Tompa Bay: Tom Tom club

Ralphwiggum

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Jun 27, 2012
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I'm clearly in the Fuck Antonio Brown camp. He blew a golden opportunity with the home team last season via a massive unforced error (and that is a very kind description of what he did). So fuck him.

But Tom Brady? Give me a fucking break. He was a free agent; the Pats didn't want resign him at the terms he wanted. What was he supposed to do? He was not under any obligation to take some extreme discount or ask that his contract be un-voided. Sure, his TB12 stuff is garbage, but who the fuck cares? If functioning adults want to spend money on voodoo powder, so what? It's not my money, nor did it impact the team at all when he was here. Character wise, he is probably better than the median among professional athletes, which I'll tell you is not a very high standard. But outside this forum there has been like literally no bad news associated with him from anyone, and there are a lot of people that have interacted with him over the years. Take a look at how he interacted with his extended family after the Rams Super Bowl; he doesn't seem like the type that goes around peeing in everyone's Cheerios every morning.

Would I want to be friends with him? Probably not, but that is probably true of most athletes. So put me clearly in the Fuck the "Fuck Tom Brady" nonsense camp.
Co-sign. Well said.
 

The Social Chair

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Feb 17, 2010
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Tom Brady isn't the smartest guy in the world. He seems like a good guy but his brain power is mostly used on football and family. Not every athlete is Jaylen Brown.
 

johnmd20

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The last several hours of this thread are why people hate the Boston fan base. AB signing in Tampa = TB’s concussion water or some other thing he did that I can retroactively trash after I bury my Brady jersey in the hamper.

“The Super Bowls and deep playoff runs that I watched and rooted for every year for the past 20 years we’re ok, but it just never sat right with me.“
I agree completely. This revisionist Tom Brady hate is horrendous. The lowest of SoSH.
 

RorschachsMask

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I want AB to crash and burn on the football field, but I also hope he got the help he needed and has his life together off the field.

I hope Brady breaks every record until Cam beats him out for SB MVP.
 

nolasoxfan

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I'm clearly in the Fuck Antonio Brown camp. He blew a golden opportunity with the home team last season via a massive unforced error (and that is a very kind description of what he did). So fuck him.

But Tom Brady? Give me a fucking break. He was a free agent; the Pats didn't want resign him at the terms he wanted. What was he supposed to do? He was not under any obligation to take some extreme discount or ask that his contract be un-voided. Sure, his TB12 stuff is garbage, but who the fuck cares? If functioning adults want to spend money on voodoo powder, so what? It's not my money, nor did it impact the team at all when he was here. Character wise, he is probably better than the median among professional athletes, which I'll tell you is not a very high standard. But outside this forum there has been like literally no bad news associated with him from anyone, and there are a lot of people that have interacted with him over the years. Take a look at how he interacted with his extended family after the Rams Super Bowl; he doesn't seem like the type that goes around peeing in everyone's Cheerios every morning.

Would I want to be friends with him? Probably not, but that is probably true of most athletes. So put me clearly in the Fuck the "Fuck Tom Brady" nonsense camp.
Is voodoo powder on the NFL’s banned substances list? Because if it is, and Tom was using it, you know we’re losing a draft pick.
 

lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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And some posters apparently didn't, as we enter the "backlash to the backlash" portion of the proceedings. Par for the course, I suppose.
I realize it's hard for the binary thinkers among us, but there's a huge difference between "worshiping" and simply being a fan of the player and his accomplishments as an athlete, and hoping that said athlete continues to break records that may never be broken in our fucking lifetimes.

Will I be on his side if he takes the field in 2021 against the Pats? Course not. Would I vote for Brady if he ran for political office? Doubtful. Will I support him if he goes full Schilling upon his retirement? Hell no. But it doesn't mean I cannot scratch my head at the entire "Fuck Tom Brady" crowd here.
 

Soxy

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Dec 1, 2008
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Tom Brady isn't the smartest guy in the world. He seems like a good guy but his brain power is mostly used on football and family. Not every athlete is Jaylen Brown.
I don't think Brady is an idiot per se, but I absolutely believe that he's a rube. The guy enlisted Tony Robbins to help recruit AB. Tony Robbins! That guy was discredited as a charlatan decades ago, so of course TB12 is like: "I'm intrigued by your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter."

Look, I'm not going to tell anybody else what they should think about Tom Brady. Everyone compartmentalizes things differently. For me personally, this was just the straw that broke the camel's back, I guess. Anybody can check the receipts, I did not want the Pats to sign AB last year and was on record as saying he wouldn't last a month, which he didn't. He crashed and burned, completely screwed the Patriots, and continued to be a garbage person who cannot be trusted.

Brady continually gets duped into believing in toxic people. This isn't news at all, but I have to admit that I hand-waved it all away so long as the Pats were going 12-4 and making the AFC Championship every year. I don't feel great about that, but it is what it is.

If others want to give zero shits about what TB12 does off of a football field, that's their own decision to make. But only one group here is actively telling the other group: "no, you're wrong, and I don't understand how you could feel that way." Which is pretty telling, I think.
 

E5 Yaz

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I don't think Brady is an idiot per se, but I absolutely believe that he's a rube. The guy enlisted Tony Robbins to help recruit AB. Tony Robbins! That guy was discredited as a charlatan decades ago, so of course TB12 is like: "I'm intrigued by your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter."

Look, I'm not going to tell anybody else what they should think about Tom Brady. Everyone compartmentalizes things differently. For me personally, this was just the straw that broke the camel's back, I guess. Anybody can check the receipts, I did not want the Pats to sign AB last year and was on record as saying he wouldn't last a month, which he didn't. He crashed and burned, completely screwed the Patriots, and continued to be a garbage person who cannot be trusted.

Brady continually gets duped into believing in toxic people. This isn't news at all, but I have to admit that I hand-waved it all away so long as the Pats were going 12-4 and making the AFC Championship every year. I don't feel great about that, but it is what it is.

If others want to give zero shits about what TB12 does off of a football field, that's their own decision to make. But only one group here is actively telling the other group: "no, you're wrong, and I don't understand how you could feel that way." Which is pretty telling, I think.
I think you've done a good job explaining this point of view ... but i do have one question.

If he's a "rube," who "continually gets duped into believing in toxic people" ... then why the disgust? Aren't those attributes worthy of sympathy and not belittling?
 

snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
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No fan of Antonio Brown the person. He is a hell of a football player. Sometimes though it’s hard to remember all the NFL players and coaches that have done horrible things that would preclude me from rooting for their team if I had morals. I know the Chiefs, and I guess the Browns, who else?

I wish nothing but good things for Brady since his run with the Patriots was about as good as that of any player with any team in any sport in history, and I think he was treated like crap by a lot of people nationally. I am unabashedly rooting for him this year with the one unlikely exception.

Being angry at him over Brown seems weird, but who am I to say? He obviously worked well with Brown the football player and told the Bucs that. I am pretty sure I rooted for the Patriots and Brown in the first Dolphins game last year while being reasonably sure AB was an unstable asshole.
 

bankshot1

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I was against the AB signing last year as well, but I still rooted for him and the Pats in that 1st game. But i did feel better as a fan and person when the Pats released him.

And I'm a Brady fan. And barring his taking some Schillng turn to the very dark side, I will continue to be and wish him nothing but success, except if he plays the Pats. And given the Pats play so far this year, they are unlikely to face one another, so I feel pretty comfortable rooting for Brady's and the Bucs success.

The guy gave me more entertainment and happiness as a fan than I could ever hope for and his playing with a shitty person like AB, seems immaterial.
 

Soxy

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I think you've done a good job explaining this point of view ... but i do have one question.

If he's a "rube," who "continually gets duped into believing in toxic people" ... then why the disgust? Aren't those attributes worthy of sympathy and not belittling?
I don't think disgust is the right word. Maybe disappointment? Frustration?

When Brady vouched for AB last year, that was one thing. Why is he still vouching for him? The dude torpedoed in spectacular fashion and is an abuser of women. And yet, Brady learned nothing, because AB is good at football and Brady very badly wants a ring without Belichick, I guess.
 

E5 Yaz

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I don't think disgust is the right word. Maybe disappointment? Frustration?
One of the biggest frustrations in life is wanting people to be better than they are, and realizing that we're powerless to do anything about it.
 

Leather

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One of the biggest frustrations in life is wanting people to be better than they are, and realizing that we're powerless to do anything about it.
Well said.

Brady seems to exist in a gilded bubble. It’s a supremely privileged position to be in, to be able to view the world through the prism of some version of “I don’t see people I only see football players.”

He’s lawful neutral, but what he doesn’t see,or care to see, is that in 2020 America being lawful neutral is basically tacit acceptance with all the bullshit in the country in general but also the NFL in particular. Football has had a violence-toward-women problem for years, and Antonio Brown shouldn’t be in the league. But Tom just covers his ears and says “He’s a great teammate.” Maybe he’s not a bad guy, but that’s not something a thoughtful person does.

That said, he is very good at his job.
 
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54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
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I don't actively root against Brady, but I'm not rooting for him to succeed either, he's no longer on the Patriots, so I could care less.

As I said in the Betts thread, athletes come and go, the team is the constant, the name on the front stays the same, the name on the back changes either via trade, free agency or retirement.

Brady was a free agent and he decided to leave; he's not to blame, the Patriots are not to blame, somewhere in the middle lies the truth. He's 42 years old, sooner or later as an organization, they were going to have to move on from him.

He wants to play until he's 45 or whatever; good for him.

If he thinks bringing Brown in increases his chances of getting another ring, then that's fine, that's on him.

Knowing what he knows about Brown and the mess he caused here last year, I don't get it.

Brady must really, really want to show people it was not Belichick all along; it was him.

Whatever helps him sleep at night.
 

snowmanny

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I do think many great athletes, and many extremely successful people in general, are great in part because they are all-consumed with winning and developing their craft, and as a result they are n some ways a little weird.

The sort of “If I were Jordan/Pedro/Teddy Ballgame/John McEnroe/Tiger/Belichick etc etc I I would never ever act like that” argument is always suspect to me because their oddities probably contribute to their greatness. Not everyone successful is like that of course but not everyone is Bobby Orr or John Havlicek.

Obviously it doesn’t excuse them if they are abusers or racist and so forth, but the fact that Brady is relentless in his pursuit of winning to the point that he doesn’t quite behave like an average person shouldn’t surprise anyone. I mean he’s weird: no shit and thank god since we enjoyed the fruits of that weirdness.

ED: to 54, two additions. I don’t think Brady wants to win to prove he doesn’t need Bill. I just think he always wants to win. Second, he wants Brown because he wants to win, but he doesn’t “bring (Brown) in”; its unsurprising to me that he wants AB because he is consumed with winning but it is up the Bucs front office, not up to Tom, to decide if the football upside is worth everything else.
 
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Van Everyman

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Well said.

Brady seems to exist in a gilded bubble. It’s a supremely privileged position to be in, to be able to view the world through the prism of some version of “I don’t see people I only see football players.”

He’s lawful neutral, but what he doesn’t see,or care to see, is that in 2020 America being lawful neutral is basically tacit acceptance with all the bullshit in the country in general but also the NFL in particular. Football has had a violence-toward-women problem for years, and Antonio Brown shouldn’t be in the league. But Tom just covers his ears and says “He’s a great teammate.” Maybe he’s not a bad guy, but that’s not something a thoughtful person does.

That said, he is very good at his job.
This is a good post, but I would also add: Tony Robbins is every bit as bad as Antonio Brown when it comes to women.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/business/tony-robbins-me-too-apology.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/05/23/tony-robbins-new-accusations-sexual-misconduct-buzzfeed/1199141001/
 

cornwalls@6

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Apr 23, 2010
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I loved him when he was here, and appreciate everything he accomplished. He went to a team I don’t give a shit about. That team, with his aggressive participation, just brought in a known, likely sexual predator. I don’t wish Brady ill, hope he ends his career upright and healthy. But I am not, and don’t feel any obligation, to root for him to throw 100 touchdown passes , and win 3 more rings. I don’t think that makes me a “fuck Tom Brady” hater. I will say his oblivious, I just try to see the positive in everybody goop is more than a little tone deaf, and hard to stomach at times. This is one of those times, IMO.
 

tims4wins

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What kills me is that Brown was one of the reasons the Pats season went downhill last year. I know he only played in one game and they won like 5 or 6 more games in a row after he was released, but that huge cap number really hamstrung the team in terms of adding talent. And yet Brady somehow doesn't blame him? It's just... weird.
 

djbayko

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I'm still shocked so many people are rooting against Brady. Do you not want your franchise player to end up with NFL records for TDs, Passing Yards, etc?
I'm fine if he does all that and they don't succeed as a team. He's going to get numbers no matter what, unless he's injured. I don't need them to win or even reach the Super Bowl.
 

moretsyndrome

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Well said.

Brady seems to exist in a gilded bubble. It’s a supremely privileged position to be in, to be able to view the world through the prism of some version of “I don’t see people I only see football players.”

He’s lawful neutral, but what he doesn’t see,or care to see, is that in 2020 America being lawful neutral is basically tacit acceptance with all the bullshit in the country in general but also the NFL in particular. Football has had a violence-toward-women problem for years, and Antonio Brown shouldn’t be in the league. But Tom just covers his ears and says “He’s a great teammate.” Maybe he’s not a bad guy, but that’s not something a thoughtful person does.

That said, he is very good at his job.
Very good?
 

BigSoxFan

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What kills me is that Brown was one of the reasons the Pats season went downhill last year. I know he only played in one game and they won like 5 or 6 more games in a row after he was released, but that huge cap number really hamstrung the team in terms of adding talent. And yet Brady somehow doesn't blame him? It's just... weird.
AB directly led to the Sanu fiasco. He cost this team so much.
 

Marciano490

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Nov 4, 2007
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Thank you. I was going to make this same point. I agree that Tom is probably a really nice dude who has lived most of his life only having to care about football and celebrity, and probably glosses right over things that don’t affect his performance or reputation. I don’t think that makes him evil or rare among sports heroes. Also, he’s not on my team anymore or playing my team so I don’t really feel the need to have an opinion about him.

Fuck Antonio Brown though.
 

Ed Hillel

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Would he even see the field for Tampa? Is Edelman currently better than Miller?
Maybe not currently, but yeah he’d see the field and would definitely provide value. Probably have a few huge games for them, as well.
 

tims4wins

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Gronk last 5: 20 catches for 269 and 2 TD. 16 game pace of 64 for 861 and 6 TD. Not prime Gronk but still top tier TE production.
 

E5 Yaz

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Maybe not currently, but yeah he’d see the field and would definitely provide value. Probably have a few huge games for them, as well.
The knee injury is worse than they've let on. Jules isn't Jules anymore

If I'm Tampa I'm more interested in James White
 

cshea

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Sorry, I wasn't really thinking in terms on inside and outside. I was thinking more in terms of the depth chart and where Edelman would fit in on Tampa. At best, 4th when they are healthy at WR? Evans, Godwin, Miller, then Edelman? And of course, Antonio Brown is on the way too. I know it's an obvious spot to look if Edelman were to be on the trade block, but I don't see much room on Tampa unless someone gets hurt or Brown blows up in their face. But we won't really know about Brown until after the trade deadline.
 

BigSoxFan

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Sorry, I wasn't really thinking in terms on inside and outside. I was thinking more in terms of the depth chart and where Edelman would fit in on Tampa. At best, 4th when they are healthy at WR? Evans, Godwin, Miller, then Edelman? And of course, Antonio Brown is on the way too. I know it's an obvious spot to look if Edelman were to be on the trade block, but I don't see much room on Tampa unless someone gets hurt or Brown blows up in their face. But we won't really know about Brown until after the trade deadline.
I mentioned in the trade deadline thread that SF might be a good fit if Deebo is out several weeks, which it appears he will be with a hammy injury. Edelman is obviously a versatile player who would likely do well in SF if health permits.
 

johnmd20

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I mentioned in the trade deadline thread that SF might be a good fit if Deebo is out several weeks, which it appears he will be with a hammy injury. Edelman is obviously a versatile player who would likely do well in SF if health permits.
Man, Deebo is make of glass. That sucks, he's fun to watch. But he can't catch a break.
 

rodderick

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Sorry, I wasn't really thinking in terms on inside and outside. I was thinking more in terms of the depth chart and where Edelman would fit in on Tampa. At best, 4th when they are healthy at WR? Evans, Godwin, Miller, then Edelman? And of course, Antonio Brown is on the way too. I know it's an obvious spot to look if Edelman were to be on the trade block, but I don't see much room on Tampa unless someone gets hurt or Brown blows up in their face. But we won't really know about Brown until after the trade deadline.
Right now Godwin is a much better slot receiver than Edelman and he's more versatile as well. Brown can play inside, Miller can play inside and outside, I mean, I don't think Edelman is totally toast, but provided Brown is 70% of his former self, which of those guys would you take snaps from to put Edelman on the field? Maybe he'd be a nice option to have because a lot of the receivers have been banged up and no one with even a tiny sliver of sanity would trust Antonio Brown not to fuck up, but would Jules be content with that kind of role at this point in his career?
 

Marciano490

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Oh, Tom.

Brady posted to Instagram that there have been more suicides than corona deaths in the last two months. What an odd dude.
 

BigSoxFan

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Oh, Tom.

Brady posted to Instagram that there have been more suicides than corona deaths in the last two months. What an odd dude.
Are you able to post a screenshot for those who aren’t on IG?

What a dumb thing to post (Brady, not you).
 

sonofgodcf

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Jul 17, 2005
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The toilet.
Man, that sucks. I can live with Brady being a part of Trump's "silent majority", but if he's going to use his platform to push a dangerous narrative that's too much.