# Sports surprise of the week: Joe Namath is still alive **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [April 28, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326 "2023-04-28T21:59:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/1 "2023-04-28T21:59:01Z")
With the number of times he been shitfaced over the years, and general lifestyle, I guess I just assumed he would have died of a myriad of things. But [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com) has a link to his opinions, which would indicate that he is not dead. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/2 "2023-04-28T22:04:08Z")
It’s all thanks to the Medicare hotline that he hawks on tv. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/3 "2023-04-28T22:04:27Z")
You clearly did not have the joy of seeing Broadway Joe constantly on TV during last fall’s Medicare Open Enrollment Period: [Medicare Coverage Helpline Commercial 'Benefits Changing This Year Fest Joe Namath - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtIVy82d3t4) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/4 "2023-04-28T22:09:35Z")
Wow – he’s so incredibly annoying that I’m instantly turned off of whatever he’s hawking! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/5 "2023-04-28T22:14:55Z")
FWIW, if his Wikipedia entry is accurate, Namath has actually been sober for most of the last 35 years. It indicates that he quit drinking in 1987 (as it was ruining his marriage), but then started drinking again after his divorce in 2000. After his embarrassing interview with Suzy Kolber in 2003 (during which he was, indeed, drunk), he went into a treatment program, and has apparently been sober since. > **[Joe Namath | Personal life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Namath#Personal_life)** > > Namath was the only athlete listed on the master list of Richard Nixon's political opponents which was made public in 1973 during the Watergate investigation, erroneously listed as playing for the New York Giants. White House Counsel John Dean claimed not to know why Namath was included on the list and suggested that it may have been a mistake.: 349  > While taking a voice class in 1983, Namath met Deborah Mays, who later changed her first name to May and then changed it again to Tatiana, an aspir... ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/6 "2023-04-28T23:19:51Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > It’s all thanks to the Medicare hotline that he hawks on tv. I was going to say how can anyone not know that Joe is alive when he is on TV every 15 minutes. Of course, you have to be watching shows targeted toward a mature audience. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/7 "2023-04-29T01:10:05Z")
One of the funnier things about Namath that I have observed is how much “goofy grandpa” energy he gives off these days. Considering the guy was considered the epitome of cool during the prime of his career, the contrast is marked, at least in my opinion. I’m also of the opinion that Namath is the most overrated player in the history of the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/8 "2023-04-29T22:47:52Z")
> [@SwissMan](#): > > I’m also of the opinion that Namath is the most overrated player in the history of the NFL. The ‘most overrated player’ may deserve a thread of its own. But off the top of my head, I can’t think of anybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-surprise-of-the-week-joe-namath-is-still-alive/983326/9 "2023-04-29T23:00:28Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > But off the top of my head, I can’t think of anybody else. I think it’s a showdown between Namath and Terry Bradshaw.