MVP gets his motor running
Edelman takes victory tour to Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Julian Edelman has been running at full throttle since he took the field in Super Bowl LIII.
And so it was fitting that he waved the green flag here Sunday to unleash the fury of 40 NASCAR racing machines and a combined 32,000 horsepower to start the Daytona 500.
Oh, by the way, the beard is back.
Before the race — billed as “NASCAR’s Super Bowl” — the Patriots wide receiver and reigning Super Bowl MVP held his calm, California tone, his easy demeanor and quiet confidence in an interview with the Herald and at a prerace press conference.
Edelman is well versed in the envy and enmity that comes with success in Foxboro.
Less than 12 hours after he copped Super Bowl MVP honors, multiple national media scribes lambasted the NFL for allowing someone who had served a PED suspension to return in time to win a Super Bowl in the same season.
“I’ve moved on. It’s 2019. Let’s be serious here. There’s always going to be hate out there,” Edelman told me. “If you go find something, you can go find it … if you choose to do that. I choose to kind of enjoy time with my friends and my family and worry about things I can control. That’s what I think about those things.”
He again refused to share any details about his suspension.
“I don’t even need to address it, so obviously we looked into everything, and we moved forward, and we’re worried about nothing right now, because we don’t have anything going,” Edelman said when I asked him how he plans to make sure he avoids another suspension. He will “start winding down” in a few weeks to let his body relax and rest. “Ultimately after the ACL I’ve been going probably 18, 19 straight months of just straight conditioning to try to get your legs back to where it was.”
The grind returns. “We’ll get into how we’re going to evolve and change your skill-set, and not change it, but you always have to bring something new to the table every year. Polish the fundamentals that you do well, and work on the things that you think you can do better.”
Edelman remains noncommittal as to whether or not he will sell his beard for charity again.
“Coach always says put everything in the drawer and worry about it after football season. So, I put my razor in the drawer (this year). We’ll worry about it (again) after football season.”
Edelman went 609 days without playing between Super Bowl LI and Week 5 of the 2018 season because of his torn ACL and his subsequent suspension. Still, his focus never wavered.
“That last game, the Super Bowl, that’s what kept me going,” he told me. “That’s why you go out. That’s why you compete. That’s what you gear up everything for, and we were able to get it done this year, and that’s awesome.”
The past 15 days for Edelman have been every football player’s dream. His magical history tour began atop the winner’s podium inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. He then dueled with Tom Brady using light sabers at Disney World. He absorbed the adoration of 1.5 million fans in a duck boat parade through downtown Boston. He had his beard shaved on “The Ellen Show” to raise money for the Boston Boys & Girls Clubs. He and Devin McCourty presented a Grammy to Lady Gaga.
Sunday, it was sun and fun at Daytona International Speedway.
“I honestly still haven’t really just sat down. I’ve been running around and doing lots of things,” Edelman said.
By the way, Denny Hamlin won the race.
His car is No. 11. Edelman’s magic touch continues.