Politicians aren’t the only ones who use their clout to make cameo appearances — many athletes have transcended Sunday Night Baseball or Monday Night Football and creeped their way into your movies and television shows. While many of these appearances are disasterously unfunny, others work perfectly, and have even birthed several catchphrases. If you ever get sick of hearing “Kick his ass, Sea Bass!” or “Grizzly Adams did have a beard,” just remember that you have an athlete to thank.
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Here are 10 appearances by sports superstars worth a second watch:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Airplane! (1980)
With 140 acting credits, plus a handful of writing and producing credits, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has made a second career out of TV and film. However, it was his role as Roger Murdock in 1980’s Airplane! that cemented his place in Hollywood history.
Roger Clemens, Kingpin (1996)
The Farrelly brothers have regularly cast athletes in their films, such as Brett Fav-ra in There’s Something About Mary. Roger Clemens, who appeared in this film during his final season with the Boston Red Sox, plays a redneck who goes by the name “Skidmark.” Clemens also appeared as a pitcher in the 1994 film Cobb starring Tommy Lee Jones, and as himself in Anger Management.
Joe Namath, “The Brady Bunch” (1973)
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In “The Brady Bunch” episode entitled “Mail Order Hero,” Bobby tells his schoolyard chums that he’s a close friend of football superstar Joe Namath, who drops by his house for dinner whenever he’s in town. Of course, this is a dirty, no-good fib. So Bobby fakes a deadly illness, dupes Namath into stopping by, gets caught, learns a valuable lesson, and gets to toss the ol’ pigskin around with his hero on the Astroturf lawn. Brilliant! This stuff writes itself, I tell ya.
Dan Marino, Ace Ventura (1994)
Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino will be remembered for many things. Being a Super Bowl champion is not among them. Pointing out a transsexual’s cock and balls in a Jim Carrey film, however, is.
Reggie Jackson, BASEketball (1998)
You must be thinking, Are you kidding me? Reggie Jackson in BASEketball? The guy who said “I MUST KILL THE QUEEN” in the classic comedy The Naked Gun, and you mention his appearance in fucking BASEketball?
Hey, sorry. There isn’t a single clip of that scene anywhere on the internet. But the whole interaction with “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker is pretty funny. Think of it as a consolation prize.