Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis - NO SPIN NEWS SPECIAL: NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

NFL legend and Hall of Famer Joe Namath joins Bill for a special edition of the No Spin News just days before the Super Bowl. Don’t miss this one-on-one conversation as "Broadway" Joe talks about the toll the game takes, his career, and the current NFL superstars.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please go to conicsontera.ca. Hey Bill O'Reilly here. Super Bowl coming up on Sunday, and we have the best guests in the world to talk about the Super Bowl. There's no better guess than we have right now to talk about this game. I've known Joe Namath for 25 years, I think. And he was an idol to me.

As I played college football, a small school upstate New York, I actually wore white shoes. and was laughed off the field for trying to imitate Joe Namath. But anyway, this is a no-spin-news special, and we are going to do a number of these this year with extremely interesting, famous, powerful people in a very personal way. So I asked for Joe to help us out,

and he did. And here he is. Joe Namath, the man, the legend, the myth. Every, all wrapped up. You know, you look really good. I think you're 112 years old now, aren't you? Not quite. 109.

You really look good, boy. You know, you look like the jets could start you and win. Oh, boy. We'll get to that. We'll get to that. So I want to take you back to 1969. It's amazing how life goes so fast, isn't it? It is.

It is, if you're lucky. You know, and he drags. when you're something's wrong. Somebody's sick or something's going on. Right. But the years pass, the memories don't. And 1969, the American Football League was still trying to get credibility

with the National Football League. But it was a rough and tumble league. I used to go to some of the games at Chey Stadium in New York. And they were beating a hell of each other. I mean, in the AFL. And you played the Oakland Raiders for the championship of the American Football League. And whoever won that game, in 1969, January, was going to the Super Bowl.

They tried to kill you, didn't they? Well, that's the name of the game. Get the quarterback. Kill the quarterback if you can. But it's different now than it was back then. So these guys on Oakland, they were out to knock you off the field physically, correct? Yes, yes. Well, that's the thing.

if you can debilitate the quarterback, you've got a better chance of winning. And the Raiders were notoriously a team that did extracurricular kind of work out there in the field. One of the first times I played against the Raiders, they had a big defensive end named Ben Davidson. And he got me, he had me on the ground, he twisted my head, and then he put his hand under my face mask and came down there. and he got up and he's walking away and I ran and I grabbed him. I grabbed him and turned him. He turned around and looked him in. I looked at him and I told him.

I said, man, you ever do that again? I'm going to get a gun. I'm going to shoot your wife, your children, and you. I swear I was hot, boy. But the referees, they weren't like they were today trying to protect the quarterback. No, of course, but they still don't. All the players know about wheels, the knees for sure, or in the heads. Right.

And they've done a good job trying to respect that. Sometimes you see a guy cutting somebody or getting hit in the head. But the players know that it goes around. What goes around comes around. So they protect one another when it comes to the head and the knee. So it's a different game because back then anything, pretty much anything goes, right? Oh, yeah. If you can get away with it.

So you beat the Raiders in a wild shootout. right? I mean, it was a high-scoring game. You were the reason that you won, because you'd racked up so many yards passing. But you must have been hurting after that game. You heard after a lot of games, Bill, but, you know, the quarterbacks get a lot of credit. And you say I was the reason. I was a good reason. But without our defense, without our offense, without that it's a team game. Honestly God, it's one of the best team.

game. And whenever our defense got scored on late, I threw an interception, and Oakland went down and scored the touchdown. I told the cats, you know, on the bench, Yow Atkinson, our defensive cabin, I said, hey, we're going to get it back. We're going to get it back. Don't get low, man. Come on. You're ready because we're going to get it back. And we got it back. We hit a couple of big plays. Shea Stadium, you probably remember that the wind comes around in there, a swirling wind. And the greatest catch I've ever seen to this day, to me, and we see some great catches one-handed. I threw a long ball to Don Maynard, and the wind caught it.

And he was running out there, and he swirled, he turned around, and he caught the thing this way and went out of bounds. And that's still to this day for me, the greatest sketch I've ever seen. All right, so you beat these guys, the Oakland Raiders, and now you're facing the Baltimore cults in the Super Bowl. And most sportscasters and writers were mocking the New York Jets, saying, you didn't have a chance, should be on the same field, all of that. Did you pay attention to that? Well, they were very good.

No, we didn't pay attention to that. They were very good. But there's still a few nights before the game. You know, in Fort Lauder down, the coach was staying there too. And there's a restaurant I'd call it, but it was a bar restaurant sitting at the bar. And two guys that are next to me. One was Lou Michaels, the defensive tackle for the coach and the offensive guard, Dan Sullivan. And we're drinking a little bit.

And Lou, whom I met before because he went to Kentucky, and my brother Frank went to Kentucky and played ball some. Anyway, Lou just, you know, had to say it, we're going to kick your ass. So he was taunting you. Yeah, yeah. In the restaurant. Yes, at the bar, in the restaurant.

Was Lou out of his mind drunk or what? No, no. Oh, he was serious. He was serious. trying to push a button. And I have, well, anyway, I said, Lou, come on, man, you don't talk like that. He said, well, we're going to kick your ass, Joe. You know, I said, well, what do you know?

You're just a kicker. Oh, oh, he got up there, that Joel got up, and he got that, and went Chinik or whatever, who was the guy with him. He said, no, Lou, you know what I'm serious. So there's always a bra. Well, it wouldn't have been a brawl. It'd have been a killing. He would have wiped you out.

You got. Yeah. Okay. So tensions are high. This is in some relaxed game. This is a lot on the line, right? Well, yeah. They, you know, Baltimore was overconfident.

You know, they had no respect for the NFL, the NFL, the NFL did. The first two games, they went their way. And they were overconfident. And you guys knew that. Well, I felt that way. I knew it. And what I saw on film, I knew we could take advantage of. Okay.

I knew we could, we had a better team, was my opinion. Our defense was good. So you were confident. With the rest of your team confident, though? Yeah. They all were. Yeah. They all knew that they could play.

You know, some guys, there's 40 guys and how many guys. Some guys might have had them. Well, these guys are really good. But I didn't, I didn't sense that then, and I don't remember that. I think we were all very confident. The myth then says, And I'm going to play a sound clip now. The myth then says that you were at a kind of a press event

and then predicted a victory. Roll that tape. I get up to the podium and a guy in the back of the room yells out, hey, Namath, we're going to kick your, you know what. And it's just, you know, it was just, no, wait a minute. I've been hearing that all week long. I got news for you, buddy.

We're going to win the game. I guarantee you. That's all there was. to it. One guy in the media picked up on that statement and everybody said, oh, guaranteeing a win, guaranteeing a win. That was ballsy. Did you know when you were saying that, how outrageous that was? I didn't care. It was a wise guy that yelled out. Nam is, we're going to kick your ass. You know what I say? Hey, buddy, I got news for you. We're going to win the game. I guarantee you. Okay. So you didn't care that this was going to be worldwide headlines and that, you know. Oh, no. I didn't accept.

No, no. If you had to do it again, would you do it again? Absolutely. It was a wise guy back there, you know. All right. But very few athletes, Ali did it. Muhammad Ali did it, okay? But now, today they go, oh, we'll just play our best.

We thank the Lord we're here. You know what they do. They don't do what you did. First of all, we miss Baham it. Yeah, man. You know, every time you mention his name, I get some good memory. boy. But yeah, well, the next day at practice, Coach Eubanks's out in the middle of the field, and we're warming up with the sidelines, and still come in.

Bill Hampton, our equipment manager, came here and said, Joe, a rifle. He called me. He's the right for the coach who wants to see you. I said, oh, okay, I jog out there and say, yes, sir. And he's standing there like this, boy, he's middle of Newbanks, he's a little guy. He's standing there like this. He said, you know what you've done? And I said, sir. You know what you've done? He said, what do you, well, no. He said, you've given these guys ammunition. They're going to put these bulletin boards up for all these clippings about you

guarantee in this game and you get, you're firing them up. I said, well, coach, you know, it's your fault. He said, what? He said, it was his fault? Yes, yes, absolutely. I said, coach, it's your fault. He said, what? I said, you told us we won't win.

You told us you can play. You're going to play. Win it all. He said, get, get. out of here, get out of here. Okay, so now there's fire on the Baltimore side. Okay, we're going to show this

Nameth and the Jets. How did your side, other than we, you banked the coach, were they happy you did that? The players? I think so, for the most part. Yeah, Johnny, our co-captain came to me.

John Sample? Yeah, Johnny Sample. And he asked me why I did that, and I told him, we are going to win. What do you think? He said, okay, you know, that team we felt like we knew we were going to win. We really believed Baltimore wasn't going to change for us. Right. They were the same team, but they were a very successful team.

Yes, they were a very successful team. I don't know. They lost one game that year. I'm not sure, maybe. But I do know they had the most arrogant coach in the league with Don Shula. Well, you were one S-O-B, Shula. Well, all you guys are saying? He was Hungarian.

And I legged on. We got a long very well. You know, he's strutting in there going, we're not letting these guys beat us, you know. I don't know. I don't think he'd have had that kind of feeling. But maybe they all did because they won things. Yeah, it was so, you know.

Yeah. Would you say they were cocky, though, when they took the feel for the game? Both were cocky. Could you feel that energy? I didn't pay attention to them. How were the wets? In the locker room right before you went out, okay?

Big, huge game, okay? Because your name is in New York and all of that. You're down in Orange Bowl, Miami, okay? You're in the locker room. Guys throwing up or guys tight? What was it? It was normal. It was pretty normal.

I'm just guessing at that. We had a loose bunch of guys, and we knew we could play, and we weren't going to beat our stuff. You know, most teams beat themselves by making mental errors and then tone them the ball, you know, whatever. And we had a smart team, so. Okay. You also had a devious team because your top receiver, Don Maynard, who you referenced

earlier as the best catch, he had a knee injury, he had a leg injury. And nobody told anybody. Colts didn't know it. And they would double team in Maynard. He didn't catch a pass the whole game. Yeah. I think I threw one pass and missed them a little bit long. Right.

He was not 100% of course, but they doubled him. And they didn't know that he wasn't 100%. They were doubled and done all the time, man. Did you know that he had a leg injury? Did you know that you know? Well, in practice, you know, you learn from practice, yes, but you still look for him. Oh, you know. I still look for us.

So you threw Mosody George Sauer, the second receiver who had more than 100 yards. And big boy Pete Lammins are a tight end. Matt Snell and Boozer, you know, we moved it around. But you all guys only scored one touchdown, okay? Was that disappointing to you? We were ahead. No, it wasn't disappointing. Yeah, you were winning 16-0-0 in the fall.

Yeah, we were, it wasn't disappointing. I could understand that you want to score more touchdowns, but this was a very good team. They were tough on defense. And we were ahead all the way, you know, we weren't behind. Did they do what Oakland did to you? They tried to hurt you? I don't know about that.

No, Oakland, that was a different animal. And that was a different year, too, early on. I think most defensive players are trying to debilitate the opponent. Even today. Why not? Yes, but cleanly. You want to knock them out. Right.

You want to you, yeah, you know, it's a contact game. Now, they're protecting the knees and the head much better today. and the players are respecting that. But you want to jack somebody up. Yeah, you don't want them to get up. When you were on the field during the game, were they taunting you, Baltimore? Were they yelling at you and staying stuff to you?

I don't remember anybody. You blocked it out. I don't know that I blocked it out. I didn't need to. But there wasn't any milding going back. No, wasn't any trash talking at all? Well, Johnny Sample, our cornerback. He did a lot of it.

That was Johnny Stalin. You know, it was good because it influenced our defense and, yeah, and it distracted the other guys. So when did you know you were going to win the game? The biggest upset in Super Bowl history. When did you know you had them? I believe we were going to win. And whenever I looked up at the clock and in the fourth quarter, and it was late.

I said, oh, please, clock. God, please let that clock run. Because they changed quarterbacks. It went from Earl Marl, who was the MVP, a terrible game. And Johnny Yuge, the legend. Johnny Unitas comes on the field. What did you think when you saw that?

Well, first of all, I got, I was lucky enough to get to know, Johnny, and he was a hero of mine. Even when in high school, I wore number 19 out of respect for the western Pennsylvania guy, Johnny U, man. And one of my nicknames was Joey you when I was younger, you see. But whenever I saw him coming out, well, actually before the game

and the sidelines looking back and forth, I went into a little thing, man, my head looked across there and saw Johnny, and I said, wow, yeah, look at where we are. Here he comes. Oh, man. And he did put seven on the board. Yeah, well, but he only. honest, he wasn't the thrower he was when

he was young. Right. The zip on the ball had gone. And that happens to quarterbacks as your age. And back then, you know, the training is not as good as today as far as weight rooms.

You know, you had a weight boot to help your quad and if you had a bad knee. These athletes today are spectacular. Right. Literally in a gym 24-7 these guys. I mean, they're like machines. So, you win the game and then everything in football,

pro football changes. Everything changes. You have parity. Then it was a merger of the two leagues and all of that. We have one more clip we want to show. When you won the game, you were running off the field and you raised

your finger number one. You had never done that before. Never, no. And we won a couple of championships, high school and college, too. We never did that. Why did you do it then? because these people, the AFL, the Jet fans, they've been struggling, you know, and it was like a finality. We're number one. Yeah, it's the league that could, you know, we were second-rate league, so to speak.

And there have been a bunch of documentaries about the game, and they all cite the aftermath right after you won. Roll the tape. It took quite a while to get Joe to talk to the press because he was so angry that so many of them had picked the calls. So many of them had criticized him. Just a win for outspoken. I don't know about that. I know it's a hell of a loss for those folks. The pick us the other way.

He sat on the table, was back against the wall, and was able to get the inside position. You've got to have confidence in your team. You've got to have confidence in yourself. If you don't have that confidence, you can't play football. We all felt we could win. We won. And I asked Joe specifically, Joe, do you feel like you're king of the hill?

Joe, you're king of the hill. No. No. We're king of the hill. Hell, we got the team, brother. Now, did you know sitting in the locker room with all those guys that your life was going to change, that you were now going to be elevated to this kind of mystical, which you still maintain today? Superstar status.

Did you know that? No, I didn't think that. You're always taught to be humble and have the respect for what you're doing, your teammates, and all that. You never do something on your own except maybe pass away or you get help along the way. I respected my teammates. I respected the help. I know I couldn't have done flip without the cats up front. Okay.

But there's always in America you have to have a star and you have to have a villain. And so you're the star. And then Hollywood comes, right? Ed Sullivan's show, your own show. But you at the time didn't know all that was going to come. Mr. Sullivan. Right. You didn't know any of that was going to come?

No, I didn't expect that. Of course not. What does your teammates say to you? Good game. That is it? Yeah, we expected to win. So there wasn't any deviation after you won than another game? No, you know, one memory I really have is just,

terrific, a couple of memories. But after the game, I left the locker room, got over, got in the car, and my girlfriend was sitting in the middle, and Joe Hirsch, my buddy, roommate was driving the car. They didn't say a word, I didn't say a word, and we started driving out, following the traffic, you know, and no one said a word, and then Mr. Hirsch said, he started chuckling, and so we just started chuckling a bit, you know. You knew you did it. We did. That is a myth that you stayed out all night before the game. Is that true?

Well, you stayed up very late before. Oh, that was a championship game, and it wasn't all night, no. Oh, that was the Oakland game. Yeah, yeah. My family was in town, and they had. All right. So you were carousing before the Super Bowl game? No, no, no.

Because we would have, did you have a curfew? Did you have? Oh, yeah. Yeah, we had curfews and room checks, sure. Okay. Also, some of the jet players have told me that after the game was over and you were on the field, none of the Colts came over to congratulate you. I don't know I wasn't looking for. But do you remember anybody coming over?

Did Don Shuler? Oh, did anybody come over and say, Joe, excellent game? Did anybody do that? Yeah, I believe Ordel Bracey may have a linebacker. There isn't. He asked me and he told me to remember the Lord. Remember Jesus Christ? Okay, so one did.

But they didn't come over and amass congratulations. They were mad. Well, I imagine they were sick, too. Yeah, you know, they fully expected to win, and they were overconfident. You know, they ran through the NFL that year, man. They had a really good team.

Do you think that Shula and Weeb, Eubank, because I can't find any, did they congratulate each other or say anything? I think they congratulate. congratulated one another. And again, I'm not sure. It was, you know. Because today, you know, after the game,

the coaches always give you the little, and some don't like each other and some of them don't. I mean, obviously. But somebody told me, one of the jet players said that we were kind of surprised that very few cults came over to congratulate us. Well, who's looking for somebody to come over? If it'll lost, I don't think I'd go.

You wouldn't have gone over? It's a good game? No. If we were, you lose? Yeah. get out of there. What are you talking about? You know, you don't feel good, man. Oh, I know, but today it's a different thing. You know, they do that. They congratulate each other after the game on the field. It's almost an NFL ritual. Well, if you have friends or they know each other better these

days, you know, it's... All right, so you and your girlfriend and your best friend are driving away and your whole life is changing, but you're not really aware of how it's going to change, though, right? You're just thinking about the game and the side of the satisfaction of winning. Well, no, I'm not thinking about how the life's going to change at all. But again, we won a championship in high school college. I expected we'd win a championship, you know, and we did. Right. And that was the last time the New York Jets won a championship in 1969. And one of the jets, the current Jets, said to me, Joe Namath put a curse on us. No, I'm always pulling for them.

I promise you that. And like anything, it starts at the top. You know, Leon Hess and Mr. Worblin, these guys, they're Donald. They were terrific owners. They were terrific owners. But it's been a long time. We had the coach that had been there before, and he was good. And Buddy Ryan, what a defensive coach he was.

And, you know, we played well that year. Right. today's game. Do you watch? Oh, yes, yes. Are there any players that you have seen that might emulate Joe Namath and reach that kind of a level? You know, I see college guys

that are bigger and better and faster and throwing the ball good. It's done it really well. I can't compare myself to those guys. I mean, we did it. But the animal is different these days, man. they're bigger, stronger, faster overall. They have better training.

They had a weight room. We had a weight boot. Right. You know, nutritionally, they're just, I go over to the Alabama facility now and then to see how they have a weight room that's the size of a football field nearly, you know. It's a whole different thing. Yeah, yeah. The athletes are all bigger, stronger, faster, and they work on it year round.

But still the quarterback is the centerpiece. Any quarterbacks in the league, younger ones that caught your eye? Oh, man. I haven't been thinking about this. Right. But I marvel at most of them. I really do. Local news is in decline across Canada, and this is bad news for all of us.

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but your taste buds too. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. Even the kid, did he make the playoffs? Well, the playoffs haven't started here. The Chicago Bears. Watch that guy. Yeah.

Boy, he moves around. He throws the ball of it. They're special. I think a guy that always catches my eyes because he's still playing. They're in Rogers, too, and what he's accomplished over here. He's not like you are Rogers, I think, you know? Well, he has better wills. You know, he was.

Yeah. You had to retire at 34. Well, I had torn knee ligaments in college, you know, and getting those things straightened out. We didn't, they weren't as good as they'd like it to be, but they were good enough to do it one time. And Rogers can still throw the ball. Oh, he's wonderful. He's moving around nicely at 42 years old, you know. I watch the footwork.

I'll watch you move around and all, and he still has some heat on the ball, too. Yeah, he has a velocity. Now, Tom Brady's considered the best ever. I wouldn't argue with that. No? No, no. It's a team game, as we know. But Tom came through in the clutch every...

Those eight times or whatever they were, yeah. You're in the Hall of Fame, of course, first quarterback ever throwed for more than 4,000 yards. What I picked up from you as a kid, because I was playing college ball, was that you were fearless. You weren't afraid of anything, and you threw four interceptions,

is just still going to throw a deep. Well, yeah. But that's unusual, Joe. Come on. Most quarterbacks, they throw a couple of picks, and they're going, ooh, not you. I don't know about, you know, what how the other guys feel.

You know, I know I just wanted to win, and we did our best to win. But you didn't seem to care about what anybody thought about you out there. You were going to just do what you thought you had to do to win. I felt like I knew the game as well as, I don't want to upset the coaches, but, you know, I learned a lot of film too, you know. We studied film in high school on through college and pro ball, you know, study, study, study, study. One of the guys that really has disappeared, but was the key to your Super Bowl win,

is Matt Snell. unbelievable back and had an unbelievable game in 1969. So every time you needed a breather, you just said, here, take the ball. Oh, man. You remind me, Matt in that play, we scored a touchdown. Right. I remember in the huddle getting in the huddle,

and I told the guys, I said, all, listen up, listen up. We're going to get up there and get set, because we're going to run 19 reach on the first sound. Now, listen up. We're going to run 19 reach on the first sound. What that meant was when I got up there, it didn't go into a cadence. It was the first, you know. He gave it a Matt, and Matt took it outside, walked in.

You know, he outran everybody in our line got the jump on Baltimore's because Baltimore was very good that year. And he disappeared, Matt. Yes, yes. And sadly so, because from what I was told, and Matt didn't tell me this himself, but Matt went to the Jets to want to work for him. He wanted to continue when he retired to work for him,

and they turned him down. So that's why he disappeared. He never came back to another function. I hope he's still with this because I don't know. I think he is out on Long Island, but he played an amazing game. Yeah, Super Bowl game. and I wanted, you know, to bring that back.

Now, a lot of people don't know that you've devoted your life in your later years to helping football players who have gotten concussed and have neurological problems. It's joanameth.org. Joe Nameth.org. And as you know, I help support your charity. They have many years. You yourself at age 82 just went through a conversation. with me that most 50-year-olds couldn't have gone through. You understand that, don't you?

I don't know. It's me. Okay? So, number one, I'm firing questions that you like this, boom, boom, boom, and you're answering the questions. And people are going to go, whoa, look at that. But a lot of your contemporaries, they don't have the mental acuity anymore because of football. Yes, that's right.

And I was lucky. Again, lucky. I was able to take 120 hyperbaric oxygen dives. Wow. In my home here in Jupiter, Florida. And I think that did a great deal for me. I had some x-rays and scans done in my brain, and there were dark spots where I wasn't getting the blood flow.

And so I got fortunate where at Jupiter Medical Center, They let me come in there and got in the tube and I headed by the window because I'm plus tend to see the claustophobia, you know, but it was a clear tube and I got to do 120 dives. After the first 40, we looked at him and the dark spots had lightened up a bit. How old were you when you started that? Wow. This has got to be 30 years ago. 30 years ago. So you're in your 50s?

Yeah, probably. in addition to two knee replacements, right? Yeah, on the shoulder. And hips. And hip. Was it worth it? Yes, of course. It was.

Yeah, yeah. First of all, being able to win a championship in sports, when you crave it that much and you want to be a part of it and share it with so many people, you know, it's, it's, It's team game, and you're able to share it with. Yeah, but through this day, you know, let's see, 69, it's 31 years, 26, 57 years ago, right, that you won a Super Bowl. 57 years ago. You walk into any place in this country.

They know Joe Namath. And they want your autograph. They want a picture with you. They want, that's unbelievable. Only in America. Oh, boy, thank God for America. Still a superstar after all of this time. There's not many.

I've been very lucky, no doubt, with the health and all. And I moved around in different areas where I was still visible with some TV stuff and all. And I don't know what to say except thank you, folks. Well, you've always been a humble guy. You know, everybody thinks you're, because you're so charismatic and cocky, but in private, you're not like that. What was it? I tell it with a little humor. I was the youngest of four boys and a sister, too, and I thought my name was shut up until I was 14.

So the family taught you humiliating? It starts with the family. Absolutely. This day it starts at home for everyone. So I was a quarterback, too, but I, as I said, didn't have a tenth of the talent that you had were born with. And, but I idolized you and tried to emulate you. But the biggest jealousy factor I had with Joe Namath, and this is absolutely true, is that you starred in a movie with Anne Margaret.

I remember sitting in that theater going, How am I going to do that? She was a wonderful lady. She is. I got to know her. Okay, good. Yeah. And Roger got it. But that's what I mean.

You win this game with these guerrillas from Baltimore and there's Ann Margaret going, hang hi, Joe. Yeah, well, you know, I didn't plan that part of my life. It just happened. I was lucky enough to be invited to do some things. Right. I thank God for that. too, man. Was that as rewarding as the football? No, not really, because I knew I was not a really good actor, and I never did it as well as I wanted to do it.

And to this day, I think about it and rehearse things over a bit. But looking at where I was and what I was doing, I know, wow, man. I was, except for one thing, William Woke, Woke, who wrote K. Mutiny Court Marshall. I was performing with Phil Bosco and Michael Morioretti on Broadway and the Can Mutiny Court Marshal. At Medcan, we know that life's greatest moments are built on a foundation of good health, from the big milestones to the quiet winds. That's why our annual health assessment

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Visit medcan.com slash moments to get started. And after the play came back to, I heard a knock, he came to the dressing room where I was. And he introduced himself, and he said, you go, Joe, you play Mary. The way I saw him. Wow. What a compliment, huh?

Goose bumps now. Yeah, I don't think I've shared that with maybe my daughters or whatever. Well, you've had an unbelievable life, right? Yeah, and I thank God every day for it. And no other country in the world could have provided that. Even the big soccer stars over in Spain and not do a name. So I always help people, look, God gives everybody talent. I think you agree with that.

Everybody gets talent when they're born. You just have to find it. You know, wait, I hate to, we go into those neonatal units and we wonder and we ask God sometimes why a child's brought into the world the way they are. Yeah, I know when they're disabled and things like that.

Yeah. Right. But there's an innate ability in everybody. I do believe that to prosper. Some need a lot of help. And you provide that help in your charity. Once again, it's joanameth.org. But the point I want to make is that it was a perfect melding that you and your style and your accomplishments fit right in with what America is.

Opportunity. So you're a poor kid, four boys. Father's a steel merchant, right? Blue-collar guy. My daughter insisted too. Right. Right. No uncle in the business.

business, no NEPO kid, and you rise to the top, and you're Joe Namath, the ledger. It all starts at home, you know, and... I just think it's a fabulous American story. Oh, I'm lucky. I mean, I do. I like to say, I enjoyed every bit of it, but, you know, there were the down days, two injuries and the losses, and you throw five interceptions and lose the game, you know. And then you have to get yelled out by Bear Bryant. And Jared Philbin, by the way, our defensive. And Namath, we're wearing green this week, you know,

after you throw five interceptions. But Coach Brian, you see, I was so lucky with my coaches. Right. My high school coach, a gentleman, Larry Bruno, who did my induction at the Hall of Fame. I called Reeve Eubank whenever I was told it. I was elected to the Hall of Fame. And I said, you know, coach, I love you,

I appreciate you, and I have to get someone to, I'm asking someone to introduce me to the Hall of Fame. And, you know, I was wondering, Coach, Larry Bruno, he cut me off. He said, Joe, you get Larry. You get Larry. He said, oh, shucks, I'm in the Hall of Fame. He says, you get Larry. He's the guy that started, you know?

And so I did, I got my high school. You were lucky to have the guys who ranches. Oh, yes, yes, yes. But you were the leader of the gang? Well, it's part of the job, you know? That's right. You're supposed to know the game, the offense, better than anybody else, and you're supposed to know what to do in any given circumstance.

You've got to know the time, the score. They say Joe Namath, Playboy, Joe Mammoth, but they didn't know how seriously you took it. You were out there. And if somebody made a mistake, you would let them know it. You know, you mentioned, again, Coach Bryant at Alabama. Right. He was a piece of work. Oh, after the first game, we played, Bill, played Georgia,

and we beat them pretty good. It was in Birmingham. And we go into the dressing room, and they finally let the newspaper guys come in, and they come in, they get around me. They're about four or five of them, and the next thing I see Coach Brian grabbing him. Get away from that popcorn kid.

Go talk to the guys that did the winning. And I started to say something, and Leroy Jordan put his hand right on my shoulder. I pulled me back on. He said, you don't know him well enough yet. You seriously? And, you know, I was upset. He really took me down, man.

Right. It was right at the time, sure. Last question for you. Do the younger players today, do they seek your advice sometimes? Do they talk to you about what you accomplished and how you got there? No, no. I don't think I know a young player today. All right.

Yeah. No. They work at it year round now. And they're in their own little. They're supposed to be very good, and they are physically. Mm-hmm. One thing you can't tell about is unless you get to know them, is the thought process, the brain.

Okay, so the younger people, they're self-absorbed, they're in their own world, and they're obviously in a very competitive industry. You get together, Joe Namath has a couple of golf tournaments to raise money for his charities. Again, Joe Namath.org. You get together with the older guys, because I've met them all, I met them all because I go to your outings. And what do you guys talk about?

I mean, what's the main thing that they look back upon in this whole thing? Well, we don't look back upon things a whole lot. You know, it's a given. We've seen each other. We shared it with each other. And it's more about what's happening today with the families, you know, and kids and all. So I think we all marvel at how the games changed. how the athletes are, you know, they're really much better these days.

And I enjoy watching the game all the time, man. You sit there and you watch it and you go. I watch it whenever I really want to get involved. I watch Alabama play. I watch good college teams play. I watch part of a pro game and maybe the whole thing. But sitting down for three hours is hard for me. Anything you do differently now in your wisdom?

You know, obviously most of us get smarter as we get older. Not everybody, but most of us. Anything you do differently? You know, over the years I've changed, I've always, I say I've always taken care of myself. I used to be a drinker and all, you know, but 30, 40 years ago I stopped drinking. And I attribute that to my survival at this point, you know. because had I continued to drink, I would have ruined my family and myself at the same time.

But you conquered it. Yeah, yeah. I knew it was wrong. And I wanted to see if I could, too, live without it, because it started to take over my life. And, I mean, in the morning, going to an airport, you'd go to the bar first or whatever. Just became a part of my...

You know what I told my son? Huh. He's 22. and I said, you know, I don't drink. I've never, never drank, ever. No drugs, no pot, nothing. That's why I'm so boring. And I told my son, I said, look, I'm not going to tell you not to drink or I'm not

going to tell you, you have to smoke pot. I'm not going to do that. You're old enough. You're an adult now. But I've saved $5 million, not drinking, $5 million, okay? And he just, his head snapped back. I said, I never bought any booze ever anywhere. Okay, how much money I saved, not doing it?

And that clipped right into him. Okay. That's good. So, yeah, isn't that bad? That's a good way to, you know, rather than. But anyway, I admire you very much. You know that. And I value our friendship.

I think you're a very smart astute guy. I don't think you put a curse on the jets. No. No. Because I know you want them to do well. Absolutely. I think you and I may have to buy the franchise. Turn it around.

Let's not go there. So thank you for helping us. And we will continue to help the Joe Namath charities at joanameth.org. And we hope you look in on Joe and enjoy the Super Bowl. Well, thank you, Bill. It's a treat being with you, man.