When Patriots safety Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson’s goal-line pass, an underdog stole the Super Bowl.
It wasn’t Butler.
The free agent rookie made the game-winning play, prying Wilson’s second Super Bowl ring off his finger.
But it was Tom Brady, the man who Butler provided a fourth ring, who was the true underdog of Super Bowl 49.
The sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan will always be an underdog. He was never supposed to win one ring, let alone four.
But we stopped thinking of Brady as an underdog sometime between 2004 and 2005, after he won his second and third Super Bowls.
The clock struck midnight for Brady, but his horse-drawn carriage remained.
And as his prolonged fairy tale continued, we started to hate him.
But why?
Why do we hate Tom Brady, the Yankees, LeBron James and sports icons built on a tradition of success?
There’s an easy answer for LeBron — we hate him because of the Decision. We hate the Yankees, too, because of their ability to “purchase” championships.
But those answers are the easy way out.
What we really hate is the antithesis to our underdog, our common man.
We like the underdog because we can relate to him. He comes from similar means, dreams and adversities, and from these similarities we draw inspiration.
But in sports culture, too much winning becomes too good to be true.
Each title furthers the degree of separation between us and the burgeoning legend. His story is unrealistic, and so, we begin to hate him.
For Brady, the dissonance is furthered by his California roots, uncanny good looks and super model wife.
Peyton Manning, on the other hand, is a down-to-earth southern gentleman. His looks aren’t remarkable; we’ve never heard about his wife; he’s won only one Super Bowl.
And we respect him.
Part of our antipathy also has to do with fairness. Sports are supposed to be the great equalizer, a place for fans to stake their pride and reputation.
But when one team wins more than its fair share — watch out.
Success, it turns out, is a polarizing subject. Those belonging to a legacy fan base have an us-against-the-world mentality, one those of us at IU can share.
We have an affinity for our banners, but the world outside of Assembly Hall loathes Bob Knight and the storied Hoosiers.
But here’s the rub: Dynasty should be celebrated just as much as the underdog.
It takes an incredible amount of discipline for teams such as Kentucky — a group of sophomores and freshmen, no less — to put together a 22-0 season.
Instead of projecting hatred in the face of this and other sports history, we need to appreciate the exceptional nature of these human feats.
Four-time Super Bowl winner Joe Montana served as Brady’s inspiration growing up, as should Brady for young athletes today.
Because hate him or not, Brady the underdog is now Brady the GOAT.
We can either despise him or use his and other examples to aspire to a greater level of success.
vziege@indiana.edu
