You saw it.
As broadcasting icon Jack Buck said in his famous World Series call of nearly 30 years ago, you probably didn’t believe at first what you just saw in the late stages of Super Bowl LI on Sunday night. But when you pinched yourself to see if it was real and realized that it was, then – and only then — you believed it.
It was not just the comeback of the New England Patriots, but rather that of Tom Brady as he rallied them a 25-point deficit with two minutes left in the third quarter with 31 unanswered points to gain a 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.
Stunning? No, it was more than that. It was … well, unbelievable. We may never see another football game like that on any level. We almost certainly will never see a Super Bowl like that again. It took 51 tries to get one that good. What are the chances for a repeat anytime soon, or ever?
The Patriots did what they did – pulled off the miracle – because of their quarterback, Tom Brady.
They didn’t do it because of their right guard, tight end, defensive tackles, strong safety or long snapper, although all of those guys certainly helped. They won it because of Brady. He put the team onto his shoulders and carried it to victory.
Even if the right guard, tight end, defensive tackles, strong safety and linebacker all turned in heroic performances, it still wouldn’t have been enough to win the game for the Pats. Those positions aren’t nearly as crucial as quarterback. It is the most important position in team sports. Nothing else comes close. And in Brady, the Pats don’t have just the best quarterback in the game right now. They have the best ever in the modern era – that is, since the Super Bowl began five decades ago.
When you have a quarterback, you have a chance. When you have the best quarterback, you have a chance, if the stars are aligned in just the right way, to pull off what you saw – but didn’t at first believe – on Sunday evening. No one else in the game today – or since 1966 – could have done it. Miracles don’t come – can’t come – from mere mortals.
All of this is why we value the quarterback position so much. It is why the Browns’ rebuilding effort doesn’t begin in earnest – and their chance to finally get to their first Super Bowl at some point down the road doesn’t begin taking shape – until they find their quarterback. They’re not going to find another Tom Brady – it would be silly to think that – but they have to find someone good enough, and consistent enough, to get them onto the right path.
