Joe Cool

At 21, he was a star. At 25, he was a legend.

Joe or Jake?

Not just one of the most famous quarterbacks of all time Joe Namath was a rock star when sports didn't have rock stars. The clothes, the hair, the women. He was a star on and off the field, he blazed his own path, he brought showbiz to sports and made no apologies doing so.

He was a lovable rogue, admired by men and adored by women. It was a time when he could get away with "I like my Johnnie Walker Red and my women blonde," and not be bashed by some women's group.

Looks like Jake might play that charming rogue many suggested he try.

"The late `60s and the early `70s were times of compelling social and political upheaval," wrote Tony Kornheiser in Inside Sports, "and Namath, with his anti-establishment shaggy hair, mustache, white shoes and Life-Is-a-Bacchanal philosophy, became a symbol of inevitable, triumphant change. The antihero."

His football career started in growing up in Beaver Falls, PA. Joe enrolled at Alabama to play college football for Coach Bear Bryant. The legendary Bryant would one day call his rebellious quarterback "the greatest athlete I ever coached."

Namath has the presence of a star," Jet's owner Sonny Werblin once said. Werblin saw more than Namath's passing arm. "You know how a real star lights up the room when he comes in. Joe has that quality."

Sounds a lot like comments that have been about Jake.

His endorsements kept him comfortable, with his pantyhose spots and his shaving off his mustache for $10,000 being his most famous commercials. He acted in movies and on television as well as in the theater, but was not another Olivier.

Over thirty years have past by since he guaranteed a victory in the Super Bowl, then delivered it. Still revered as one of the greatest football players of all time.

Jake has some big shoes to step into not only portraying Namath as the legendary ladies man, but the star athlete. He might have to get some pointers from one of the greatest quarterbacks playing the game today, I don't think Jake would mind asking Tom Brady for some technical pointers. He might might even find Brady reminding him of someone ... perhaps a tall Texan?

Namath outgrew his Broadway Joe image a long time ago. Today he is seeking to finish his college degree, striving to rear two kind, caring, confident daughters, struggling to be a holier, humbler person and mostly staying clear of the spotlight, which he neither needs for financial subsistence nor craves.

What Broadway Joe really yearns to be is your average Joe. But whenever he steps out in his capacity as an ambassador of the Jets or to help one charity or another, an adoring public will not let him. It has locked him in a time capsule, his image as a cocksure quarterback with crumbling knees petrified for posterity. "The reality of it, excuse me, is when you're in the public they already have a perception of you," Namath says. "And that can be a little awkward."