"The way Joe Montana sees it, his records aren't what made him. He never established benchmarks in high school in Monongahela, Pa., or in college at Notre Dame.

It was only when he emerged as an icon with the 49ers that the quarterback began to pencil his name into the history books. He valued team goals more, anyway.

But now that the NFL may want to use an eraser, Montana isn't sentimental.

"Eventually, everything will be broken," Montana said yesterday on radio row in the media center for Super Bowl XLVI. "Who would've thought anybody would've broken Danny (Marino's yardage) record that lasted for 30 years? They're all there for a reason.""