Edelman’s heroics catch attention of Jewish fans
It isn’t every day a football player with Jewish roots becomes a Super Bowl hero, which is why Jewish fans all over the world are still buzzing over Julian Edelman’s spectacular fourth-quarter catch that kept the New England Patriots’ tying drive alive late Sunday night.
The Patriots trailed 28-20 with 2:20 remaining in regulation and quarterback Tom Brady threw a deep pass that fell toward to ground, but Edelman dove with his arms outstretched and managed to get his hand under the ball as a pile of Falcons landed on him. The pass was ruled good for a 23-yard gain and put the ball at the Atlanta 41.
New England scored on the drive, completed a two-point conversion and went on to win 34-28 in overtime in the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.
The catch, compared to the New York Giants’ David Tyree’s helmet catch in Super Bowl 42, immediately went viral on social media. Jewish publications all around the world jumped on the story.
“Jewish NFL Star Edelman Saves Super Bowl With Miraculous Catch” read the headline on the Breaking Israel News website.
The Forward, a New York City-based Jewish newspaper, wrote: “Patriots Star Julian Edelman’s 5 Most Jewish Moments – and One Great Super Bowl Catch!”
Among the moments, a nine-day trip to Israel in 2015 to explore his Jewish heritage, a Happy Passover Tweet he posted last year and a photo of him in a cap decorated with pins of the US and Israeli flags.
Organized by Boston-based Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the 2015 trip to Israel with 12 other young adults from Boston included stops of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem; the gravesite of Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl; and a visit to the Western Wall, where Edelman wandered away from the group and said a prayer.
“He approached a rabbi who helped him with it,” said Dan Seligson, the CJP staff member who led the tour. “It was just something he decided to do. We didn’t take him there to do it. He was inspired to do it.”
Seligson said the 30-year-old Edelman was also fascinated by the street art in Tel Aviv’s hip Florentin neighborhood, particularly images depicting the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
“I remember he asked about the effect of the assassination on the psyche of young people,” Seligson said.
Edelman’s father, Frank, is Jewish. His mother, Angela, is not, and he was not raised Jewish. But he has become more interested in this Jewish ancestry in recent years, according to several reports, including one last week in the Boston Globe.
Today Edelman, who once said in an ESPN interview that he considers himself “Jew-ish,” appears sincere about his faith. In texts to his Jewish friends, he’ll often type “Achi” (the Hebrew word for “my brother,” “a bro”), he attends Shabbat dinners, and he sometimes wears an Israeli and American flag pin on his hat on the sidelines.
He is an unlikely Super Bowl star, considering he was picked in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft out of Kent State, the 232nd pick overall.
On the American Jewish Historical Society list of the 10 best Jewish football players, Edelman is ranked fourth behind Hall of Famers Sid Luckman, Ron Mix and Benny Friedman. Luckman led the Chicago Bears to four NFL championships between 1940 and 1946.
(Miami Herald/TNS)
Thousands throng to Pats’ parade
Meanwhile, New England Patriots fans were cold, wet and elated Tuesday to be celebrating another Super Bowl title.
Thousands crammed shoulder-to-shoulder to see the procession of duck boats with the Patriots on board make its way across town during a raucous victory parade.
“Rain or shine, we were coming,” said Joanna Page of Manchester, New Hampsire, who drove down with two friends two days after New England’s thrilling comeback and overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
It was the fifth title for the Patriots in 15 years, and perhaps the most special for New England fans and players, with the miraculous rally it took to pull off the improbable victory. The comeback was still fresh on many fans’ minds, as was the challenge the Patriots faced at the beginning of the season with star quarterback Brady sitting out a four-game suspension handed down by the NFL in response to the “Deflategate” controversy of two years before.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell prevailed in the disciplinary battle, but it was Brady and his teammates who won the ultimate satisfaction of seeing Goodell hand over the Lombardi Trophy to team owner Robert Kraft.
Security was high for the parade with sand-filled dump trucks blocking key intersections off the route to prohibit a vehicle-mounted attack. Boston has ratcheted up security at public events since the deadly 2013 bombing attack on the Boston Marathon.
Fans along the parade route and on Boston Common carried signs mocking Goodell, and savored the moment.
Fans found it a thrill to be so close to Brady and see how excited he was in his fifth championship parade. Even cantankerous coach Bill Belichik could be seen smiling along the parade route and again during a brief rally at City Hall. Brady also took a moment to thank the fans for turning out and for their support throughout a tumultuous season.
The players were clearly enjoying the moment, too, tossing back footballs that fans had thrown their way, along with a beverage or two.
The snow had stopped by the time the parade passed Boston Common, which by the end was a soggy mess from all the foot traffic near Tremont Street. Fans trudged through the mud afterward, talking about seeing the trophies, players they recognized and who returned waves from the duck boats.
There were also more than a few references to a sixth Super Bowl title next season, but most of the focus Tuesday was on No. 5 and what it took to bring home the trophy again.
Fan Andy Tupaj took the train down from Billerica, Mass., with his son A.J., who is not quite 2 and watched the parade from his stroller.
Tupaj said he was feeling a little guilty for almost losing hope Sunday night. He said the comeback was what he will remember most and hopes the title will put an end to two years of “Deflategate” controversy.
“The main thing is it’s over now. We can stop talking about it,” he said. “It’s sort of the punctuation mark at the end.”