Do you like the Brady-Jordan-Kobe-Jeter mentality?

[Red_Wiggler]

@Just_Asking_Questions

Back when they were both till alive, NASCAR driver Neil bonnet was being interviewed, and he told a story about his best friend Dale Earnhardt. One day they were going to go down fishing, and they were going to ride quads. Dale suggested they race. So they did. Dale was so competitive that he ran Neil off the road into the trees (and won). How “win at all costs” do you have to be to run your supposed best friend off the road in a friendly race?

And worse yet, Neil told the story with reverence, as if he thought that as just normal behavior.

Well one of them is a seven-time champion with 76 wins, and the other is a no-time champion with 18 wins, so I guess ol’ Ironhead would be happy with that comparison.

I guess Bonnet’s perspective is somewhat understandable since he was an elite driver himself, just a less accomplished one. To be one of 30-couple drivers to consistently line up for a major NASCAR race requires a way above average level of competitiveness, too.

I remember growing up how shocked I was at how competitive some of my peers were, at least relative to me. That was an eye-opening experience for me and greatly enhanced both my understanding of the world and my place in it.

[Little_Nemo]

@Disgruntled_Penguin

I don’t feel like that is fair to Brady. He often took lesser contracts with the Patriots so they’d have more money to field a more competitive team and he didn’t make the Buccaneers negotiate a higher contract or engage in a bidding war.

Does that include the money the Patriots paid Brady outside of his contract?

TB12 Sports Therapy Center is a private company that the New England Patriots paid large sums of money to for consultations. And the owner of TB12 was, of course, Tom Brady.

How much would you care to wager that the Patriots won’t be doing business with TB12 next year?

[Little_Nemo]

I once read a book about professional sports that made an interesting point. Professional athletes rarely have the same kind of emotional connection to their team that the team’s fans do.

Fans develop their love for a team over a lifetime, generally starting when they are children. People who are fans of the New England Patriots, for example, probably grew up in the Boston area and were part of Patriots fandom from childhood.

Tom Brady grew up on the other side of the country, in the San Francisco area. He played college football in Michigan. His association with the New England Patriots started when he was drafted by them in 2000.

I’m sure Brady likes the Patriots. But he’s probably doesn’t love the Patriots. He probably sees the New England Patriots as his employer, albeit a very good employer who’s always treated him great. But there probably isn’t the same emotional connection that fans of the team have. So he has no problem switching his allegiance to a new team and being as loyal to them as he was to the Patriots. (And no more loyal to them than he was to the Patriots.)

I’m not saying this as a knock on Brady or other professional athletes. But we should keep in mind that for most of them, this is just their job. And their devotion to their team is probably the same as the devotion you feel to your job.