Tedy Bruschi
So yesterday this reporter out in the Boston area contacted me asking for my thoughts on why Tedy Bruschi, the Patriots linebacker who suffered a mild stroke Wednesday, is so well loved by Pats fans. But he didn’t end up using what I had to say — I don’t know why; maybe it wasn’t that interesting, maybe he didn’t have space, maybe I got back to him too late, doesn’t really matter — so I figure I’ll expand upon my email to him a bit and just post my thoughts here.
First, though, I guess it makes sense to point out that what really matters here is that apparently Tedy’s going to be OK. I don’t mean OK to play; we still don’t know about that. I mean just generally OK. With luck, he’ll be OK to play, too, not just because he’s such a key member of the team, but because it’d be terrible for the guy’s career to end because of something like this. Tedy’s had a good run: nine years in the league (which is forever in pro football) and three Super Bowl rings. That’s something. If his doctors tell him he should give up football, he certainly won’t walk away feeling like he missed the opportunity to make big plays in big games. So that’s good. But it would still be nice if he had the chance to play until he chooses to retire. So now that we’re relatively certain his life isn’t in jeopardy, let’s hope the guy gets a chance to decide for himself when it’s time to exit the league.
That’s all sorta beside the point, though, because it’s not what the reporter asked about and it’s not what I wrote to him. What he asked about was why I think fans so admire Bruschi.
I could have told him I think Pats fans love Bruschi because he’s been a big part of why the team has won so many games (and so many big games) and I wouldn’t have been wrong. Tedy’s leadership has helped make the Pats defense the impressive unit it is. Inside linebacker isn’t an easy position to play — it demands a lot both physically and mentally — and Tedy, who was never supposed to be a great pro football player, has been a monster in the position. He’s also made more than a few of the big plays in clutch situations that the Pats D has become famous for. So I could have said that Pats fans understand exactly how much Tedy has contributed to the team, and I wouldn’t have been wrong. But I didn’t say that.
I also could have gone on about how Tedy sort of embodies the spirit of this Patriots team, noting that he’s a guy who isn’t supposed to be a superstar, and who never acts like he thinks he’s a superstar, but who plays like a superstar (better than a superstar) every time he’s on the field. Pats fans love the humility and the class their team shows, and Tedy is all about humility and class, so of course the fans love him. But I only mentioned that in passing.
What I focused on in my reply to that reporter was how the first thing I thought about when I read the reports about Tedy’s stroke wasn’t what it might mean for the team, but what it might mean for Tedy and his family. The first image that popped into my mind wasn’t his interception in the Super Bowl, but the footage they showed (can’t remember if it was before the game or at half time) of him earlier in the day clowning around on the field with his two little guys. And as the day went on, that’s the exact thing I kept hearing about from the Pats fans I talked to. They worried about the man and his family and they talked about that footage of Tedy and his kids. Some folks talked about his play in the Super Bowl and in other games; others didn’t. Some worried that the Pats wouldn’t be able to replace him easily if his career does end now; others didn’t. But they all (every single one of them) mentioned that footage. And they all said that Tedy’s health, and his ability to continue to clown around with those kids, was more important than whether he’d return to the playing field. Maybe that’s simply because something like this is so much bigger than whatever effect it would have on the Pats, but I think it also has a lot to do with the affection people have for this particular guy. And I believe that affection goes well beyond an admiration for Tedy as a player.
I think that footage of Tedy and his kids showed Bruschi to be what so many professional athletes are held up to be, and often pretend to be: a real role model. Here was a guy whose job is as physical and as aggressive as they get, and he wasn’t on the news, as too many professional football players have been, for hurting someone or doing something stupid; he was just on TV smiling from ear to ear and playing silly games with his little kids. That said a lot to me, and to a lot of fans, about the kind of person Tedy Bruschi is, specifically, that he is the kind of man you can and should admire, because he’s not just a great athlete, he’s also a good man. I think Pats fans value that. I think just about everyone values that.
I kept thinking about that later on and I got to thinking that Bruschi is sort of the antidote to the Randy Moss types who get all the attention in the NFL. He’s a guy who doesn’t spend a lot of time talking to the press about how great he is, who doesn’t expect all the attention to be on him all the time. He’s also a guy who isn’t out there treating fans and other people poorly. He doesn’t seem to be someone who believes being a star athlete excuses him from the obligation to be a decent person. He’s a guy who goes out and plays his position exceedingly well and that’s that. And then you see him with his kids and you know why he isn’t thumping his chest all over the place: He gets it. He knows what’s really important in life. He clearly enjoys playing football, and winning, and he isn’t shy about celebrating triumphs, but he doesn’t make too much of himself and he doesn’t demand that anyone else make too much of him. And when you look around the league and see a Moss here, a Freddie Mitchell there and (and a whole lot of Ray Lewises, Michael Pittmans and Samari Rolles everywhere), you can’t help but feel a connection to, and an admiration for, a guy like Tedy Bruschi.
