My Relationship with Tom Brady

I am a Colt’s fan. I have supported them for many years and during that time there has been one team that has been our biggest rival, the New England Patriots. The six losses in a row in the early part of last decade crushed me, and I wanted someone to pay. All of my rage and disappointment kept getting pressed down and as it got smaller it followed the laws of physics and it got denser. Soon I had this tiny compressed ball of anger, and it needed a place to go, a focus point to latch onto. I found my anchor in Tom Brady. 

Once I had made this decision I realized that for me to be happy I needed to see Tom Brady fail. He was a really easy target for my disdain. In every interview he complained about having been drafted in the 6th round. He was married to a Brazilian supermodel, he was in GQ magazine spreads and he was a sponsor for UGGS for men.

He was also in constant competition with my hero Peyton Manning. Everything Manning did Brady tried to do better. Manning threw 49 touchdowns in a season; Brady threw 50 the next year. Manning is very down to earth and beloved by millions. Everyone seems to be able to relate to him. Brady on the other hand is an elitist. I have to admit he has chiseled good looks, and it seems like he should be at a gallery opening or at a fashion show rather than on a football field.

Over the years my hate had built up to such an extent that the sweetest moment of 2008 was the play in which Tom Brady tore his ACL and would be out for the rest of the season. My birthday didn't make it as number one that year and neither did Christmas. It is hard for me to admit, but even the birth of my niece wasn't able to top the joy I felt at seeing a man I have never met get injured (okay fine the birth was better).

This hatred had so long been a part of me that I wasn't sure what to make of these new feelings that had been cropping up. Somehow Tom Brady had been chipping away at my defenses without me even knowing about it. I guess I had better explain what had been happening. Forever I thought of Tom Brady as an emotionless mannequin, or a robot with nice hair and a hot wife. I hated what I thought he stood for until I slowly began to realize that he actually does have feelings and a funny bone.

I would like to give you all a few examples of what started to change my mind.  The first took place in a pharmacy in Boston in early July. The shoppers were told that a promotion was going on and if you won a staring contest you would get a prize. As any good American knows we love to compete and we love free things so this was a no brainer. The customers however were not expecting that the person with whom they would be competing was none other than Tom Brady.

After seeing clips of this I was forced to admit that Tom Brady was in fact human. He blinked at times and he could laugh, and if they couldn't get Data emotions in the year 2364 there is no way we would have an android with them in our time. This first seed of doubt in my hatred didn't bother me too much and I was able to just toss it aside and pretend it never happened. What came next though sealed the deal.

Many of you have probably heard about the website Funny or Die. It takes a ton of celebrities and makes short films that people vote on and decide if it is funny or if it should die. I was innocently perusing this site when the next video popped up and it was one with Tom Brady. I figured it should be worth watching just to see Tom embarrass himself, but lo and behold the clip was actually quite entertaining.

I then found myself in a bind. I had been nurturing hate for Tom Brady for over a decade, and it felt like I was betraying myself by liking anything that he had done. To this day I still haven't fully figured out my feeling towards the man, but it is safe to say that the hate I once held for him has lost its edge. I am still not a Brady fan, but I don't desire to cause him harm either and that frightens me.

I am not sure if I am becoming mellow in my old age or if Tom Brady really has revamped his image. I always imagined myself as a crotchety old man, but I also never imagined for a moment that my hate for Tom Brady would diminish. So here I am, a man unsure of himself and his future. If my feelings for Tom Brady can change that means nothing in this world in concrete. Will I be a kind old man? Who knows? Will I always hate Argentina? Who knows? I assume so but I can't know for sure. I started this article in hopes to inspire people that things can change even if it seems impossible, but now I see that in truth this article might do the opposite and crush all hope of constants in our lives.

So to all of you out there be wary, you never know when someone might go through one of these changes so be careful when someone loves you.