Vince Lombardi.
One cannot talk about football without mentioning its greatest coach of all time. Lombardi, along with Basketball Mt. alumni John Wooden, is considered one of the greatest coaches in any sport at any time. He led the Green Bay Packers to 5 league championships in 9 years, and got his start in the NFL with the New York Giants as an offensive coordinator. The defensive coordinator? Tom Landry. Eat your hearts out, Romeo and Charlie. Wait, on second thought, do NOT do that. Stick to the Ponderosa buffet line. Lombardi has his own trophy, the cool looking football that is received by the winners of each Super Bowl. On top of that, his motivational techniques are legendary. "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." God damn right, Vince.
The second man has been best known for his dancing lately. Sorry, Emmitt. It is not you.
Jerry Rice
I went through many positions and tried to list the best player at each position to ever play the game. At QB, Montana, Marino, Favre, Bradshaw, Tarkenton, and Starr all came to mind. RB had Sanders, Smith, Payton, Sayers, and Brown. LB had LT, Butkus, Ham, Seau etc. Only one position had a clear cut "best ever", and that was WR and Jerry Rice. Simply put, Rice produced and won. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times, won 3 rings, holds the record for catches, yards, touchdowns, and and receiving touchdowns. No other player dominated a position like Rice, and he did it without the ego that is attached to every WR in the NFL today not named Larry Fitzgerald or Wes Welker. Rice was not weak in any area, and for that reason he has earned his place on my Mt. Rushmore of Football.
The third man was involved in the business end of the NFL. He is..
Lamar Hunt
Hunt, the longtime owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, passed away in late 2006. Many may not know the name, but if not for the efforts of Hunt, the NFL as we know it may not exist. Hunt originally founded the AFL in 1960 after his bid for an expansion team in the NFL was denied. The league grew to compete with the NFL, competing for top stars and heavily influencing the rise of player salaries. Through Hunt's leadership, the AFL grew to have the Patriots, Jets, Bills, Oilers (now Titans), Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, and Bengals. When an AFL-NFL merger was proposed, Hunt was at the head of the table. In 1972, Hunt became the first person associated with the AFL to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Simply put, if not for the efforts of this man we would not be obsessing over professional football like we do today. He was a pioneer and a visionary, and for that he earns his place on my Mt. Rushmore.
I have a feeling this last man is going to be a bit controversial. No one has been an ambassador to the game quite like he has. His name is ...
BOOM! John Madden has done it all in the NFL. As a player, Madden's career was cut short by a knee injury while in training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. It was as a coach that Madden made his first dent in the legacy of football in the United States. At the age of 32, he became the youngest head coach in NFL history with the Oakland Raiders. He ha the highest winning percentage among coaches in the playoffs, never had a losing season, and has a Super Bowl ring to his credit. He then moved on to what he is known for to most sports fans. As a color commentator with Pat Summerall, Madden called practically every big game in the NFL from 1981 on. His usage of the telestrator is legendary, and his voice is synonymous with the NFL. All these things are not even what he is most famous for! The Madden series video games has brought the NFL to young people across the world. It could be argued that nothing (outside of the actual games) has fostered growth within the NFL and football in general quite like Madden Football. It has fostered spinoffs such as NCAA Football, NFL2K, and NFL Gameday (or for your old-school SNES players, NFL Quarterback Club). So bash me if you will, but John Madden definitely deserves a spot on the Mt. Rushmore of Football.
That's enough for now. Leave your thoughts on this Mountain, and tune in to see Michigan mop the floor with MSU (hopefully). Oh, one more thing.
Take that, women's rights.
NRTTS.
Coach Deuce
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This is Winters.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with the mount of football. Rice is the only clear cut "best ever". It's hard to put up Montana without putting up Elway or Marino etc. You can't put up Sanders without Payton and Emmitt. Let's also not forget the Juice. You better put him up there or he might kill your ass.(If your reading this O.J. I'm just kidding, hope all is well in prison)
I do agree that with as much of a douche bag as Madden is, he has earned his place on the Mount. I give him credit, not many people can get away with being a douche bag for as long as he has.
I also think a great addition to the Mount of Football would be hanging Art Modell from it on the opening day. It would draw a crowd, be very entertaining, and it would also get everyone's mind off all the other shit that's going on in today's world.