowl field as the Super Bowl III MVP, his famous guarantee realized. Others will remember Namath in Hanes’ Beautymist pantyhose or in a fur coat on the sideline. For some, it will be throwing a football to Bobby Brady on “The Brady Bunch.” Still others it will not be an image, but that voice — that syrupy mix of Beaver Falls, Tuscaloossa and New York that is one of a kind.
“You mention 75,” Namath said. “that’s the third quarter ending and the fourth quarter starting.”
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