Joe Namath's time is a little before when my interest in American Football grew, and being over in Scotland that meant there wasn't that much for me to get interested in! However the news that Jake Gyllenhaal is set to play Joe Namath in a biographical film sounds like a great choice.

Namath is a man who is credited with a lot in his American Football career, and that's probably why he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and became a prime candidate for a film.

The story from Variety tells us the salient points of his career, should you not be familiar with the star.

Joe Namath was the first player to really achieve rock star status, and became known as Broadway Joe. Not only was he extremely talented on the pitch/field, but when it came to his private life he was just as well known for partying and his commercials.

He achieved a record salary at the Jets, US $400,000 (record at the time!), and helped take them to the Super Bowl III and win, bringing the AFL in equal footing with the NFL and helping to pave the way for a merger that brought the sport into the realm it's in today.

The film is going to be written by David Hollander, once the strike completes.

Frankly I'm surprised that we haven't seen more films about American Football. Friday Night Lights has been a great success and there are so many stars and stories to be told, there's a guaranteed audience in America.

Perhaps there have been loads of American Football films, it's just that they aren't big outside the U.S.? Well this one has the potential to be, as long as they think about that non-American Football audience when they're making it.