8. Joe Namath
You can’t write any good football story without Joe Namath in it. It’s not a rule, but it could be. The guy did guarantees better than any human being ever, he pioneered the vertical passing game in the NFL. Namath also brought the Fu Manchu to professional football.
Though he didn’t always rock his signature ‘stache combo, it only accentuated his larger than life personality as Broadway Joe. With a Fu Manchu that perfect, of course he was allowed to wear fur coats on the sidelines for Jets games. Without Namath, what’s the point of the Jets?
Quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco sometimes grow the Namath Fu Manchu in November to pay tribute to the greatest player in Jets football history. Namath didn’t need Movember to be motivated to grow spectacular. He was just awesome and was at the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, so what did you expect was going to happen?
It doesn’t matter if it can come across as obnoxious, Namath was a trendsetter and a pioneer in legitimizing pass-first football. Joe Willy has always just kind of done what he’s going to do. Could there be a more perfect mustache combination for him? The answer is clearly no.