The year 2020 won’t be remembered for anything good, so let’s throw some more negativity on this dumpster fire: this will be the year we finally learn who non-New England America hates more, Tom Brady or Bill Belichick.
The guess here: Brady, and it’ll build by the week.
Now, from a national media perspective, the more hated of the two will be whomever most threatens The Anointed One, aka Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. That cringeworthy crowning begins Thursday night when the new NFL season kicks off, and it’ll feel like Mahomes has won five Lombardi trophies by game’s end when the commentators are done with him.
But while some TV talking heads will tear down Brady this year to make Mahomes appear taller, others will pump Tampa Bay’s tires in hopes of getting a Mahomes vs. Brady Super Bowl. So, I’m predicting the national media cancels itself out with their war of influence.
This national battle of distaste between the now-separated Brady and Belichick will come down to how rival NFL fans feel about Tom and Bill.
In my hometown of Pittsburgh, some recent anecdotal research of mine shows that Steelers fans hate Brady more, and it’s not close. Probably because The Golden Boy personally trashed Dick LeBeau’s legacy (and others) with win, after win, after surgical win against the Steelers over the past twenty years. He’s the face of the pain.
And despite the Belichick cheating scandals and sourpuss demeanor which marr his rep, it’s hard to find anyone anywhere that won’t declare that The Hoodie is just a damn good coach. Obsessed, yes. But a great coach.
In fact, that’s pretty much all he is, and my guess is it’s easier to swallow for many rival fans.
TB12, on the other hand, is far from just a quarterback. He’s now a bad off-field combination of corporation and internet influencer, and IMO he continues to sink on the social media likeability meter with every day that passes.
Just this week he annoyed me there again with an ad for Danish eyewear. I don’t fault anyone for making a buck, but did Brady have to caption his IG ad post for it with, “I frequently get asked what I’ll do once I’m done playing in 20 years… I’ve thought about architecture, acting or cooking…?” That was the final straw on the hate haytack Brady has been building in my brain.
And why is Brady more open these days? Because Belichick isn’t in his life anymore. The social media filter is gone, and it’s a bad thing for Tampa Tom. It means we all get to know Brady better, and sometimes the curtain is best kept closed. It feels like meeting your idol only to realize he’s a narcissistic tool.
Belichick’s curtain is back further than it’s ever been, too, but the worst we get are Subway ads, which I daresay are harmless. Fun, even, unless they run 15 times this Sunday (which they might). And anyway, Belichick telling reporters that his favorite Subway sandwich was their “Super-Duper” made it all worth it. Odds that Belichick has never been to a Subway in his life? Pick ‘em.
At some point in our world of over exposure, you have to respect Belichick’s old-school rule and his lack of give-an-F. Brady’s world, on the other hand, is getting exposed to the point of the other F word: Fatigue.
Loveable Bill? It’s happening, folks. At least in my brain. And attached to a potential great comeback story in Cam Newton, Belichick might just make the Patriots liked nationally this year rather than hated.
Brady on the other hand? A mercenary huckster holed up in Derek Jeter’s palace and surrounded by riches, he’s the Black Hat.
Take a deep breath, New England. You may not have America’s Team, but you don’t have America’s Villain either.