MovieChat Forums > Tom Brady Discussion > Used to like him, but not any more...

Used to like him, but not any more...

posted 13 years ago by juviejay
9 replies | jump to latest

Sorry, I just have to get this off my chest.

I used to like Brady. I cheered when the Patriots won their first Superbowl. They were the underdogs. It was a great story. I even cheered when they won their second and third Superbowls. I happen to like dynasties, and I was impressed how they did it (by being smart).

But then something began to change. I'm not sure when it started, but it seemed like there was a change in him. I remember watching him screaming as he and his team beat the Steelers a year or two ago. And I was like, WTF? Didn't seem to suit him. I thought he was laid back, cool. Instead, he's acting like Bill Romanowski. He's said that Joe Montana is his idol. I can't imagine Joe doing anything like that.

Again this week, as he was throwing interceptions to the Giants (and losing), he was screaming again. A little more undestandable, but uncharacteristic.

It's like he's lost his good fortune or something, like the gods are no longer smiling upon him.

They had a perfect season, but failed to close the deal in the Superbowl. There was the cheating allegations. The addition of Moss (a real creep) and then the whole fiasco with him (my friends told me) leaving his pregnant fiancee for a supermodel.

I can't imagine Joe doing anything like that, either.

Then there was the deal with the long hair. What was that? Thankfully, he cut it, but he looked like such a punk for a while.

Brady's a great quarterback, one of the best ever, but lately he bothers me, and I no longer root for him.

[–] juviejay 13 years ago

"I'm not a Packers' fan. But I would like to see Aaron Rodgers (who led my alma mater to a 10-2 record in 2004 and would've led them to the Rose Bowl except that Texas coach Mack Brown whined to the voters that his team deserved to be ranked higher) be the first QB to have a 19-0 season."

Hey, we agree on something.

I don't know, maybe you are right about the Pats. But spygate seems to have faded. Despite what Shula said (I think his comments made were before the Super Bowl against the Giants) and what Strahan and Harris said, most commentators hardly mention it anymore. More likely you here about how great the Pats and Brady and Belicheck are. And I kinda think that Shula was just trying to defend his legacy as the only undefeated coach. Kinda like how Hank Aaron is the main complainer about steroid use by Bonds and others.

Also, I seem to remember some players griping about how the 49ers' linemen used to leg whip (an illegal move) while they were building their dynasty. Also, wasn't Debartello forced out as team owner? What was that all about? So, I wouldn't say no one has questioned that legacy.

Al Davis used to complain that Pittsburgh would deliberatly leave the sidelines icy on Three Rivers' Stadium so that Cliff Branch wouldn't be able to go deep. And the Immaculate Reception (which didn't lead to a Super Bowl) wasn't a legal play. The refs were too scared to rule against the Steelers (and their fans) so they gave Pittsburgh the win.

Brett Favre used to have trouble with the crown in Cowboy Stadium. Mike Holmgren complained that the Vikings would deliberately blast sound onto his side of the field at the Metrodome to make it tough for him to call plays.

There's all kinds of things teams and individual players do to try to gain advantage. One of Lombardi's Packers once claimed that Dick Butkis was spitting on the ball during a game. Lestor Hayes used to use stick 'em to help intercept the ball. Earl Campbell had a tear away jersey so it was harder for defenders to tackle him. Deacon Jones used to slap offensive linemen in the head in order to get to the quarterback. Are these instances of cheating? Should these teams' and players' legacies be tarnished?

Maybe none of these intances rises to the level of taping another team's practices, but as you say, in a game where one or two plays can be the difference between victory and loss, how do we know that these plays didn't make the crucial difference?

Anyway, you make a strong case that spygate helped the Pats, but I hope you will also consider the other side. Brady did just carve up the vaunted Jets defense.