By Thomas George on Feb 3, 2015
PHOENIX - "I didn't even think about it," Tom
Brady said as he walked toward an elevator after his Super Bowl news conference
on Monday morning. He held in both hands a shiny trunk that stored his silver,
football-shaped MVP trophy. He was surrounded by security, yet comfortable, at
peace. He looked tired. He looked relieved. He looked patient.
And that was the question: just how much
patience it took in this Super Bowl 49 victory over the Seattle Seahawks for
him to be content with a night of dinks and dunks and darts. The New England
Patriots correctly discerned they could not block the Seahawks for long; that
quick, timing passes were the formula. Brady kept picking, plucking. None of
his Super Bowl record-setting 37 completions was for more than 23 yards.
This requires extreme patience for any
quarterback. Their instincts are often to chuck it long. It demanded an extra
dose of patience for Brady, whose long completions in each of his last six
seasons were for yardage gains of 69, 81, 83, 99, 79 and 81. Each of those was
for touchdowns, too.
So, I'm not buying that Brady "didn't
even think about it" when considering a Patriots Super Bowl offensive
design that took a dump-truck approach rather than a race-car one. Somewhere in
the game plan creation, installation, practices and through four quarters of
championship play, Brady had to keep pinching himself, reminding himself of the
art of patience. To staying the course and sticking with the plan.
Consider that Brady averaged 6.6 yards gained
per pass attempt in the Super Bowl. And that Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson
averaged 11.8.
Brady's patience won. Seattle's lack of
it, especially in the end, lost.
Now Brady is a four-time Super Bowl winner and
three-time Super Bowl MVP and resides in rarified football air. But there is a
DeflateGate investigation ongoing. Was Brady involved in the AFC
Championship deflated football controversy?
Brady must patiently wait for that answer
to be revealed in the investigation's results. Some people think he already
knows. That his fingerprints are all over it.
Brady found a way to navigate through this
ruckus, patiently, while preparing for and then rising in the Super Bowl. This
is an odd NFL moment. A player just received two of the richest honors the game
offers -- a Super Bowl championship and the game's MVP. Yet, the threat looms
that soon he could be punished and his team fined for cheating.
This is like hopping on a roller-coaster
ride at the end and riding backward.
This trashes that popular notion of "it's not the
destination, it's the journey." Heck no, Tom Brady just won it all. This,
for now, is all about the destination. Mission accomplished. He will live fully
in this moment. For now, it is the safest place.
With patience, he will deal with any
potential later fallout, with another trophy by his side and with another ring
on his finger.
Ahead by 10 points in the fourth quarter,
the Seattle offense kept giving the ball back to Brady, unable to convert third
downs and maintain possession and keep him off the field. It is always a dangerous
track for a team when Brady has the ball in the fourth quarter with something
to prove.
Brady reminded everyone of that once
again. So did Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. He said he has never coached
a fiercer competitor than Brady.
"It's a game of emotion," said
Brady, referring to cornerback Malcolm Butler's game-clinching interception.
"It happened so quickly. It was, obviously, as emotional a game can be at
that point."
It's a game of patience.
There is no hurry-up-and-wait now in Tom
Brady. He will just patiently wait. He will savor the arrival at this latest
destination. Then dink, dunk and dart his way through.
Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Those who actively trust in God and his
Spirit will have patience. God, in his
wisdom, has shown so much patience with his people, in waiting for his people
to turn from our sins, to Christ and his Spirit. If you want patience, turn to Christ and
trust in His Spirit to flow to you and through you to others!
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