Brady’s defenses drop like confetti after big victory
Emotional moment hits hard
There was a moment at the end of Super Bowl LI that stopped me in my tracks, or to be more accurate, nailed me to my sofa.
It wasn’t Julian Edelman’s circus catch, sandwiched between three Atlanta Falcons. Nor was it Dont’a Hightower’s strip sack of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, or even James White’s torpedo-like scamper to the end zone to win the game in overtime.
In the middle of the postgame confetti blizzard the cameras found the Patriots’ version of Zeus, quarterback Tom Brady, doubled over on his knees, consumed by waves of emotion.
The crowd surrounding football’s greatest quarterback looked weirdly reverential, more interested in giving Brady a little space and solitude in the middle of a very wild celebration.
Then, almost like an anxious father who’s learned that his son’s been hurt, Pats coach Bill Belichick pushed his way through the crowd and dropped to his knees to embrace Brady, like a son rather than a superstar. They both appeared to be crying.
I’m guessing the whole scene unfolded in less than half a minute, but the emotion I saw from these two supremely unemotional guys left me speechless.
The deadpan, postgame line that has come to define a typical Bill Belichick postgame press encounters is, of course, “We’re on to Cincinnati.” Bill doesn’t give you much more than that.
And for all his heroics, Tom Brady isn’t much better. Robotic is the word that could be applied to both the genius coach and his franchise player who preside over a very well oiled machine.
But on Sunday night, when both the genius coach and his franchise player hugged each other while down on their knees, we got a peek at the costs of attempting to be that perfect.
For two years, Tom Brady shuttled in and out of a New York courtroom, dealing with the charge that he cheated by throwing deflated footballs.
In the course of that soap opera, Brady’s mother, Galynn, was battling a serious illness. Last week, during media interviews prior to the Super Bowl, we got a glimpse of what Brady and his family have been quietly going through off the field.
On Sunday night, when the beaming woman with the bandana on her head proudly embraced her son on the victors’ platform, the rest of us were given a heartfelt glimpse of the much deeper personal drama behind the scenes.
It was a clear that winning his fifth Super Bowl in spectacular fashion was not all that brought Tom Brady to his knees Sunday night.
Perhaps it was just a moment when the perfect quarterback and the perfect coach allowed their controlled exteriors to crack so the rest of us armchair players could see what it takes to be perfect.
We may have to wait until next February, when Tom and Bill win their sixth Super Bowl to savor such an unguarded Patriots moment again.