Well this ought to be a wild ride. Wasn't Namath ordered to divest himself of Bachelor's III because of gamblers/low lifes? From Ladson:
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Harper doesn't plan to make any adjustments off the field. Known to speak his mind on Twitter, Harper plans to be himself. Harper is a sports history buff, and he would like to live his life the way Jets quarterback Joe Namath did during his heyday in the 1960s and early '70s. Namath was known to be flamboyant off the field, but backed it up by having a Hall of Fame career.

"I'm going to be my own person. There are a lot of professional athletes back in the old days that did what they wanted to do. That's how I'm going to be," Harper said. "I'm going to prove myself on the field, so I can be that kind of guy off the field. I'm not a clown off the field. I just say things ... I speak my mind and I think that's good. If I speak my mind and people know the real me, then they are going to like me more. I'm not a liar. I say things I want to say. That's how it is, I guess.

"A football player I can name is Joe Namath. ... He had that city life and everything like that, but he was one of the best quarterbacks to play the game. I can't say I'm like Joe Namath. ... He went out, he played, but he had fun. He had a night life, he had his own place, I think it was called Bachelors III. He had his own thing that he wanted to do. ... He was in the style, he did all those commercials, things like that. He loved it. I think that's huge. That's one side of me that I like. I'm not your typical, 'Hey, I'm going to be Johnny Good.' You are a baseball player. ... I'm going to have fun off the field, too."
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Let's go Nationals!

Is he going to wear panty hose?

"A football player I can name is Joe Namath. ... He had that city life and everything like that, but he was one of the best quarterbacks to play the game. "

They say Harper is a student of baseball history. May be. But he sure ain't no student of football history.

>>They say Harper is a student of baseball history. May be. But he sure ain't no student of football history.<<
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It also goes without saying that he hasn't had an MLB at bat either.
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Let's go Nationals!

Heaven help us, Natsfans.

Breathe in.....breathe out. Breathe in....breathe out.

He and Andray Blatche will have a great time together if Blatche is still in DC by the time Harper gets here.

Yeah, heaven help us.. We have the best prospect in the game on our side. Heaven help us.

He's 19, and wants to have fun off the field. What is this world coming to???

It's another matter if his off the field behavior gets in the way of his career, but he's shown no indication that this will happen. Everyone needs to give the KID a break.

Is he going to wear panty hose? '

have sex with Ann Margret?

for the answers to these and other questions only time will tell!

But please Nats Management, keep him as far away from Mr. Blatche as possible

Baseball and tail. Only two things a 19yo baseball star knows.

Sure, he's only 19 and he wants to have fun. But I do want to give the kid a little advise. Lose the burns and stache. You look like a 70's adult film star. With a look like that I bet his walk up music will have a guitar and a wawa pedel.

"He's 19, and wants to have fun off the field. What is this world coming to??? It's another matter if his off the field behavior gets in the way of his career, but he's shown no indication that this will happen"

Let him have all the fun and bang all the chicks he wants, fine with me, and I expect that he is going to stay out of trouble off the field. Those aren't the issues.

The problem is that so many people, including himself, are already reserving a spot for him in Cooperstown and he hasn't had a single major league at bat. I understand why people are annoyed at that. There is no guarantee that he is going to be a big star let alone a hall of famer. Baseball history is littered with prospects who were phenomenal until they reached the majors and realized they had reached their level of incompetence, and there is no guarantee it won't happen to him. So when he compares himself to Joe Namath, all we're suggesting is, have a bit of humility until you prove that you are worthy of that comparison.

He said, "I can't say I'm like Joe Namath". I think he just wanted to point out a famous athlete who had the style he admires. Everything else he said in the article seems like he is humble enough.

"So when he compares himself to Joe Namath, all we're suggesting is, have a bit of humility until you prove that you are worthy of that comparison."

Yeah that's true.. I would PREFER for him to act like that, and I'm honestly sticking up for him solely because he's the best prospect on my favorite team. When Strasburg came up he was as humble as it gets, which was nice. That's just their personality's though. Harper's a cocky kid, but hasn't said or fdone anything "offensive" yet. i actually kind of like his attitude and openness, but of couurse i want him warrant it on the field.

I think Harper was comparing his attitude and (future) life style to Namath, not accomplishments or talent. In all honesty he'd probably compare himself to Mickey Mantle! (who was much more accomplished than Namath). Namath is over rated. His completion percentage was 50.1%... Rex Grossman's is higher for Christ's sake!

Harper wants to bang hot chicks, be in nike ads, become a star etc. but he's a smart enough kid to know that in order to do so (not so much the banging of chicks) baseball has to be his first priority, and I think it is.

It's not like he hasn't given everyone reason to think maybe he is going off the deep end.

He says things he should know better than to say but does so anyway

Some guys -- Namath was one, Reggie was another -- put down that marker and then deliver. Most don't. Rex Ryan, any one? Ryan Leaf? It's ok if he can come through but he makes lots of people hope he fails. Mostly he's putting extra pressure on himself.

"Mostly he's putting extra pressure on himself."

Or extra motivation.

"Let him have all the fun and bang all the chicks he wants, fine with me, and I expect that he is going to stay out of trouble off the field. Those aren't the issue"

You do know he is a very religious member of the Latter Day Saints and is both a virgin and has never drank alcohol once in his life. Stop generalizing.

afternoon ya bum,

Well, I guess there ain't nothing wrong with a kid having heros ta look up to. I mean, even Payton Manning said that;" Dan Marino was his hero when he was growing up."

However, I can't wait until Young Harper gets put on a "Game Day" curfew by Davie and Rizzo after the first time he shows up late for practice or hung over. (BIG GRIN)

GO NATS IN 2012 !!!

gimmy

He might get in more trouble than just a curfew if he shows-up hungover. The first season he'll be legal to drink will be 2014. :)

Exactly. Some people can take it that way. Hope he's one of them.