That's a name I haven't heard in ages. RIP Tracy.
Woooow
Sadly playing in the NFL them and now are two very different things. Guys had gifts like Sonny but being in shape was never one of them. Goes for a lot of them. I think some would smoke on the sidelines. Love that. Glory days of football before halftime shows and sellouts.NFL legend and HOF QB Sonny Jurgensen has passed away at the age of 91. Sonny was a deadly accurate passer who led the league in passing twice and was a Pro Bowler five times. He often joked about his physique, which wasn't ideal. He was sort of short, rarely in shape, and had a bit of a paunch, but had a strong arm and was exceptionally accurate. He was known as a "character" for most of his career, often missing curfew, being seen at bars at 4am before noon game, and well known for playing while badly hungover or even still a bit drunk. Life of the party guy who could still tear it up when the game started. I remember lots of interviews with him in the early '70s, when he was always funny and entertaining. He just looked like a non-athletic average Joe who couldn't possibly play in the NFL, yet he was a legend.
Throw Joe Theisman into that mix. They all wore the single bar man fave mask.
It was about the football then, not the show. I remember seeing video of guys smoking on the sideline. I know Jack Lambert smoked at halftime in the locker room. Probably lots of others did back in the day. Lots of coaches smoked on the sideline. The 70's was an interesting decade in the NFL, full of real characters like Sonny and Stabler and Lambert. Sonny throwing the ball behind his back with better velocity and accuracy than most could conventionally. A lot of those guys would show up totally out of shape for training camp because that what training camp was for. The 365 days a year workout stuff was unheard of. Stabler, Sonny, and probably quite a few more were known to still be a bit buzzed during the game from staying out partying the night before until the sun came up. What an entertaining era!
Reminds me of the classic pic of HOFer Len Dawson in the locker room at halftime of the Super Bowl enjoying a lung dart & a Fresca.
I grew up hearing and reading about stories like his. Loved reading autobiographies by Ken Stabler, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Jim Bouton, Lyle Alzedo, etc…Some great stories that people today would lose their minds about. Sports and much of life have become so robotic. I can appreciate the greatness and dedication of a Tom Brady but will always have a soft spot for the guys who didn’t take things so serious.
I've probably seen the movie a dozen times in the last year. The neighbor even named his son Moxon after Van Der Beek's character and he's got jerseys for almost all the main characters from the movie. His Van Der Beek jersey is signed, he just got it as a Christmas present a little over a year ago. It came out about his cancer diagnosis sometime around when James was offering the signed jersies to help pay bills I believe. They knew he was struggling even then, they had to put delays on the deliveries because of his treatments. 
I lost my fraternity little brother to colon cancer. He was 45 years old. If not for him, I might have gotten it to. I had a colonoscopy at his urging and they found a huge polyp that was the kind that can turn into cancer. Get checked y'all.
