Tom Brady is a breath of fresh air
- Bryan Schaaf
- January 29, 2018
- 1452
If you know me personally or have taken time to read much of my stuff over the years, you probably know that football — at least the American rendition — is not really my cup of tea.
Don’t get me wrong. I respect the athletic ability it requires and the vision that must go into executing play patterns and specific coverages, but on the whole I see the game as far too slow, far too rules-heavy and far too reliant on its famed alumni to put on a headset and explain why things are relevant.
That being said, as any good liberal listens intently to Rush Limbaugh or any vegan closely monitors any grocery store’s meat department, I make it a priority to stay well informed on what’s happening around the National Football League. After all, if I’m going to be critical, I should at least be well-versed in my subject matter.
All this leads me to something that makes me want to pump my fist in celebration and shake my head in disappointment at society at the same time. That being: first, the continued success of the New England Patriots that smacks against all logic, and second, general disdain for Tom Brady by football superfans.
Let’s discuss. First, the Patriots.
A couple years ago I wrote a piece detailing how amazing the Cleveland Browns’ incredible stretch of futility has been since 1999, especially considering the National Football League prides itself on parity.
In fact I’d argue the league is rigged to assure continual performance progression and regression across all teams. That is, the worst teams are not only gifted the highest draft picks the following year, but they’re also given a weighted schedule so they’re assured to play easier teams. The best teams are given the exact opposite.
The fact that the Browns could be so consistently poor in a day and age where they’re given every opportunity to improve defies the odds and boggles the mind.
The same — albeit in a completely different context — can be said of the New England Patriots. Despite the NFL’s best efforts to assure the fall of its mightiest teams, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and company have continued to be excellent, no matter the schedule, no matter that they must assemble a team from a draft class that’s been picked over by every other team.
In short the Patriots are proof that brains are more important than brawn. Competency and planning and a willingness to play a specific role within a team matter more than 40-yard dash times.
Which leads me to Tom Brady. By any body metric the Patriots quarterback is nothing special. He’s not blessed with extraordinary agility or speed. He’s not physically domineering. If he’d line up amongst hundreds of other notable athletes, you’d probably not even notice his existence.
But Tom Brady excels because of what’s between his ears. That is: intelligence, solid judgement and an uncommon ability to persevere when most would give up. Add on to it the fact that he actually seems quite humble given all he’s accomplished, and I can’t help but like the guy.
These are traits that, as a society, we should value, especially in an era of participation ribbons and fragile egos.
Yet for some reason everyone outside of the great Northeast is rooting for Tom Brady to lose.
In a day and age where we are bombarded with Lavar Ball’s ridiculous claims about well, everything, LeBron James’ outward boasting of himself as the greatest of all time, and chest-beating high school and college athletes everywhere, the unassuming guy with more Super Bowl rings than fingers on one hand is a breath of fresh air to me.
This weekend I may actually sit down and watch the Super Bowl. And while I’ll have no real rooting interest, I won’t be disappointed if the team that’s succeeded in a league programmed to bring them down and their humble leader are lifting another trophy at the end of the night.