Rethinking Dreamboat

I love this time of year. The air is crisp and cool in the mornings. I can hear the local high school marching band beginning to practice. All signs that football season is right around the corner.

There's just one thing bothering me. Sure, all of my teams (Vols in college, Cowboys and Colts in NFL) are undefeated. The eternally optimistic homer in me is looking at depth charts and schedules and convincing myself, "Hey, THIS really could be the year!") Right now, everything's perfect. But once again Tom Brady had to go mess everything up.

For years I've loved tearing apart Tom Brady, or "Dreamboat" as I like to call him, because...well...there's really no good reason. I mean, if he played for MY team I would have a freakin' Tom Brady fathead in my living room. Well, until my wife made me take it down.

But she probably WOULDN'T make me take it down. Because girls LOVE them some Dreamboat.

And, really, what's not to love? The guy was drafted in the 6th round and has turned himself into the next Joe Montana. But I've always dissed him. BECAUSE he always seemed to beat my Colts. Because he's won 3 Super Bowl rings before he turned 30. Because he dates a supermodel. Because he has GQ looks and a head full of hair. All things I'll never have or do. All I had was to call him names and not respect what he was about.

But Brady just gave an interview in Esquire magazine that makes me actually really like the guy. Take this quote from the article, for example:

"Look at the attention I get: It's because I throw a football. But that's what society values. That's not what God values. God could (care less), as far as I'm concerned. He didn't invent the game. We did. I have some eye-hand coordination, and I can throw the ball. I don't think that matters to God."

He also talks about how much he respects Peyton and that one of his favorite books was The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, a favorite of mine.

The whole article really made me respect him a whole lot more. But I still hope the Patriots lose every game this year, no matter how unlikely that may be.