John Madden said of the legendary Kenny Stabler, (If I had one game to win in the ‘70s, I would have chosen Stabler to be my Quarterback. In the ‘80s, I would have chosen Stabler. In the ‘90s, Stabler. In the ‘00s, it’s the same. If a game was big, Ken Stabler was big. If a game was tough, Ken Stabler was tough. If a game was hot, Ken Stabler was as cool as it gets.) He went on to say it is a travesty The Snake is not already in the HOF. I agree with Madden. When I think of the great QB’s and I think of all aspects of the game, I think Brady is in his class. I think Steve Young is right there. For me these three are above the rest. (Yes, Montana was clutch in some huge games. Yes, Peyton Manning has thrown for a bazillion yards, as has Marino and Favre. Yes, Bradshaw was great and gritty and with Montana is right on that next tier.) Ken Stabler ushered in this new game. He threw more than other QB’s of his day and for a higher percentage. He played DBs with his eyes. And when the game was on the line, he could fumble a ball forward, he could loft a jump ball into the sky so it would land amidst four defenders and his Receiver but giving his Receiver the best access to the ball as it returned to Earth, or he could look right and throw left and win games. Madden was right. He did not have the longevity of some and the joke is he studied the playbook by the light of the jukebox but in my lifetime he is the best I have ever seen.
His death has also affected me more than any other athlete heretofore. The reason for this is partly because it feels like such injustice that he was not elected to the Hall of Fame in the normal manner, (going in next year by Senior Committee, instead.) That my friends and contemporaries will view this ode as somehow skewed when I know with certainty of Stabler’s greatness, bothers me. That he is not already in the HOF, that he was not a first ballot entry, is sheer groupthink. It was also suddenly shocking as he was relatively young. (70 is too young.) I was thinking of which other athletes’ deaths will affect me like Stabler’s and it occurs to me, I will likely feel something deep when Kareem Abdul Jabbar dies. Same for Ron Cey. Gretzky, if he beats me to it, will make me sad. Maybe Don Baylor, or Burt Hooten, or Fred Biletnikoff or Dave Casper or Ted Hendricks? Certainly when Vin Scully dies I will weep. I will weep for my own mortality and for nostalgia. I will weep remembering the voice of my childhood, but really just remembering my youthful self. Scully has had a great life though and so I will certainly not weep for him. No, with Stabler it is something else. It is that he did not get his due. It is that he represents the self-effacing nature of what it means to be classy. He may have loved to hang out into the wee hours at the bar, and yes he liked the ladies and even married a Miss Alabama Universe, but he always took care of his business, which was football.
It was a joy to hear John Madden speak of Stabler in such glowing terms, (and yeah, I am remiss in leaving Madden himself off the previous list.) I know he knew, (and how could he not-he was right next to him making it happen.) That others may not conclude that Stabler was the best ever is of no bother to me. I just wanted to say it in any case because it is my truth for certain. RIP Kenneth Michael Stabler, the coolest Quarterback ever.
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