Normally, I do not post stuff like this, about record shattering auction prices won by millionaires and such. Hell, I'm not even sure why I am doing it this time around, for that matter.
However, it just kind of struck me for some reason, this story did.
Joe Montana, who still remains (arguably) the most perfect quarterback in Super Bowl history, decided to sell some of his things. And one of the things that he decided to sell was a jersey which he wore in not only one, but two Super Bowl victories. Yes, he wore it first when the 49ers defeated the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. Then his wife packed the jersey for his next trip to the Super Bowl, suggesting that he might want to wear it again, presumably for good luck.
So Montana went ahead and wore it again. And man, it surely did bring him good luck! The 49ers were trailing the Bengals late in the fourth quarter, when Montana orchestrated a game-winning touchdown drive for a third Super Bowl win in the 1980's, solidifying San Francisco's privileged states as "Team of the Decade." They would go on to win one more the next season, too.
Montana had already been a pretty big star of football before Super Bowl XXIII. He had been the quarterback to pull off the miracle in San Francisco with "The Catch" that lifted the 49ers over the Cowboys and earned them their first ever Super Bowl berth. In 1986, he had won the "Comeback Player of the Year." He already owned two Super Bowl rings, and had earned the Super Bowl MVP award for both of those appearances. And he had been to the Pro Bowl a whole bunch of times already, as well. But XXIII seemed to raise him to another level. Suddenly, he was one of the best ever. The next year, when his 49ers won it again, Montana earned league MVP honors, then threw five touchdown passes in a basically flawless performance, earning what was then a third Super Bowl MVP award. By then, he was widely recognized as the greatest quarterback ever. The NFL MVP award in 1990 added to his mystique, although he never reached the Super Bowl again.
Admittedly, I was not a fan of the 49ers. Not then, and not now. However, I always liked and respected a number of the players and coaches, including Bill Walsh, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, and of course, Joe Montana. Not that I was thrilled to see San Francisco win again, but I was in awe of what he seemed to always manage to do on the football field. It was magic, especially his coolness in that comeback in Super Bowl XXIII. That was awesome and inspiring, and I hoped to be nearly that cool under pressure, the way "Joe Cool" was on that day. Indeed, as he was at numerous points throughout his career, including when he completed a long bomb to Jerry Rice for the winning touchdown against the Giants that very same 1988 season. It was a crushing loss, and as a Giants fan, I was devastated. Yet somehow, I never hated Montana. Or Rice, for that matter.
In any case, Tom Brady has, since then, earned more rings and accolades, to the point where most people feel that he replaced Montana as the GOAT. I agree. Be that as it may, Montana was, frankly, a whole lot more likeable than Brady. More humble, more exciting at the most pressure moments (like the "Catch," the "Drive" of Super Bowl XXIII, and that long bomb touchdown against the G-Men earlier that season), and just easier to root for, even though, paradoxically, I liked the New England Patriots of the 2000's and 2010's better than I liked the 49ers of the 1980's and 1990's. Montana is a whole lot easier to watch and listen to when he talks. Not a major surprise, then, that his Super Bowl winning jersey (for two Super Bowls, not just one) should fetch a record amount at auction.
Joe Montana's Super Bowl jersey fetches record auction price By Greg Wong | Examiner staff writer Mar 2, 2023:
https://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/49ers/joe-montanas-super-bowl-49ers-jersey-fetches-record-price/article_10635db6-b92f-11ed-a912-9ffd2b04b03d.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_San_Francisco_Examiner&fbclid=IwAR3_e1rEh_UDkAvtBNi0dNDk0xZvMl648nxQpSwN2O1VeZGOd-HCbNoPqw8
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