Properly, that was shut.
On the threat of dropping readership, I’m gonna allow you to all in on a secret: Born and raised in Rhode Island for the primary 18 years of my life, I’m an all-out unabashed Patriots fan.
Why does this matter, particularly because the Pats have taken the previous three seasons to leap Dukes of Hazzard-style off a cliff into the pit of irrelevance? As a result of on Sunday evening, although I had no true horse within the race, I and each different sports-loving fan in New England had one thing way more valuable at stake in Tremendous Bowl LIX: the legacy of each Masshole’s god-among-men, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.
Within the weeks main as much as the sport, the GOAT (Biggest of All Time, yeah, I’ll say it) was assaulted on all fronts by media pundits who mouthed off that he was destined to be dethroned by a sure Patrick Mahomes III. Part of me will get it; a three-peat Tremendous Bowl run had by no means been completed earlier than, and if the Chiefs had come out on prime in opposition to the Eagles, even I’d have entertained (learn: listened to with out rolling my eyes greater than twice) that dialog.
However that didn’t occur. So now I get to jot down this column.
My day by day doom scrolls on my cellphone earlier than the sport have been crammed with memes evaluating the stats of the 2 quarterbacks, making an attempt to show that Mahomes had already surpassed Brady’s accomplishments.
Two issues about this. One, in an period the place superior monitoring metrics can virtually let you know what number of instances every participant farts throughout a recreation, I might discover some obscure statistic that, if taken out of context, would make a benchwarming scrub appear “higher” than a Corridor of Fame-caliber participant. Is that what’s occurring right here? Completely not, and I’m NOT disrespecting Mahomes’ otherworldly accomplishments to this point in his profession. However stats don’t inform the entire story.
Two, what’s virtually universally revered about Brady’s profession is the longevity and consistency of it. The dude received his final 4 Tremendous Bowls on the ages of 37, 39, 41 and 43. In 23 seasons, he made it to the massive recreation 10 instances. Which means, over the whole thing of his profession, Brady was extra more likely to make it to the Tremendous Bowl (43.5% of the time) than NBA celebrity Steph Curry is to make a single 3-point shot (42.4%). (Keep in mind what I stated about random stats?)
In these 10 Tremendous Bowls, he amassed a report of 7-3. Which means he had a greater profession win share IN THE SUPER BOWL than … look forward to it … each single NFL workforce’s all-time win share. And it’s not even shut.
(*Be aware to self: Return and erase what you wrote earlier than about out-of-context stats. These items are nice.)
To be clear, as soon as once more: Mahomes is a fully unbelievable quarterback, and as a lot as I hate to say it, he 100% has a shot of occurring to dethrone the co-author of the New England Dynasty.
My buddies have been variety sufficient to remind me that, as I watched the sport hoping Philadelphia would pull out the win as a result of I used to be uninterested in seeing Kansas Metropolis-colored confetti, I ought to in all probability shut my mouth – seeing as that is EXACTLY how folks felt watching the Pats for 20 years.
All I’m saying is, can we put a lid on the GOAT discuss till this child safely exits his 20s?
I’m a runner, not a soccer participant, so I can’t even converse to the bodily facet of the game, however I do know this: you possibly can eat all of the avocado ice cream and get as many bizarre oiled-up muscle therapies out of your “guru” as you need, however getting pile-driven into the core of the earth by 300-pound monsters effectively into your fifth decade of life doesn’t sound like an excellent time. So to do this, rise up, shrug it off, and go shove a Lombardi Trophy of their faces as you proceed to blow groups’ doorways off in your 40s takes one thing particular.
In Brady’s case, his accomplishments are the reverse of the norm: Folks are inclined to credit score his defenses for carrying him in his youthful, extra spry years, whereas his performances in his late 30s and 40s are considered the driving power behind New England’s championship wins. (And Tampa Bay’s, however we don’t discuss that.)
Am I saying Mahomes has to play that lengthy to even up the dialog? No, completely not. The look I noticed on his face after the sport terrifies me, as a result of I’ve seen it earlier than on a pissed-off Brady bent on revenge, and I do know the NFL is about to get all the things he can throw at them subsequent yr. If Mahomes and coach Andy Reid can preserve their consistency up, whilst a rapidly-evolving recreation throws adjustments at them yearly, their dynasty could possibly be each bit as monumental as New England’s.
I assume it’s a product of clip-worthy debates excellent for social media, however I don’t know the place this latest obsession with crowning all-time greats within the early run of their careers got here from.
For all I do know, we could possibly be staring down one other three-peat earlier than Mahomes hits 35. However that day isn’t at this time, and for now (*wipes sweat off forehead*) the GOAT continues to be the GOAT.