Tom Brady Rejected On High Five Request From Official After Scoring Touchdown
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady has scored about 17 million touchdowns in his NFL career, give or take a few million. And Sunday night in New Orleans, he scored yet another big-time touchdown by sneaking up the gut and crossing the goal line.
The touchdown was huge, as it -- along with the ensuing PAT -- put the Buccaneers up by 10 over the Saints in the divisional round playoff matchup. Perhaps because of the significance of the game and the score itself, Brady didn't spike the ball into the turf in celebration. Instead, he popped up, accepting some congratulations from his teammates, and calmly headed to the sideline.
But before he made it there, he took a shot at getting a high-five from the official working the Bucs' side of the field.
The official did not oblige.
Brady tried to high-five the ref. ???? pic.twitter.com/gfQiu7PBWR
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) January 18, 2021
Obviously, that's not the first time that Brady's been denied a high five in his career.
But this one made some more sense, as the officials typically don't dole out their high fives in the middle of the football field.
Such a video was certain to become catnip for the internet, which is a land full of people who are convinced that the men and women wearing stripes work first and foremost for Tom Brady. Sure enough, that was the case.
It brought to mind a video from the 2017 AFC Championship Game, when an angle of a broadcast made it seem as though an official was smiling and celebrating with Patriots players after a touchdown against the Jaguars. A better angle revealed that the official thought he was breaking up a fight, only to realize he was getting between two teammates celebrating with each other somewhat violently. Pictures and videos of Brady greeting referees before games also circulated as proof of some tomfoolery, even though starting quarterbacks typically greet the referee before every game.
The reality of those ones got lost in the initial visuals and the stories.. What happens with Brady getting rejected this time around? Well, if it follows the path of every other story involving Brady throughout his entire career ... expect some conspiracies to run wild.