Way to go, Joe Willie

When I was in high school one of the biggest football stars was a player from the University of Alabama, Joe Namath. Alabama probably has never been one of the foremost academic institutions in the south, and it was still strictly racially segregated in those days. Even today I doubt many football players go there for the great educational opportunities. Joe Namath was a prime example of a guy who was in school to play football, and meet girls, period. He happened to finish his college eligibility just as the AFC was picking up steam. The big offer the New York Jets made to him, would prove a significant factor showing the AFC had worthy teams and in the eventual merger of the two pro leagues. No one really expected Joe Namath to graduate from college. Like a lot of other football players, school was valuable only so long as it was helping him get to that goal. Once in the pros, he was a flamboyant character and enjoyed the good life enough that he was soon nicknamed "Broadway Joe." Everybody could see Joe Namath had it made.

But yesterday we learned that 40+ years later, Joe Namath finished a college degree, and even more surprisingly he did it through the University of Alabama. It was nice to see he had some loyalty to the school that gave him a scholarship. It was really nice to see that after all these years he felt that there was something missing that he could accomplish. I read that it took him 5 years to make up the credits he lacked, and he said it was difficult. But I think the guy can rightfully be proud of getting it done and perhaps influencing kids to understand the scholarship to play sports, even at a so-so university, is an educational opportunity as well as an athletic one.