Epic end to the saga
Goodell gets boos, No. 12 gets No. 5
HOUSTON — So you’re a Patriots fan, which means the last frantic moments of Super Bowl LI last night at NRG Stadium turned your insides into mush. You were pulling your hair, pacing the room, climbing the walls, falling to the floor . . . writhing.
Which, when you get right down to it, is exactly what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was going through.
For nobody could have predicted that Super Bowl LI would turn into an epic overtime showdown. Nobody would have predicted it when the determined Atlanta Falcons pushed the Patriots all over the field as they fattened their lead to 28-3.
And yet the Patriots’ 34-28 victory ended this way: After scratching and crawling to tie the game in the last seconds, the entire world staggered into overtime and then let loose with a collective “Oh. My. God.” when James White muscled his way into the end zone to secure the Patriots’ fifth Lombardi Trophy.
But it was Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady who carried the team up the field, who atoned for a horrible first-half pick-6 by getting the Pats deep into Atlanta territory on that season-saving, game-tying drive. Who displayed that time-honored, cool-as-a-cucumber composure, the hallmark of his Hall of Fame career.
In other words, and there’s no other way to say this, Tom Brady made the Patriots great again.
And Tom Brady got his Deflategate revenge.
Now he’ll never tell you that. Never even give you a wink or a nod, or a set of expensively-plucked raised eyebrows to covey that revenge was the main course on the postgame buffet last night.
When Brady, Bill Belichick and the Krafts stepped up to the stage to collect all the shiny Super Bowl hardware, it had to be the most awkward moment of Roger Goodell’s life. The commish talked and talked and talked, only it was a challenge to hear him over the boos that rained from every corner of NRG Stadium. (Why didn’t Goodell’s toadies screen those boos? Very sad!)
But when Kraft spoke, you could hear his heart ticking.
“Two years ago, we won our fourth Super Bowl down in Arizona. I told our fans that was the sweetest one of all, but a lot has transpired during the last two years,” said the Papa Bear of Foxboro. “And I don’t think that needs any explanation.” Wink. Nod. Expensively plucked (even more so) raised eyebrows.
Brady and Goodell shook hands. It was pleasant, formal. They could have been at an insurance convention. Even when Brady collected his MVP Trophy, it was cotton candy.
“Thanks to everyone back in Boston,” he said gushingly. “You’ve been with us all year. We’re bringing this sucker home.”
A little while later, in a packed conference room under the stands, Brady was asked if he’d be willing to echo some of Kraft’s comments. He said he did not know what they were.
“Just happy to be a part of it,” he said. “It’s a great group of coaches and teammates and we overcame a lot of different things and it’s all worth it.”
Overcame a lot of different things. That was about as close as Brady was willing to go . . . there. When asked again about what Kraft had said about that, you know, thing that needs no explanation?
“We’ve done pretty well over the past few years. We were in the AFC championship last year and won the Super Bowl two years ago, so I don’t think anyone’s feeling bad for the Patriots.”
It should be noted that during this press conference, an older member of the media, seated in the front just a few feet from Brady, appeared to struggle getting his question across. What makes this relevant to the discussion is that Brady strained to hear the question, then stepped away from the podium, put his left hand on his knee and leaned forward as far as he could in order to hear what was being asked.
So we have this one guy, Brady, who gave that man some extra time. And we have this other guy, Goodell, who won’t give you the time of day.
That’s how Deflategate ended. It ended with the overreaching Goodell getting booed out of NRG Stadium. It ended with the overreaching Brady leaning in to listen to some old fella’s question.
And now it’s on to the White House.
Robert Kraft gets to kid the president about asking Putin to get his old Super Bowl ring back. Bill Belichick gets to take out his quill and write a special letter just for the occasion. And Tom Brady has earned the right to dust off his “Make America Great Again” cap and wave it at the assembled masses from the South Portico.
Tom Brady made the Patriots Great Again.
Man, did he ever.