LETTERS

Elway is the only quarterback who got to the Super Bowl three
times on the strength of his arm alone.
DAVID HOWE, Bertha, Minn.

JOHN ELWAY

To me, Denver's John Elway always was a poseur. Now Rick Reilly
has to come along and wreck my I-hate-John-Elway way of
thinking. Thanks for a superb article (A Great Run, Dec. 30-Jan.
6).
ALEXANDER CLEMENS, San Francisco

Surely you could have shown more compassion for Browns-in-exile
fans by choosing a cover photo other than one showing a
brown-and-orange-clad pursuer trying to stop number 7. No doubt
Elway completed the pass on third-and-long.
BILL MARTIN, Worthington, Ohio

Reilly states that Elway never had a Jerry Rice to throw to or a
Guy McIntyre to block for him and that, had Montana played in
Denver, he would have been out of football by the time he was
28, while Elway would have been successful in San Francisco. But
in Super Bowls XVI and XIX, Montana's receivers were Dwight
Clark and Freddie Solomon, and the guys protecting him included
Keith Fahnhorst and John Ayers, not exactly Hall of Famers. In
fact, in Super Bowl XVI, Roger Craig was not even a part of
Montana's arsenal. So what happens this year when Elway finally
gets his thousand-yard runner (Terrell Davis) and outstanding
receivers (Anthony Miller and Shannon Sharpe)? The Broncos lose
to an expansion team in the playoffs.
EMMANUEL HERNANDEZ, Las Vegas

Renaming the franchise the Denver Elways would only begin to pay
the debt the Broncos owe Elway. I actually thought the Broncos
had a good chance against the Jacksonville Jaguars, down 10 with
3:39 left--just because of Elway.
BRIAN MONE, Carlsbad, Calif.

Reilly left out a very important adjective in his description of
John Elway: selfish. As Colts fans remember, it was Elway who
spurned their franchise, which drafted him when he came out of
Stanford, and demanded to be traded. If Elway never wins a Super
Bowl, it will be too soon. Keep giving the Vince Lombardi Trophy
to quarterbacks like Troy Aikman and Steve Young, players who
care more about winning for the team than about being the best
quarterback ever to play the game.
M. ANDREW REDMOND, Woodsboro, Md.

In defense of Dan Reeves, he was hired to win games and not to
enhance Elway's statistics. He took those mediocre players you
wrote about and, with Elway, fused them into winners who rose
higher than they should have. Isn't that what coaches are
supposed to do?
JOHN D. DOUTHIT, Denver

NHL HELMETS

Let me get this straight: There are men who fly around the ice
at 25 mph while what we playfully call "enforcers" are hunting
them down, and these men still refuse to wear a truly protective
helmet (Heads Up!, Dec. 30-Jan. 6)? Maybe the cliche is right:
Jocks are stupid.
KEVIN RANSOM, Lock Haven, Pa.

Now I know how Wayne Gretzky scored a beautiful Hollywood wife.
It was the helmet. How could she resist!
DORN MCGAW, East Lansing, Mich.

Forget the mirror test. Forget the informed freedom of choice.
Standardized helmet use should be a must in the NHL, just as it
is in the NFL.
JENNY POSEY, Austin

LAMBEAU FIELD

Johnette Howard's article on Lambeau Field was great (Frozen in
Time, Jan. 13). When I think of pro football, I see Lambeau
Field with Vince Lombardi pacing the sidelines during the famous
1967 Ice Bowl. So many memories are wrapped up in that stadium.
Football should be played in simple stadiums, outdoors, in
subfreezing conditions.
WILLIAM FELDER, Leesville, S.C.

Lambeau Shmambeau! It's not closing. What about another stadium,
one that is not as old as Lambeau but undoubtedly has as much
character. One that has been sold out for more consecutive
games. One that has a season-ticket waiting list almost double
the size of Lambeau's. And one that just hosted its last NFL
game. What about RFK?
MITCH TARAGIN, Silver Spring, Md.

COLOR PHOTO: ANDY HAYT Montana threw to Clark, not Rice, in two Super wins. [Joe Montana in game]