You would think John Elway would have enough to worry about just matching up against San Francisco's Joe Montana, the best quarterback in the game today.
Instead, he spent part of his day Wednesday shadowboxing with Terry Bradshaw, one of the best passers of the past.Elway, the Denver Broncos quarterback, fired back Wednesday after Bradshaw, the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, suggested his younger counterpart was coddled by his coach, adoring fans and even the media.
Elway said Bradshaw was jealous because of his salary and had been critical of him throughout his seven-year NFL career.
"He can stick it in his ear," Elway said.
Asked to compare Elway and Montana, opponents in Sunday's Super Bowl, Bradshaw said, "The first thing I think of is Joe's got three Super Bowl rings. Elway is more concerned about promoting himself than winning Super Bowls. He's been babied. He hasn't won any championships and that's the bottom line."
Elway admitted Wednesday that he is troubled by his 0-2 Super Bowl record. "To be the quarterback I want to be in my career, I've got to win this game," he said.
Bradshaw won it four times.
"John's problem is he's been babied - you know, babied by the city until this year and babied by the coach a little bit. It's just too easy. And you know what I went through in Pittsburgh. There's nothing worse than just getting hammered. You fight that stuff. I think John's got to get tougher."
Bradshaw, meanwhile, said Wednesday from his home in Roanoke, Texas, that he was surprised his remarks a day earlier had caused such a flap.
From the time he played at Stanford, football people have rhapsodized over Elway's arm. The 98-yard drive to the winning touchdown in the 1986 AFC championship convinced a lot of people, but Bradshaw remained unimpressed.
"A lot of guys with great arms have played this game," Bradshaw said. "To be great, you've got to play well over the long haul. One great game doesn't cut it for me."