Finally, After All These Years, Tom and Tiger Let Us In

It's Monday, April 13th and while in any other normal year in human history would mark the Monday after The Masters, which would be filled with highlights, interviews and social media fluff, it turns out it's another day the worldwide population is stuck in paralysis.

Forgetting for a second about how the world is in complete and utter chaos, of the likes to which nobody could have ever imagined, something has become evident more than ever during this calendar year. While the areas of professional sports are currently every shade of gray ever created, we are becoming witness to two of the greatest athletes in generations actually becoming...human?

Tom Brady is the greatest football player who ever lived (said using Benny Rodgriguez's voice from The Sandlot). Tiger Woods is the most popular golfer who ever lived (steering away from saying the greatest for the Jack Nicklaus crowd) not only as an in-person golfer, but also to what he refers to himself as a 'YouTube Golfer'. His children can attest to this description, as can many who forget how great he was from 1997-2008ish? YouTube? This could make for an interesting segway, so let's start there. Social media allows for a special insight into someone's life, either in extreme and often uncomfortable detail, or in minute and miniscule glimpses. As we've noticed over the last 10 years, two formerly incredibly private lives in Brady and Woods are now becoming spotlighted via social media. Thinking in years past, when Brady was winning his first three Super Bowls, or Tiger was winning every tournament imaginable, it was often the job of the paparazzi or the newspaper tabloids to sneak a shot of these two world-reknown superstars when they weren't competing. I am certainly not interested in going into greater detail on how this virtually ruined Tiger's life for a number of years from 2009 and even before, but this was simply the only way we could tap into what Tiger was doing when he wasn't raising trophies.

The point of the blog is this: there have been multiple examples over the last two or three years where Tom Brady and Tiger Woods have stepped out from their historically private lives and have finally allowed the fan, the skeptic, the reporter and the next generation into what is somewhat going on inside their mind. The amount of times I've listened to podcasters, satellite radio hosts and even co-workers mention something like "never in a million years did I ever think Tom Brady would make a documentary for Facebook" or "if you told me Tiger would actually agree to a one on one pay-per-view match with Phil fucking Mickelson" back in 2004? 2005? It wouldn't happen, you'd be considered clinically nuts. Yet, here we are. All of these things happened, but that's just the start of how we have finally been awarded access into the lives of these two GOATs for the first time since, well, 1997?

Brady.

Social Media Draft:

Tom Brady wrote on Facebook in early January of 2017 that he will be choosing another form of social media to better connect with fans and develop somewhat of a presence online. I remember when he joined Facebook it was a total shock because he had always been laser focused on nothing but football for years. It seemed from the second he beat the Rams in the Super Bowl in 2002 until around roughly 2010-11 that nobody knew what he was doing away from Gillette Stadium. Shit, he was so private that the only time anyone saw him outside his house was when he was involved in a car accident circa 2010 sporting the Alabama football haircut. He was driving a black Audi (obviously) and was on his way to none other than the practice facility. There was no drama, nobody was hurt, but it was something that perked your ears up a little bit. It didn't exactly generate the level of interest that the whole Brandon Spikes abandoned car story did, but it's the Patriots and people are going to read. Fast-forward seven years and, while posting on Facebook to make his announcement, Brady alerted the masses he was 'joining Instagram' and he and his 7.5 million followers have taken off ever since. Something we all have noticed since joining the platform, contrary to what all local sports talk radio hosts have decided long ago, is Tom Brady has personality. In fact, he's fucking hilarious. While he posts his share of motivational content, the thing I notice most on his Instagram account are the comments he makes on other athlete's pages (mainly Julian Edelman). The guy is as active as any 22-year old influencer and while he may not be getting a sponsorship deal from #awayluggage his engagement certainly qualifies him for consideration.


Tom vs. Time:

Next, there was Tom vs. Time, aka the documentary series which sort of came out of nowhere in 2018 and was filmed during the Patriots Super Bowl run in 2018 (eventually losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in a shootout). You can imagine how this series played out in Tom's head as he emerged again as a Super Bowl champion, but shockingly enough they fell short. Some argue (not me) that it made the series better from a viewer standpoint because of this loss, but imagine if we won that game? It'd win every independent documentary award possible because you just can't script a guaranteed Super Bowl win. I guess my two cents on the series starts with Facebook Watch in general. It's too clunky and difficult to find exactly what you're looking for. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Justin Bieber's latest series he filmed for YouTube rolled easily from one episode to the next if you're binge watching of course. The Tom vs. Time production was just too difficult to easily find, as are all videos on Facebook Watch. If you're going to do a project like this, just partner with Facebook's cousin YouTube and make it a more seamless experience for everyone. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't launch his own digital platform to release it on (TB12 productions coming soon!)

Howard Stern Interview:

My last example, is the Howard Stern interview which was live on Sirius XM last Monday April 6. This thing was TWO HOURS! Imagine Tom Brady doing a two hour interview at any point in his career? I thought it was totally unorthodox of him to do a podcast, which he conducted with Peter King back in 2017, let alone an interview with the notorious Stern. Now granted, this isn't Howard Stern of the 90's, and this isn't Brady of his 20's. This was a very much watered-down Stern who is still making millions at this day and age and he had mentioned he'd wanted Brady on the show many times over the previous decade. Whether there is truth to the Patriots not allowing Brady on the show as pointed out in the interview, we'll never know. However my honest opinion of the entire thing (yes I heard it all) was that Brady opened up and he offered some glimpses into how his final year in New England stood. I'm fully aware his time in NE is over, and I'll never forget the moments he gave us as fans, but it was just incredibly surreal and shocking to hear how he moved his family to freakin FLORIDA and shuffled right into Derek Jeter Properties Inc. Now that I think about it, really the only takeaway I have of the interview a week later is that Jeter has crazy high walls/gates in front of the house to limit the fine folks down there. Where Brady lived basically in seclusion with his family in Chestnut Hill, MA for so many years, it's comical to hear him mentioned how his neighbors can just walk up to his driveway while walking the dog like it's everyday American life. He better get used to it.

Woods.

I recently purchased a book by writer Michael Bamberger entitled "The Second Life of Tiger Woods" and it couldn't be a more perfect depiction of the era we are currently witnessing play out with the most popular golfer in generations. Nothing needs to be said on 2009, and the days, weeks and months thereafter. We know, we get it. Now you flash forward a couple years in dealing with back injuries, his routine blog posts announcing he is yet again not ready to return to competitive golf will forever be a staple in those years in the mid-2010's. On Twitter, I still remember commenting on a tweet of his which filmed him hitting an iron shot for the first time since spinal fusion surgery (over 500 likes how do you like that) and thinking he had turned a corner. Imagine seeing a tweet of him hitting one iron shot in October 2017? In shorts no less? We knew we were in for a long period of waiting, similar to the worldwide population with the shit we're going through right now. Yet, we waited, and we watched, and finally we saw him win at the Tour Championship in 2018. And for the grand finale (for now) with a fifth green jacket last April. However, much like Brady, Tiger has started coming to light in the eyes of the fan. He's routinely started giving more interviews (more on this soon), also posting on social media, becoming more animated during press conferences and really beginning to show the average golf fan what life is like for Eldrick Woods.

Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson Thanksgiving 2018:

I did not watch this, just throwing that out there first. I was skeptical from the start, mainly because I was going to be traveling for Thanksgiving in 2018 and wasn't sure if I'd even be in position to watch this match. The match in question here, was a pay-per-view event which was intended to provide sports fans with a totally unorthodox at the end of the calendar year event that was destined to be full of shit-talking, caddie insight and heavy sponsor presence surrounding the making of this Las Vegas spectacle. From what I gather, Shadow Creek is very photogenic and was a strong candidate to host something like this. The issue was, it was Thanksgiving weekend. Aka the heart of football season. The reviews mention there was entirely too much silence during the broadcast and there are still opinions out there to this date of people giving their two cents on how this match could have been better. With talks of a re-match in the works and the inclusion of none other than Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, there are scenarios abound on how this can be a homerun especially at a time where sports are totally 100% non-existent.

Tiger Woods Golf Digest Podcast (April 9)

As long as I can remember in recent memory, Tiger had appeared on only one podcast during his career (Geno Auriemma's podcast three years ago). This provided somewhat of an inside look in how Tiger was preparing to play competitive golf again and the status of his health. Well, flash forward to this year where absolutely nothing makes sense, the week before Tiger should be preparing for Augusta, he appeared on a podcast produced by Golf Digest and conducted by Henni Zuel. If anyone is wondering what Tiger is up to at this time, he mentioned he's trying to help daughter Sam and girlfriend Erica with this "Un-Godly puzzle, which is difficult because I'm partially color-blind." Never knew that. Tiger also mentioned he's helping Sam and son Charlie with home-schooling. Ten years ago I couldn't imagine Tiger giving any sort of update on his children (granted Charlie was born in 2009) but hypothetically if he had children during the mid-2000's there would be zero chance of allowing this type of look into his life.

Masters 2019 Recap with Jim Nantz

The Masters is a tradition unlike any other, and it just so happens this is a calendar year already unlike any other in some of the most disappointing and negative ways possible. Mainly, there was no Augusta this year. There was no champions dinner, no drive chip and putt competition, no par-3 contest and no four rounds of the greatest golf played all year. In hopes of providing some type of nostalgic and normal moment for sports fans globally, CBS, YouTube and ESPN have been re-airing old final rounds of the tournament and fittingly, on Easter Sunday, re-ran the 2019 Masters that brought literally generations together in one moment. While everything seems to be digital and online these days, CBS actually had Jim Nantz and Tiger collaborating during the broadcast together, as various interviews throughout the round was conducted. The most telling, and most emotional segment of even the entire calendar year, were the remaining five minutes once the broadcast showed Tiger winning his fifth Masters. Where there wasn't a dry eye when he won, there were an equal number of dry eyes hearing him talk about embracing his family on the last hole. For Tiger to be available over the course of a five hour broadcast, this truly marks a new era and a much, much more real Eldrick Woods. 

In closing, this was a pretty surreal blog to write. Where nothing makes sense these days, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods have been at the tops of their games consistently throughout their entire careers. So much has been said about the privacy they choose to withhold over the year, and when we're able to get a peek over the fence, or through the window of what their lives might be like, now both in their 40s it sounds like they are becoming more comfortable at not shutting themselves out from reality. While we only have YouTube these days to relive some of these cherishable moments in sports, maybe once this is all over it'll only be just the beginning to truly learn what types of people Tom and Tiger really are.

When Life Gives You a Schedule, Stick to the Routine

4:47am.

It's hard to believe I'm approaching eight years in the workforce upon graduating college in 2011. In today's society and culture, life was a hell of a lot different in 2011-2012 than it is today, and this includes the job market. From arriving to work every morning at 7:30am in a full suit ready to clean cars at one of the country's leading rental car agencies (figure that one out) and leaving not a second before 6:00pm Monday through Friday (and sometimes Saturday), I've found having a routine to follow each day both structurally and emotionally important. While many 22 year old new grads may not come to grips with this until years later (I sure didn't) I look back on the last eight years and am incredibly thankful that I figured this thing out and developed into a morning person. 

4:47am.

Fast forward to today, I'm sitting by the pool at a resort in Scottsdale, AZ on a business trip visiting one of the biggest clients I've ever worked with (both size and financial) with my boss and fellow colleague. It's 8:36am (start rolling your eyes now) and so far today I've run 8.2 miles and walked another 60 minutes as a cool down. Yes I'm one of those sickos who wakes up biblically early to workout and then workout again. However, there is simply more to my madness.

I don't travel for work very often, and I'm very appreciative whenever presented the opportunity and hope to continue doing so. Speaking with my boss yesterday afternoon, we dove into discussion about what we do outside of work and why we are both so fond of exercising and getting dialed in during the morning hours. It's admirable for people to be able to find motivation and energy to wake up between 6-7am to get their workout done for the day. That being said, over the last five years I never think of waking up to workout as "getting it over with so I don't need to worry about it after work" like the majority of people who wake up to exercise. But seriously, credit to you for doing it because it's not easy. I do however need to give myself credit on a daily basis because I realize I'm one of the rare breeds who wakes up at truly psychotic hours because it's all about routine.

4:47am

Rewind to earlier this week, I'm currently on the plane headed for Scottsdale from Denver for the work trip and it hits me I need to set my alarm, as I do each day. While it may take less than a second to flip the switch on my phone to schedule the soothing and humble Jack Johnson to remind him he needs to wake up at 4:47am in order to wake me up in the morning, this simple act triggers my thoughts and plan for the next day. The biggest point I want to hammer home in this post, is that I follow this routine every single day, whether it's a Monday on a regular week, a Saturday night or a Wednesday during a work trip. Of course, if I'm on vacation at a location I pay a substantial part of my paycheck for, perhaps I decide to sleep in and only remind Jack to wake me up at, say...5:15am?

Establishing a routine is critical, and I'm dead serious about this. Thinking back to when I was an actual college student, it took a few years for me to figure it out. However, during my senior year, I noticed I began to adapt somewhat of an early riser routine when I was in the gym at 8-9am on a Saturday (you can imagine this was an entire ghost town, aside from the hungover desk attendant to which I was one myself and had plenty of those types of mornings). Starting in say 2015 began the consistent wake-up calls ranging from (yikes) as early as 3:50am. I will say, I did not wake up this early to regularly workout. Chances are I had a 4+ hour bike ride planned that day, a ski trip, you get it. I visited Seattle to attend a wedding just last year of a lifelong friend, and even then in one of the coolest areas I'd visited in the US, I was still setting an alarm to find the nearest Planet Fitness simply to stay grounded and on routine (sorry Alli). Another wedding of a lifelong friend three years ago in New Jersey, another alarm set. Granted, this was the first and only time I ever started a workout and puked not because of the workout, but because of the night before. A little aggressive on that one.

The takeaway is this: whether it's a normal day of the week, a weekend, a vacation, wedding, business trip or whatever, the value and benefit of having and following an established routine has changed my life. Like many 22 year olds, it began when I was a tad on the heavier side (all muscle, just too much of it) and wanted to embark on my goal of really looking like Paul Walker. It's carried me over five years and has taught me to stay true to myself, enjoy each morning and simply attempt to slow life down and recognize what's around you. How nice is it to be running on an empty beach, park or street knowing you're ahead of everyone else. How nice is it to get that first tee time? That first chairlift? This is why I do it, and this is why I thank Jack Johnson for waking up with me each and every morning, much to his chagrin I'm sure. Aloha.

4:54am: I realize I hit snooze and now I'm pissed.

Brian is a native of southern Maine and is approaching eight years of professional marketing experience. Current and previous work experience ranges from managing digital advertising campaigns for residential real estate properties, e-commerce merchants and B2B service providers. His current title is Senior Account Manager and is based in Denver, Colorado. In his spare time he will almost always be on either a golf course, beach (either physically or spiritually) along the coast or attempting a black diamond on a mountain in Colorado. His blogging interests include professional golf, tech advances and business news.

Thank You Tom

This is the first piece of writing I've done in quite some time, and it's on the heels of watching the New England Patriots get shockingly ousted in the first wild card game at Gillette Stadium in exactly a decade by the Tennessee Titans. It was a difficult sight to see, with many emotions filling my head and my heart. As far as I'm concerned, my diehard sports fandom began on September 23rd, 2001 aka Brady's first appearance (no offense to Drew Bledsoe). This spurned a run by the Pats and on January 19th, 2002 in the AFC divisional round, we're introduced to the Tuck Rule. The Patriots lined up in a snow globe against the Oakland Raiders, were granted a generous call that would change the game forever and went on to beat the greatest show on turf, aka the St. Louis Rams on February 3, 2002. Since then, it's been the greatest ride a sports fan could ever imagine.

First of all, I'm not sure where to begin. It's been many months since I've written something (9.5 out of 10 times about golf) and this comes as sort of an unfortunate circumstance. Last night was the first wild card game to be played in Foxboro, MA in exactly 10 years. This was a game which could have easily been avoided, had the New England Patriots actually given a shit last week against the Miami Dolphins. Instead? They showed up sluggishly to the stadium and allowed 59-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick to embarrass them all the way to an easily avoidable wild card game.

Witnessing one of the worst games in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era, there has been numerous speculation that this would be the last time we see Brady in a Pats jersey. This simply can't be true, can it? Regardless of what he decides literally months from now, being a New England sports fan would absolutely not happen had Drew Bledsoe not been hurt back in 2001.

So where to even begin to describe what these last 20 years meant to someone like me? Do we start with Vinatieri hitting the game-winning field goal with zero seconds left against the Rams? Do we follow it up two years later for back to back nail biters against Jake 'The Snake' Delhomme and again against Donovan McNabb in 2003-04? What if these Super Bowl wins never happen? What if we lost to Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers? Would the momentum Boston Red Sox have beaten the curse later that year? Would we not have witnessed Andy Reid and his disgraced clock management the following February? These are all questions I don't care to answer, nor should I.

Following three Super Bowls and a World Series championship, there appeared to be a bit of a lull in terms of world championships. If this run in the early 2000's stopped after we beat the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005, I'd honestly be just fine. There were some solid years watching championships be won and the memories of those four events I'll cherish forever. But guess what? More shit happened.

Flash ahead to the fall of 2007, I'm a freshman in college. The exact day I moved into school, I watched Clay Buchholz throw a no-hitter later that night. Two months later, I was running through campus after sweeping the Colorado Rockies (suck on that one). Once school got out in the spring, it was a mere month later I watched the Celtics win the NBA Championship against the LA Lakers. That's an entire documentary-worthy story in itself, but the focus is on me here. The timing of these wins came at an unbelievable time in my life. Thinking back to the first three Super Bowls, I was in middle school. I was an obnoxious 13-15-year-old begging for rides places from my parents and still remember vividly watching the Panthers and Eagles Super Bowls at pal Sam Marcisso's house. Memories I'll never forget. Being in college for not one championship, but three championships (Red Sox '07, Celtics '08 and Bruins '11) was truly something I never could have imagined. The actual insane thing about this? We weren't finished.

Okay seriously, three Super Bowls, two World Series, an NBA Championship and Stanley Cup Championship by the time I graduated college is enough. Please stop, nothing can beat this...L.O.L.

The entire championship timeline, from 2000-2019, can easily be factored into incredibly important stages of my life. The early success of the Patriots, followed by the three Super Bowls were at a time of youth where no cell phones, driver licenses or alcohol need not apply. From '07-'11...college. Being a student at a school in Massachusetts during these wins is truly indescribable. And then there are the parades, which are a scene in itself. The '07 Red Sox parade and the '11 Bruins parade will both be days I'll never forget, mainly for the people I was with.

But what about post-college? I don't mean in terms of sports, but what about life? College is over, and everyone is fucked. Every decision you make it on you and no one else. It's a totally different life at this point, except if you're a sports fan in New England.

World Series' in 2013 and 2018, and Super Bowls in 2014, 2016 and 2018 (holy shit this is insane) filled up the remainder of the decade. The Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals yet again, followed by beating the LA Dodgers within two weeks of me moving to Colorado. A mere four months later in 2019, the Patriots struggle against the LA Rams but eventually claim yet another trophy. I mentioned I moved to Colorado in 2018, which just illustrates this next part of life in the post-college years. It's been truly special.

Now with the good, there is an equal amount of the bad. I don't think we as fans, nor the actual Patriots team will never be able to talk shit to NY Giants fans for the rest of time. With our six championships, there are two loses both to the Giants and again to the Eagles in 2018. In 2010, the Celtics couldn't follow the success of 2008 and lost big to the Lakers. Finally, in 2013 the Bruins let a 2-1 series lead slip away against the Chicago Blackhawks and they continued their dominance with another Stanley Cup in the 2010's.

So what do these last 20 years in sports mean to me? For starters, how the fuck have I been alive long enough to say something like "wow, these last 20 years have flown by." I choose not to spend too much time thinking about that, albeit true. In the early 2000's I did nothing but play sports and spend time with my best friends. In the mid to late 2000's I grew up (somewhat) and developed new friends and relationships, and STILL watched championships happen. And finally, entering the working world and making major life moves geographically, we are still winning. Think about fans in Philadelphia? Florida? Arizona? Cleveland (HA)? Even in New York, the Yankees are obviously the Yankees but the Knicks will never win? In Philly, the Phillies had that one World Series and Super Bowl, but the Flyers SUCK and the 76ers run their mouths instead of plays. And people in LA are too busy giving a shit about climate change than to pay attention to the four or five NFL teams that are inhabiting the city.

In short, New England sports will forever shape my life. In this part of the country, we're pissed off, have attitudes and get entirely too aggressive in traffic. And we're the luckiest sons of bitches in the history of sport, and you can take that straight to the trophy case...if you can find room.