Tom Brady “Sportsperson Of The Year”
December 8th, 2021
Remember Sports Illustrated? Joe is pretty sure some readers actually do not.
It was a real thing in the late 20th century. Men and boys alike couldn’t wait for the weekly magazine to hit the mailbox. Yes, this was in the days before the internet, smartphones, cable TV and at one point, before touchtone landline phones.
And the February “Swimsuit Issue,” well, it was the publication’s biggest seller and its most controversial. Constipated school administrators and perpetually angry nuns across the country would freak out and try to ban the magazine from school libraries.
Now, Sports Illustrated is little more than Albert Breer, Jimmy Traina and quality videos of SI Swimsuit models like Jared Goff’s jiggly girlfriend Christen Harper.
The former sister magazine of “TIME,” Sports Illustrated began “Sportsman of the Year” in 1954. It was meant to be sort of a sports version of TIME‘s “Man of the Year.”
The honor is still somewhat still important, even though the magazine is a virtual afterthought. Last night, the publication announced Bucs quarterback Tom Brady was this year’s recipient.
Yes, someone from Tampa Bay was named “Sportsperson of the Year.” Told ya Brady brings relevance to the Bucs and to the area.
As Jon Wertheim typed, Brady gets the award basically for three things: The first is pulling a Moe Howard on Father Time and poking him in the eyes and slapping him across the grill. The other is that Brady and his magic single-handedly turned around in one season a woebegone franchise into a Super Bowl champion.
The third reason? At age 44, Brady might be better than ever.
Arians’ offense attacks deeper than most—no risk it, no biscuit being the operative phrase. In 2020, Brady’s air yards per intended pass, a measure of how far downfield a quarterback throws on average, jumped to 9.3 yards, a 22% increase from his last season in New England. Yet, despite the higher degree of difficulty, his completion rate also rose, from 60.8% to 65.7%.
He’s doing it at a time when defenders have become freakish in their own right. From 2000 to ’03, Brady’s first four seasons in the league, 10 defensive linemen clocked in under 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL’s scouting combine. Over the past four years, 41 have done so. That has led to an emphasis in athleticism among the new class of quarterbacks. Indeed, according to Next Gen Stats tracking data, through Week 12 of the 2021 season only Steelers vet Ben Roethlisberger was covering less ground per play (7.2 yards) than Brady (8.0).
Retirement has its appeal—golf, time with the family, business opportunities—but it is outstripped by the lure of continuing to work. And so it is that Al Michaels, 77, the voice of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, has consulted with and confided in Brady. Their pregame broadcast production meetings, once filled with football shop talk, now veer toward weightier topics and shared experiences. Says Michaels, “When I see Tom, I think, Damn, you can go at that level no matter what you’re doing, and I feel like I can. It’s just a cool thing, the kind of symmetry.”
As Joe wrote yesterday, savor every moment Brady is wearing a Bucs uniform. We have never seen an offense like this and may not again. And Joe is pretty confident we will never see a guy like Brady again.
The fact this is his second “Sportsperson of the Year” award is sort of a wow-moment in that you would think he would have had more.
How big is Brady’s impact throughout the Bucs’ organization and beyond the walls of One Buc Palace, Joe remembers a rhetorical question asked by Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio a few weeks after the Bucs won the Super Bowl.
“How much money has Tom Brady made for people in Tampa?”
December 8th, 2021 at 5:08 am
“MVP, MVP, MVP………..”
December 8th, 2021 at 5:11 am
G O A T TB12
GO BUCS!!!!!
December 8th, 2021 at 5:25 am
MVP!
December 8th, 2021 at 5:32 am
He made billions for all those massholes.
Now is the time for Tampa Bay to enjoy the wealth.
December 8th, 2021 at 5:32 am
Pretty cool award indeed. Not sure where I’d find one of these ( I did buy the post super bowl victory one online )…Barnes & Noble maybe? Old school newsstand in New York? Look no further than Denver (once Manning retired )to see the potential post Brady future. Enjoying the ride the best I can…still in shock most days.
December 8th, 2021 at 5:41 am
Who could forget the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editions lol
December 8th, 2021 at 5:59 am
🐐
December 8th, 2021 at 6:10 am
Erin Rogers about to throw another hissy fit
December 8th, 2021 at 6:44 am
Awesome stuff. Yup i will need to pick one up
We are experiencing greatness. And yes buc fans deserve this. Real buc fans. Ones that root for the team and not one fake prior player.
Gronk is just getting his legs back from his many games off. You can see him huffing the oxygen on the sidelines. AB will have his ready for playoffs. And brady to playoff lenny on short dump when things break down is locked and loaded. He Trusts godwin like gronk and AB again. And evans will get his as well. Just hope the defense can help him out by simply getting healthy/ which means faster like devin white .
I know it may be a reach but i hope he really gets 50 tds and 5000 yards. And they have to play him for that best record and potential home field advantage so its possible. He needs some more 4 td games.
Lets stomp the bills
December 8th, 2021 at 6:47 am
****erin rodgers about to throw another hissy fit****
So is orlbuc and ndog and a few other members of the once messiah cult
And oh ndog has been peeking his head back on here recently. Of course not using his old poster name cause lets face it …he is a fraud. A coward.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:05 am
Tom Brady, “Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro-Bowler, Sportsperson Of The Year, GOAT”
December 8th, 2021 at 7:19 am
“Sportsperson” is always going to sound awkward. If they want to go gender neutral, why not “Athlete of the Year.” Brady definitely in the MVP lead. The only person who can challenge him is probably Aaron Rogers, but real MVPs get vaccinated and don’t call 30 minute press conferences to whine about their organizations.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:32 am
Maybe he’s “Transhuman” of the year and we just don’t know it.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:35 am
Oneilbucyall, where are you???? I don’t see Bill Belichick or Mac Jones on the cover. Definitely no Jamais.
December 8th, 2021 at 8:02 am
To go from Winston, an absolute total buffoon, to the all-time great Brady that’s still producing at a super high level, it’s fun to watch. I saw a report that we can secure our playoff spot this weekend with a win. In the past we would be talking draft or developing players.
December 8th, 2021 at 8:28 am
Nah – they gave it to Brady because only Brady still remembers Sports Illustrated. The rest haven’t heard of it. 😀
December 8th, 2021 at 8:50 am
The “buffoon” is either #1 or $2 in every franchise record for Tampa Bay QBs.
December 8th, 2021 at 8:57 am
Sportsperson.
December 8th, 2021 at 9:04 am
Kathy Ireland springs to mind.
December 8th, 2021 at 9:05 am
Mr. Bean:
Nice!
December 8th, 2021 at 9:06 am
Not always awarded to athletes.
December 8th, 2021 at 9:45 am
Florio’s got him as frontrunner for MVP.
December 8th, 2021 at 9:48 am
Congratulations, Mr. BRADY!
December 8th, 2021 at 10:22 am
AWESOME!
December 8th, 2021 at 11:20 am
Listnfrmafar . Again Belichick is proving that without Belichick their is no Brady.
December 8th, 2021 at 11:28 am
We’ll deserved. Keep it going Bucs. Two in a row is a real possibility!
December 8th, 2021 at 12:11 pm
^^^ bobby m.. totally agree
December 8th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
joe.. i remember elle mcpherson as the SI swimsuit model…she then did a spread for playboy??? omg.. many days on the throne thinking about her..haha
December 8th, 2021 at 1:04 pm
It amazes me to this day how Sports Illustrated screwed up on so many opportunities. Had SI entered cable television, ESPN wouldn’t exist; they didn’t even have to be a first mover, they had years and years to enter cable. Years later a former consulting firm that I worked for used to advise Time Warner. We talked to SI and showed them the opportunity of expanding from paper to that thing called the Internet. They wanted no truck with the online world and refused to build a presence. Stupid, stupid management.
December 8th, 2021 at 1:59 pm
I used to subscribe to and religiously read SI back when basketball and baseball were worth my time to watch. So many beautiful women in the swimsuit issue as well and I had a major crush on Cindy Crawford back in the day. Gosh damn she was/is gorgeous.
December 8th, 2021 at 2:01 pm
Oh, and congrats to Brady. He’ll be he first and only Buc to win that award (I had swimsuit models dancing in my brain).
December 9th, 2021 at 7:20 pm
Christian McCaffrey + Olivia Culpo > Jared Goff + jiggly Christen.