Felger & Mazz: Thoughts on the Tom Brady halftime ceremony
The New England Patriots honored Tom Brady with a halftime ceremony at Gillette Stadium in their season opener on Sunday. On Monday’s Felger and Mazz, the guys gave their thoughts on the Brady ceremony.
Listen to the full segment here
Thoughts on the ceremony….
Felger: I thought the best part of his talk yesterday was, and he did it a bunch, was pounding the six championships and the banners and the championships and the winning. I thought that was the best part of it. And I thought overall it was a really nice halftime ceremony. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I thought the run out was tremendous. I thought his entrance was tremendous. I thought his speech was an A-minus, ok. I’ve got a few nitpicks, but I think that in general, he hit the exact right note. It was about everything but himself. He didn’t talk about “GOAT” or MVP or his accomplishments. It was about the championships and the winning and his teammates and the stadium and the community and that stuff. And the reason I only give an A-minus is because I think that there are some parts that aren’t genuine. I’m searching for something that’s genuine in that spot.
Mazz: Which part wasn’t genuine.
Felger: When he talks about winning for this community. I don’t think he really and I don’t mean this as cruelly I’m saying this, but he didn’t really care about Boston. I don’t think he was a big part of this community. The Little Joe Judge. Like they weren’t doing it for the fans and representing you and like, that’s just bullcrap.
Tom Brady: “Thank you. Thank you guys. What a day!”
Jim Murray: He was doing it for himself and his teammates. They had an insatiable need to win.
Felger: Yes. He wasn’t of the community or for the community.
Jim Murray: He got out of here as fast as he could when the thing ended.
Felger: And has never been back! The only two times he’s been back here was always forced to come back. So, like, he’s going to be like Larry Bird. He going to have nothing to do with this place. He had very little to do with it when he was here and very little after. He does not represent the community or frankly relate to the community. And I don’t want to sit here and bash the thing because I thought it was excellent yesterday. But that’s the part, like let’s keep it real. Okay? You didn’t play for the fans or us or the community or that thing. You didn’t. You did for your teammates and what you had going on down there, which is great. That’s good enough. But anyway, I thought it was excellent.
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady grabs his daughter’s, Vivian, cheek while his sons, Benjamin and Jack, look on during a halftime ceremony during a game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Jim Murray: B-minus at best. Because ultimately, it was really just like one big commercial for the event next summer. Like, the speech was mostly great. I loved the run out to the end zone because that was his signature move and he looked good wearing that uniform again. The face, I’ve mentioned this before, I’d caution him, though, like dial it back with the plastic surgery you don’t want end up like the socialite in New York, Jocelyn Wildenstein, she’s the cat lady because she’s had so much plastic surgery. He started to look a little weird. But besides that, like, it was one big commercial for the thing next summer. I liked the run into the end zone, the ringing of the Schmenzer and that was about it.
Mazz: The ringing of the Schmenzer I liked. The run to the end zone you can have. Like, to me, just a little contrived. Just my two cents.. Sorry.
Jim Murray: That was his move though.
Mazz: I know, I know.
Felger: Oh it was great.
Mazz: There’s something about a retired man in a jersey. It might as well have been Danny from Quincy down there with the jersey on for crying out loud.
