The NFL Network has starting running down their picks of the “Top 100 Players” that ever played football. I am a frustrated “epic” writer so I am going to write a short biography on each player and will be interested to see what kind of response I get from readers with respect to the rankings.
However before I start I would say that I’ve reviewed the first 40 that the network has released and have noted a pattern.
Some players also have a “fan rank” and I saw that fans placed modern-day players higher than what the NFL ranked them and fans were not well-versed with older players. That leads me to believe that fans who are voting are younger.
That being said let’s move on.
Who is player Number 100?
The first player revealed was Joe Namath or as listed in the Hall of Fame Joseph William Namath. Joe Namath started his career with notoriety. He was a star quarterback out of Alabama. He set a record at the time, 1965, when he received a $400,000 signing bonus. That may not seem like much these days but 45 years ago that was a ton of money.
Joe Namath is a member of the 1985 Class inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Joe Namath’s story is a story of a chapter in football history. There were two leagues when Namath signed. There was the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). Star players did not routinely join the AFL but Namath eschewed logic and signed with the Jets.
It is well-known that Namath’s exciting play led to acceptance of the AFL by the NFL. Namath developed an incredible fan base and was a national figure.
In 1967 the AFC and the NFC began at the end of season to have their respective champions play one another. This was a championship however in 1968 the Baltimore Colts in the NFL had a murderous powerhouse of a team. The New York Jets under Namath’s play won the AFL championship. They then had to play the Colts. This AFL-NFL Championship was for the first time called the Super Bowl.
The New York Jets were underdogs. In fact people really didn’t expect much of a game. However then Joe Namath shot his mouth off and guaranteed the Jets would win. He didn’t predict they would win he guaranteed it.
When Super Bowl Three was played Namath was the MVP as the Jets shocked the mighty Colts 16-7 and, that is what Joe Namath is most remembered for. Namath’s passing numbers are impressive. He was the first quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in one season.
The fans picked Namath as Number 42 which makes me think they will vote more on fame.
Ranking players is hard.
References:
http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?player_id=161
http://top100.nfl.com/
Personal Experience
