Brady Calls Out Fans, But Is It Really Their Fault?
Yesterday, Tom Brady made comments that left the fan favorite open for attack. Brady told reporters, "The road environment is very different than our friendly home crowd who, when I looked up, half the stadium was gone when we were up 21 points in the early fourth quarter, which I wasn't so happy about. I don't think the Jets fans leave early. They're going to be loud the whole game.''
Gresh and Zolak continued their conversation about Brady's statements, commenting on the stadium itself and what a typical game at Gilette Stadium has turned into.
Zo: "It's become an event. It's become something to do on a Sunday. And has it taken away from the football game a little bit? Maybe. But this goes on across the country."
He cracked down on things like taking pictures on the turf patch, buying lanyards from the pro shop to put your tickets in, and the new hotline that fans can call or text about rowdy fans or even people who are standing and blocking your view.
Gresh brought up Brady's intentions and the real issue: "I think he [Brady] attacked that knowing that it would turn into, "Is Gillette Stadium loud enough?" So, the way he went about it, not only did it spark rhetoric, it sparked anger, but it brought us to what really is the core issue. Why, on 3rd down, are people not up hootin' and hollerin' on defense? … Why is it at this stadium that opposing quarterbacks don't have to go to a silent count?"
Ultimately, the blame seemed to shift to the stadium itself.
"Fans really don't like to be called out," said Gresh. "But there were actually a lot of people who said, "Hey, I wanna get up, be loud, and be rowdy, and I can't."