Tom Brady Posts Inspirational Poem On Instagram, And The Steelers Are In Big Trouble
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady is getting all literary.
And the Steelers are in trouble.
There have been some doubters coming out of the woodwork to question the the Patriots quarterback, who's coming off a rough outing in a Monday Night Football loss in Miami. Some folks are going so far to say that it was the first sign of Brady being too old to play professional football (despite the fact that Brady leads the NFL in passing yards and passer rating).
But there is some bad news for these prognosticators, and consequently, for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And the bad news is that Tom Brady is inspired.
Brady normally takes a goofy, light-hearted approach to his social media accounts, generally posting his cartoons after wins, or sharing silly videos, or just clowning around.
But every now and then, Brady gets serious -- like when he shared a pump-up video spliced with an inspirational Bruce Lee quote.
And this week, Brady is back on the inspirational kick, sharing a whole poem written by Douglas Malloch. It's written as the caption for a photo of Brady throwing a pass against the Steelers.
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
Maybe you prefer book on tape:
If that's too long, or too deep for you to really get into, the Cliff's Notes version is this: Tom Brady is going to throw for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
You'd think that by now, in Year 18 of his NFL career, it would be difficult for The Greatest Quarterback Of All Time to find avenues for inspiration. But Brady's managed to maintain a chip on his shoulder ever since his days battling Drew Henson on the depth chart in Ann Arbor. Even though his five Super Bowl wins, his four Super Bowl MVPs, and his smorgasbord of accomplishments in the NFL, part of what's made Brady Brady has been his ability to bring a certain level of passion to the field -- a level of passion that may border on psychosis, but always seems to lead to an outstanding performance.
It's not 100 percent successful -- he went 18-for-38 with two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Texans after sharing the "Be water, my friend" video -- but whenever he's quoting "the Lumberman's poet" on a Thursday evening? The opposing defense might as well just skip their meetings and practices for the rest of the week. There's no use even trying to stop a mightily inspired Tom Brady.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.