Gordon: Super Bowl has all elements of Hollywood hit

Call him Joe Brrr.

Or Joe Cool. Jackpot Joey. Joey Franchise.

But if you don’t fancy any of those nicknames for the cigar- smoking, Cartier shades-wearing, dime-throwing 25-year-old superstar from Athens, Ohio, Joe Burrow has a simple suggestion.

“Just call me Joe,” he told reporters Monday during his first virtual press conference ahead of Super Bowl LVI. “Whatever anybody wants to call me is OK with me.”

How about “the best quarterback in the NFL?”

That unofficial title was vacated last week by Tom Brady, who announced his retirement nearly 20 years to the day after he claimed the first of his seven Lombardi Trophies by beating the very Rams franchise Burrow will play Sunday.

That title would also be befitting for Burrow should he beat the Los Angeles Rams, who, ironically enough, retired Brady with a victory over his Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC’s divisional round.

The script writes itself — in Los Angeles, nonetheless — for Burrow and his upstart Cincinnati Bengals, who remained irrelevant until he emerged from the bayou to resuscitate the lowly franchise from the doldrums of the AFC North.

Or for the Los Angeles Rams, who could spoil his coronation and ensure this particular Lombardi Trophy remains in SoFi Stadium for good with a victory in their homecoming 11 miles south of the Hollywood Hills.

Begging one question: Cincinnati, Los Angeles, ready for your close-up?

Pick your nickname

They’re all apropos for Burrow, the modern-day remix to a couple other famous Joes: Montana and Namath. He’s cool in crisis on the football field. Even cooler in the Cartiers while standing victorious on the postgame podium.

Let Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tell it, “if you look up ‘cool’ in the dictionary, there’s a picture of him in some Cartier shades,” Beckham, formerly of LSU like Burrow, told reporters Monday. “You can’t help but like this guy. He’s going to be one of the greats.”

All Burrow did in his first full year as Cincinnati’s starter was lead the NFL in completion percentage (70.4) while establishing single-season franchise records for passing yards (4,611), touchdowns (34) and passer rating (108.3). All while stationed behind an offensive line that surrendered a league-high 51 sacks in his 16 starts.

Plus another nine in the AFC divisional round against the Tennessee Titans.

Navigating through that was impressive enough. So was the come-from-behind victory he engineered in the AFC Championship game over the Kansas City Chiefs and their quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who could have solidified his claim as the NFL’s best signal-caller with a victory.

But now Burrow can separate himself from a class of superstar quarterbacks that includes Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert.

All he has to do is lead the Bengals by the NFL’s best roster.

Hollywood ending?

The Rams have more superstars than the Walk of Fame: Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Jalen Ramsey, Cooper Kupp and Beckham.

Even their coach, Sean McVay, resembles a leading man.

McVay helped aggressively assemble a roster led by the aforementioned All-Pros — plus quarterback Matthew Stafford, who brought 12 years of Motor City moxie to LaLa Land — by parting with draft picks to pursue great players in their prime.

A victory Sunday would validate that approach and do so much more for the franchise and its stars.

Like sheen Donald’s legacy as one of the greatest players in NFL history, exonerate Beckham and Stafford for shortcomings with previous franchises clearly rooted more in perception than reality and solidify Ramsey and Kupp as the best at their respective positions.

“We’re doing this for us. It’s a team effort. We all want this as bad as I want it,” Donald said Monday during a fan rally at SoFi Stadium. “We’re going to do this for L.A. We’re going to do this for this organization.”

Somebody is getting a Hollywood ending Sunday night.

Lights, camera, kickoff.

Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.