It was a few days and I still have not come that close to figuring out how the Falcons gagged a 25 point lead with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter to Brady and the Patriots. It made no sense to me. Teams were 93-0 when leading by 19 points heading into the 4th quarter. So closing out New England should of been guaranteed. But then something happened. Something that I knew was impossible but happened anyways; New England destroyed Atlanta. But how did this happen? Can you point to Atlanta’s defense being on the field for double the amount of snaps than the Falcons defense? Can you look at Matt Ryan’s decision making or Dan Quinn’s and Kyle Shanahan’s inexplicable ability to not dial up a running play more than 4 times after the score was 28-12? Can you even look at individual plays such as Devante Freeman’s missed blocking assignment leading to Ryan fumbling or Julian Edelman’s remarkable catch? Absolutely on all counts. But then it hit me. The reason Tom Brady was able to storm back and win when every statistic, and every piece of logic said otherwise and why the Patriots can win 5 super bowls in an era when free agency does everything it could to make sure that doesn’t happen is that society’s importance on sports and fame in this country has made Brady keep to good of care of himself.
Ya know, there once was a time in this country where athletes had to work other jobs besides being a professional athlete. Some will say those were better times. Some others will say that’s when America was great. But then as time moved forward, people started coming to the conclusion that being famous was the greatest thing in the world and if you are famous than you deserve the wealthiest most envious life possible. Many people today say that cops, firefighters and teachers deserve big time money because they do more for the world and all though I am one of those professions and I’d be all about being handsomely compensated like an entertainer or athlete, I don’t see many people clamoring for a competitive league for those types of professions. All though, a competitive fire fighting league would be pretty cool. Each arena would have two burning buildings and the first to put it out, get everyone out safely with the lowest amount of smoke inhalation levels win. It’s a rough idea that needs more work but there’s something there. Look at today’s society. People get famous for some of the most Ludacris things and find other crazy ways to stay on top. Society’s thirst for famous people is at an all time high and it appears that it has no stop in sight.
With other dynasties in football such as the Steelers, Packers and 49ers there wasn’t free agency to deal with so players just stayed on one team and that was the end of it. Then free agency occurred in 1993 letting players go to the highest bidder thus making it much more difficult to for teams to hold on to so many top players. Dynasties were thought to be done. But then Mo Lewis decided to knock Drew Bledsoe all the way to Jupiter and was replaced by a man named Brady. A man who took average rostered offense after average rostered offense to winning super bowls. Then Brady kept getting more and more paid to perform. And he kept winning titles. Let’s not forget Tom’s age. He’s 39 and is playing like he’s 25. This is where society’s lust for entertainment comes in. The amount of pressure for Brady to stay on top has forced him to have a maddening diet where he doesn’t eat fruit, salt, white sugar and flour, caffeine and dairy products. Essentially he only eats raw meat and drinks pure diamonds. Like a model who knows she has to stay in peak shape to stay in the runway game or else be leaped by some new up and comer with a tighter body, Brady knows that he has to cheat age every year like Mr. Burns cheats death each week. I’m guessing when he isn’t watching film that he just meditates in of those hyperbaric chambers while receiving acupuncture. Going at the rate he is, I’d expect Brady to play well into his 50s adding around 4 more titles. They say Father Time is undefeated but since Tom has no problem eradicating impossible odds, he should make quick work of that geriatric punk.
If you’re still wondering who’s responsible for what happened on Sunday go ahead and grab a mirror and take responsibility for what you did.
PS- That last line I envisioned myself saying it as my parting shot on the Sports Reporters
PPS- God rest the soul of the show that was the Sports Reporters. The OG of the hot takes game