Interesting stuff Awsi. I think you hit the nail on the head with Elway...it was the way he carried himself and "how" he said things that came off as arrogant. And you can tell he was enabled b/c he did a lot of this with his dad standing right there. He looked like a pretty boy who thought very highly of himself...seriously it was almost like a character you'd see in one of those teenage movies (the cool preppy guys/jocks in Revenge of the Nerds)...it was pretty fascinating to me at least. As for baseball, I knew he had played and was drafted, but wasn't aware that he was a 1st round draft pick of the Yanks (and apparently led Stanford in steals in his final year).
Regarding Marino, they showed the clip about the tan but didn't really focus on it much. My reaction to that was a smile/smirk as I saw Marino as a young kid just being a little ****y and having some fun...kind of like Gronkowski today.
Yeah, that was the new preppy era and Elway was a prototype. Stanford wasted no time marketing him. After a solid but unspectacular freshman year, Elway went into Norman early in 1980 and destroyed Oklahoma as a big underdog. The Sooners had a long home winning streak and were ranked very high, but never in the game. Elway sat there in the shotgun all day, which was rare at the time, and picked Oklahoma apart. Switzer was never shy about praising opponents and he gushed over Elway for weeks. The media really picked up on it. Elway was already a whispered legend coming out of high school but that Oklahoma game raised him to another level and it was always a given he'd be the top pick in the 1983 draft from that point forth. Marino made a push late in 1980 and through 1981 but never threatened Elway's perch or legend.
Part of it was Stanford itself. I probably sensed that more than most as a student of a rival school in the Pac 10. They love to imply themselves as superior in academics and everything else. The overall athletic program is dominant. Heck, they attracted Tiger Woods, Michelle Wie and now Lydia Ko wants to go there. From volleyball to water polo to women's basketball they are basically great at everything. Other than football, obviously. The band receives mixed reviews, although I love it. Even if the football team wasn't racking up wins they'd let you know about Jim Plunkett's legacy, and then the golden boy John Elway.
My friends and I from USC crashed on the floor of a home in Palo Alto in fall 1980 in the days prior to the USC/Stanford game. Two 40ish cougars owned the home, although I didn't know the term cougar at the time. One of them had a teenage daughter who couldn't have been more arrogant herself: "Wait until you see our quarterback. He's going to pick you apart." I laughed, and sarcastically told her there was a minor difference in caliber of the two teams. I had USC -7 points. Game started out comfy, with USC leading something like 13-0 and dominating the trenches. Then Elway scrambled 15 or 20 yards deep in his backfield. It looked certain to be a huge sack, almost like Griese against the Cowboys, then Elway somehow escaped. He launched a laser from the sideline that traveled at least 60 or 65 yards. Ronnie Lott fell asleep. Our entire legendary secondary assumed the player was over. We had Lott, Dennis Smith, Joey Browner and Jeff Fisher. Yes, that Jeff Fisher. They allowed Ken Margerum to get behind them and it ended up a freak touchdown. Stanford fans call it, "The Throw," and say it was the most remarkable play of Elway's career. Many of them still insist it was superior to any play he made in the NFL. USC fans had to endure 5 or 10 consecutive minutes of Stanford euphoria. But as the game settled we physically whooped up on them and won handily, by at least 3 touchdowns. I forget the final but my bet was never in jeopardy.
Regarding Elway as a baseball player, I didn't realize he led the team in steals his final year. I was one year ahead. Perhaps he improved after I saw him. In the games I saw him play at USC over a 2 or 3 year period, Elway was just another guy on the baseball field. He hit lefty, as I recall. That was an oddity. I remember being shocked the first time I saw it.
