Sonny Jurgensen!
Thanks for the thread! It helped me make a connection. I was "just a fan" of the Patriots until Parcells came to town and started talking about what it takes to be a champion -- I learned a lot listening to that guy and that turned me into a "serious fan." But when Belichick, Brady, and Weis came to town, I became a "passionate-read-everything-organize-my-life-around-games-fan." And what made me love them most came from Weis. Every Sunday, you could sit down and be amazed by plays you'd never seen before (or rarely). Bold, brash, head-smacking plays to compensate for average offensive personnel and a young QB. The sheer wonder and joy of athletic trickery!
That's what Sonny Jurgensen brought to Washington from 64 to 74. A exquisite natural passer, total baller, creative chucker who terrified better teams because he was so d@mn unpredictable. Those Sunday afternoons were like going to the circus -- amazing, crazy stuff would happen out on that field.
Football is so great because there's this constant tension between "do your job" discipline and the remarkable "pass behind the back" (Jurgensen) or insane athleticism (Julio Jones and Julian Edelman catches in LI). When the two come together, it's the ultimate fan pleasure (Butler interception in SB 49). But now I'm off the point. Jurgensen was a blast!