When Matt Hasselbeck signed on with the Colts to back up Andrew Luck he probably didn't anticipate starting much. But here is, at the spry age of 40, starting Sunday against the Jaguars with Andrew Luck missing the game with a shoulder injury.
It's either inconceivable or depressing or inconceivably depressing just how old Hasselbeck is, depending on your own age.
Here are 10 facts to illustrate just how elderly he is.
1. Party like it's 1998: Hasselbeck was drafted in the same draft class as former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Except he was taken 186 picks after Manning went No. 1 to the Colts.
2. Luke, Matt is your father: Episode VII of Star Wars will be released in December 2015. Hasselbeck was born three years before the first Star Wars debuted in theaters. For more tangible technological evidence about Hasselbeck's age: He was born before Apple was founded.
3. We want the ball ...: Two years before Aaron Rodgers was even on the Packers roster, Hasselbeck stepped into Lambeau as a member of the Seahawks, took Green Bay to overtime and then uttered the infamous line "We want the ball and we're going to score."
It did not work out well.
4. Driver's permit: Hasselbeck and his wife had their third child the same year (2005) Luck was legally able to drive.
5. The ABA existed when Hasselbeck was born: The ABA, or American Basketball Association for you darn kids, was the AFL to the NBA's NFL. When Hasselbeck was born it still existed. On the day he was born the Denver Nuggets and New York Nets (yes, New York) applied to join the NBA.
6. Flying across the Atlantic: The same month Hasselbeck was born, the Concorde became the first plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean four times in the same day. Meanwhile there is an NFL game being played in London on the day he's making his first start with the Colts.
7. John Travolta's debut: The year that Hasselbeck was born was the debut of Welcome Back, Kotter, which is where the world found out about John Travolta, who you may remember from such hits as Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction and Broken Arrow.
There are kids who only know Travolta as "that creepy face toucher from the awards shows."
8. '98 Packers: The year Hasselbeck was drafted by Green Bay, the head coach was Mike Holmgren. On that coaching staff? Andy Reid and Mike Sherman. In the front office? Ron Wolf, Ted Thompson, Reggie McKenzie and John Dorsey (one Hall of Fame GM, three current GMs). Holmgren would leave for Seattle in 1999, but there were still some big names on the staff for Hasselbeck's rookie season. Mike McCarthy was his first quarterbacks coach.
9. TD-start ratio: Hasselbeck has more career starts (152) than Andrew Luck has career touchdown passes (91). Hasselbeck has been sacked for more yards (2,159) in his career than Luck has career completions (1,929).
10. His teammates probably don't remember seeing his rookie season: Colts rookie wide receiver Phillip Dorsett and T.Y. Hilton were probably too young.
Colts WR Phillip Dorsett was 6 years old when Matt Hasselbeck first put on an @NFLuniform. T.Y. Hilton was 9.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) October 4, 2015
