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7. I think I’ve seen two episodes of “The Man in the Arena,” the ESPN+ 10-part series on Tom Brady’s 10 Super Bowl seasons, and if America wasn’t so Bradied out right now, and so worn out on all things Patriots/Brady, I’d write a lot more about it. Because the two shows I saw (Episode 3 with the win over Philly, Episode 4 with the first loss to the Giants) are really interesting and informative. The three nuggets I found compelling:
• The shows are Brady against a white screen, narrating what each season was like, with a couple of guests expanding on what exactly happened in that season. Series producer Gotham Chopra is a Patriots fan, a Brady fan, and is in business with him. “But as a filmmaker, as a storyteller, I might be more interested in the pursuit of greatness. How did this guy become the best? What were the component parts that pulled that together? That to me is the story that’s bigger than football. You don’t have to be a Patriots fan. You don’t even have to care so much about football to sort of appreciate it.”
• In Ep. 3, the guests are Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi, key players in the Super Bowl win over the Eagles. They explain something I’d never heard about that year—what made it special with the inner competition among the player-leaders who were called the “edgers.” Said series producer Gotham Chopra: “‘Edger’ was just like driving each other to the edge. It was this intense, never-ending internal competition that left the players exhausted at the end of the year.” As Vrabel said, “You could be as ruthless as you wanted to be.” At the end of the season, Brady said, “I was tired. I was tired. Everything comes with a cost.” That cost: a great team went 10-6 and lost to Denver by two touchdowns in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Justin Herbert was Peter King's Offensive Player of the Week. Herbert got one sentence. King still found time to finish an essay on a QB who didn't play yesterday.
• The shows are Brady against a white screen, narrating what each season was like, with a couple of guests expanding on what exactly happened in that season. Series producer Gotham Chopra is a Patriots fan, a Brady fan, and is in business with him. “But as a filmmaker, as a storyteller, I might be more interested in the pursuit of greatness. How did this guy become the best? What were the component parts that pulled that together? That to me is the story that’s bigger than football. You don’t have to be a Patriots fan. You don’t even have to care so much about football to sort of appreciate it.”
• In Ep. 3, the guests are Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi, key players in the Super Bowl win over the Eagles. They explain something I’d never heard about that year—what made it special with the inner competition among the player-leaders who were called the “edgers.” Said series producer Gotham Chopra: “‘Edger’ was just like driving each other to the edge. It was this intense, never-ending internal competition that left the players exhausted at the end of the year.” As Vrabel said, “You could be as ruthless as you wanted to be.” At the end of the season, Brady said, “I was tired. I was tired. Everything comes with a cost.” That cost: a great team went 10-6 and lost to Denver by two touchdowns in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Justin Herbert was Peter King's Offensive Player of the Week. Herbert got one sentence. King still found time to finish an essay on a QB who didn't play yesterday.
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