Not all Olivetti Girls...

[clintl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gtxxza8kqc

[Buccaneer]

Most of you (ok, all of you) could not imagine how popular Namath was at the time. He was my first true football hero (we don't talk abot who was my first) and living in New York State as a 10 yr old, no one could get enough of him (remember, this was back in the days of 4 channels and occassional sports magazines like TSN, SI and Sport). No football star up to that time had the celebrity appeal that he had, esp. since he was the first true cross-over football star into the realm of movie and rock stars. Baseball had them for decades but not in football where they were more confined to the fans of the sport. In the end, he may be overrated as a HOF QB but his famousness got lots of points - which is not unlike what many stars are in ultra-hype and exposure of 24-hour sports channels and the internet.

[sabotai]

Most of you (ok, all of you) could not imagine how popular Namath was at the time. He was my first true football hero (we don't talk abot who was my first)

Red Grange?



.... what?

[Adamski47]

OJ

[Buccaneer]

OJ

Yep. I was totally captivated watching him in the Rose Bowl (after the 1968 season) even though I didn't understand that much about the game and was eager to find any magazine articles about him.

[clintl]

Here's a newer Namath commercial with Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, and Steve Young.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPDClMJsZi4&search=Namath