Watching Football with the Boys

I am not much of a sports person. I am the only one in my family who feels this way. My mom, my dad, my sister and my husband will happily spend hours yelling at the TV when given the chance. When Rich and I first got married I was violently opposed to all sports on the TV. After Eric was born, I relented. Rich wanted to watch football with his son. I want my son to have lots of stuff to do with his dad. I want my kid to like team sports and to get lots of exercise. I hope that someday he'll decide he wants to do sports like he sees on the TV. I think it's really healthy, both mentally and physically.

So, there have been a lot of Patriots on our television lately. This leads me to ponder, what I'm sure every New Englander has pondered at one point or other: Is Tom Brady really a robot?

I mean seriously. The guy looks like the quarterback from Central Casting. "Uh.. We need a really clean cut guy with a square jaw, a dimple in his chin. Yeah.. Real tall and good looking. NO, not a Pimple, a DIMPLE with a D! Yeah a dimple. And he has to look like he's been playing football since he was nine. OK? And he needs to be kind of humble. Like he's honored to be there. Know what I mean? You've got some guy named Brady? Send me a head shot."

I mean how can this guy be real? He's just too perfect. His seemingly straight biographer was gushing about him on NPR a few weeks back, like Tom had just asked him to homecoming and he was a fifteen-year-old girl. I mean how many biographers get giddy talking about their subjects?

Like any red blooded American woman I am not completely immune to his charms. I do enjoy watching him play. But when I enjoy to too much, I just remind myself that he is a Republican. Then I shudder and equilibrium returns.

It's really that simple.