Like they say: Be careful what you wish for
- Tom Rife: Livin' the Team
- January 28, 2021
- 845
“Wouldn’t it be something if … ?”
Those were some of the first words out of our collective pie holes back this summer when Tom Brady ended his storied relationship with the New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belicheck. TB12 told the world he was headed to Tampa Bay as Jameis Winston’s replacement at the Buccaneers’ quarterback position.
“Wouldn’t it be something if” Tom Terrific was able to lead the Bucs to Super Bowl LV? “Wouldn’t it be something if” Brady’s new team would be the first team in National Football League history to host a Super Bowl in its home stadium?
It all seemed like a pipe dream, didn’t it? How would a rode-hard workhorse 43 years old be able to deliver the league’s crown jewel to the city known more for nasty-smelling cigars and a big-league baseball team that actually plays its home games across the bay in St. Petersburg?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” No. 12 was able to lure No. 87 out of retirement? After all, tight end Rob Gronkowski had given up the gridiron rush to engage in such things as celebrity appearances in professional rasslin’, cheesy Tide laundry detergent TV commercials, and public-speaking engagements that pay staggering sums for a few minutes of pigskin memories, a few handshakes and a few selfies with Uncle Waldo, and various other hero worshippers?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” the “Gronk Spike” was resurrected in the endzone that features a giant cannon-firing pirate ship as its backdrop?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” the Patriots failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” Brady had to mow down the likes of Alex Smith, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers on back-to-back-to-back road trips in order to ”qualify” for what should be one of his biggest home games ever?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” the NFL’s greatest of all time had to face the young man who is now one of the brightest faces of the game’s future? Patrick Mahomes is the star every kid in the neighborhood longs to be. None of them were even born when Brady began his game of Truth or Dare with Father Time and an assault on the record books. Most of them weren’t even in middle school yet.
“Wouldn’t it be something if” Super Bowl organizers made a last-minute change prior to kickoff, subbing in Lady Gaga to sing the national anthem the way she did at President Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20? With all due respect, there’s no way Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan are going to be able to one-up Lady G’s pipes, billowing red skirt and oversized dove-of-peace gold pin.
“Wouldn’t it be something if” 22-year-old poet laureate Amanda Gorman followed Gaga with a captivating couplet capsulizing just what the Super Bowl means to America and the world? Jim “A Tradition Unlike Any Other” Nantz and Tony “I Predicted This In Week 12” Romo could mute their mics for the duration.
“Wouldn’t it be something if” all of us got the “Patrick Price” on our hair cuts?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” the Super Bowl LV game officials brushed up on the “targeting” rule prior to kickoff and worked to guarantee a controversy-free coin toss?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” Budweiser chose to give the Clydesdales a much-deserved Super Sunday off, opting instead to “reallocate the media investment” by partnering with the Ad Council and Covid Cooperative’s COVID-19 vaccine education initiative? Could be a real shot in the arm for vaccine awareness, right?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” Bernie Kosar was somehow included in the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” ground-breaking Chiefs coach Andy Reid wore a face mask that didn’t look like it was made out of a loosely fitting jock strap?
“Wouldn’t it be something if” the underdog Buccaneers won the game and MVP Brady announced he would return for another season?