Pro sports leagues aren’t inclined to sink their top players in long-running scandals, yet that is what happened to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots during “Deflategate,” which began in January 2015 and continued on in 2016. During the latter year, Brady began the season with a four-game suspension that grew out of the bizarre episode of rule-breaking by New England for intentionally using under-inflated footballs. Just how Brady attempted to defend himself in court and his redemptive return to lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl triumph is retold in detail in “12,” the book title that bears Brady’s jersey number.
Here’s an excerpt from 12:
“Despite the circus atmosphere that had enveloped Fortress Foxboro, there was still a game to be played – the biggest game of the season and the biggest game of most players’ careers. For Brady, Super Bowl XLIX offered him the opportunity to pull the monkey off his back after two championship losses against the New York Giants. In each of those games, number 12 had put the Patriots in a position to win despite early struggles, only to see the team’s fate sealed by miraculous catches made by Giants receivers. A third consecutive loss in the Super Bowl would quell any comparisons to [Joe] Montana. Instead, Brady would find himself discussed alongside Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, who won two Super Bowls but lost three. Elway was an all-time great, but those big losses kept him out of the conversation with Montana. Tom Brady was a student of history, and despite his public comments that team success was the only success that mattered to him, he was maniacally driven to be the best. Like the fictional Roy Hobbs, he wanted people to walk down the street and say, ‘There goes Tom Brady, the best there ever was in this game.’ ”
