Keller @ Large: Politics In Tom Brady's Playbook?
BOSTON (CBS) - Tom Brady – superstar athlete, supreme self-marketer, idol of millions….politician?
Buzz about that possibility began early in Brady's career, when he was First Lady Laura Bush's guest at the 2004 State of the Union Address. Later that same year, Brady fueled the fire by telling an interviewer it was his "craziest ambition" to be a U.S. senator someday.
And eleven years after that, as Tom's occasional golf partner Donald Trump was running for president, a Trump campaign hat was spotted in Brady's locker. On election eve 2016, Trump claimed endorsement from Brady, saying at a NH rally: "He called today and said 'Donald, I support you, you are my friend and I voted for you."
Brady denied that and backed away from Trump, skipping team visits to the White House. But he did show up last year with the Bucs and revealed how closely he follows politics with a dig at Trump's "rigged election" claims and a joking reference to Trump's favorite nickname for Joe Biden: "We had a game in Chicago where I forgot what down it was. I lost track of one down in 21 years of playing, and they started calling me 'Sleepy Tom.' Why would they do that to me?"
After decades of non-stop fame, Tom Brady will now have time on his hands. And you wonder: isn't he going to miss the action?
"Action, power, influence, relevancy," all pertinent to his varied business ventures and, perhaps, close to his heart as well, says WBZ sportswriter Michael Hurley, who has written about Brady's political profile before.
"There are large sections of this country that want Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to be the next president," notes Hurley. "And Tom Brady is arguably more qualified than The Rock."
So, with the disclaimer that semi-ridiculous speculation is the mother's milk of political hot-stove talk, let's game out Brady 2022.
Step 1: Pick the Bengals to win the Super Bowl. Now you've got Ohio eating out of your hand to go with Florida, California (Rams fans won't like it? C'mon, there are no Rams fans), and once he papers over the failure to immediately thank Patriots Nation, the New England states as well.
Step 2: Campaign slogan: "Let's Go!" Campaign platform: better health for all! Campaign food: avocado ice cream (plays to Millennial voters).
Step 3: Continue career-long practice of saying nothing that might possibly offend anyone.
Step 4: Run as an independent. Who won't want an alternative to the major party nominees?
Now all that's left to do is name a running mate. Does anyone have The Rock's home phone number?