Twitter Had A Field Day With Tom Brady-George Blanda Comparisons
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- In what has long been the most stated-yet-nevertheless impressive feats in all of sports, Tom Brady continues to shred the NFL as he works his way through his mid-40s. It's nothing short of incredible.
But if some folks are tired of hearing about it, they were reminded on Saturday night that what Brady is doing is simply not human.
Brady added to his long list of NFL records by becoming the oldest player to ever throw a touchdown pass in a playoff game. Brady moved past Hall of Famer George Blanda, who was also 43 (but 51 days younger) when he threw a touchdown in a playoff loss for Oakland in the 1970 playoffs.
Again, at this point, the words written about Brady's age can kind of start to blend in with the wallpaper. Fortunately, a visual comparison of Brady and Blanda showed up on the game broadcast.
Brady, of course, looks more or less the same as he has for the past 15 years. Blanda, meanwhile, looks like he could be Brady's father.
Saturday Night Twitter being Saturday Night Twitter, some jokes were obviously made.
Blanda, of course, had a rather different career than Brady. Blanda was a quarterback and a kicker, and it was his kicking abilities that allowed him to stick around in the NFL through the age of 48. (He started just one game at quarterback after his age 39 season, throwing 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions from 1967-75.) He was born in Pennsylvania in 1927, and he probably never owned any resistance bands, and he definitely never tasted a kale smoothie.
Blanda was a legend in his own right, and his bust resides in the Hall of Fame as a result. Brady's obviously a legend, too, but that side-by-side comparison was merely a reminder that times have certainly changed since the 1970s.
