The Celebrity Quarterback Loses Super Bowl

Tom Brady played great at times but he lost.

He had a record 16 straight completions in the first half. He was on his game. Celebrity quarterback Tom Brady (see post Celebrity vs Non-Celebrity) was playing great. So was the Non-Celebrity Eli Manning, but in the biggest game at the most important time, Eli Manning came up with a shockingly brilliant pass to Mario Manningham on the side line. It was a pass so special that people will be talking about it and reviewing it as long as they play professional football. 

Tom Brady couldn't come up with a similar play.   
He actually was slightly off throwing behind league #1 receiver Wes Welker at the end. Ordinarily Wes Walker catches that ball, this one he dropped. Had it been on target no way does it get dropped. And of course on the next play another star receiver, tight end Aaron Hernandez inexplicably dropped a perfect wide open pass and so there’s really no blame you can put on Brady. But there were other questionable throws when a great pass could have made a big difference. When the Patriots desperately needed the great play, when the receiver was there to make that play…the perfect pass never came. Brady has a history of delivering in the clutch, but not this time. Odd.

There’s “no blame” for Brady but there’s also no spectacular miracle pass to win the game either.  
There is no way you can say this is the reason the Patriots lost but it is worth noting because it highlights the fine line between winning and losing. Usually the big games are won by a great play, not by just having a “no blame” game. The quarterback is the key player and the pressure is certainly on him when time is running out and the game is one the line. For whatever reason, this time the non-celebrity quarterback came up with one of those plays and the celebrity quarterback didn’t. Was that the reason the Giants won? I don’t know but there’s no question it was a factor.

The fine line.
Football games have so many players, so many plays, so many variables that anybody’s theory can sound plausible as to why one team wins and the other team loses. But it points out clearly how hard you’ve got to work, how hard you’ve got to prepare, and how hard you’ve got to perform to reach the top.  Any little thing can make the difference.

You see it in other sports as well
That’s why there was only a fraction of an inch difference between winning and losing in 2 of the 8 races at the last Olympics where swimming hero Michael Phelps won his 8 gold medals. Recently, Novak Djokovic just barely edged out Rafael Nadal after a spectacular, intense, five hour finals tennis match at the Australian open. One bounce of the ball after 5 hours of intense competition—and one wins—the other loses.  

That’s why some people would always pick a non-celebrity over a celebrity.  
They realize that to win, no matter how talented they are, they’re going to have to give it everything they’ve got because there’s such a fine line of difference between mediocrity and greatness. It doesn’t matter how famous they are or how many times they’ve won before.

In any given game it comes down to who is the best prepared and wants it most. 
If you are choosing between a celebrity and a non-celebrity, some think that the non-celebrity is the one who is likely to be the hungriest. They think that the non-celebrity also is the one most likely to have the fewest distractions, to have the most focus and to be the most willing to all the non glamorous and painstaking grinding and grunt work needed to be the best prepared. Even if the celebrity only cuts corners slightly or is only slightly less focused, that could be enough to make a difference. The difference shows up when the intensity is the highest. 

Was that the difference in this Super Bowl? You tell me. 

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Celebrities Vs Non-Celebrities In The Super Bowl
Tom Coughlin, The People’s Coach
The Winning Edge Is Razor Thin

Celebrities vs Non-Celebrities in the Super Bowl

Here’s an interesting sub-plot for this year's Super Bowl—the celebrity versus the non-celebrity.

It won’t be with the coaches because they are both non-celebrities. The NY Giant’s Coach Tom Coughlin doesn’t have the interest, personality, face or wit to be a darling of the media. He is 100% football all the time. You won’t see him on a lot of commercials (any? ever?) You won’t see him on a lot of late night talk shows or on the red carpet rubbing shoulders with movie stars.

The New England Patriot’s Bill Belichick also falls in the non-celebrity camp. He’s a lot closer to going over the celebrity line than Coughlin, but in spite of the fact that he has tons of famous friends and enjoys getting out a lot in the off-season, he still studiously avoids the limelight. No one doubts his priorities. He has never been accused of seeking the spotlight. His mind is clearly on keeping his head down, keeping the distractions to a minimum and getting his job done. 

The celebrity vs non-celebrity battle will be fought at quarterback
Hall of Fame Coach Bill Parcells says, when looking for a franchise quarterback, look for a non-celebrity. His thinks that puts the odds of success in your favor. Some say he feels that way because he wants the entire spotlight for himself. Everyone has an opinion, but there is no mistaking that some are celebrities and some aren’t. It’s interesting to see how they compete when the pressure is the highest. Some can handle it, some can’t.

This year we have one of each
Eli Manning avoids the spotlight. It is an amazing tribute to his determination to maintain a low profile and avoid the spotlight that he is the quarterback in New York, the media capital of the world, he has performed at an elite level and even won a Super Bowl, yet he is almost invisible off the field. He has no trouble keeping his focus.

New England's quarterback is another story. As the winner of 3 Super Bowls and the husband of the world’s greatest super model Gisele Bündchen, he is always in the celebrity spotlight. He also finds his way regularly into the magazines, celebrity golf tournaments, talk shows. No one questions his competitive drive or commitment but there is no questioning his celebrity status. There’s also no question he hasn’t been playing at his best lately—and Manning has.

Being a celebrity is not a kiss of death
Joe Namath was an incredibly huge celebrity when he made his prediction to win the Super Bowl and delivered, shocking the world in the process. Others have done well in various sports as well. You could put David Beckham up there as a big example, but closer examination reveals most had their biggest success BEFORE they reached the spotlight status. Michael Phelps was celebrated but not a “celebrity” before he won his 8 Gold medals at the China Olympics. Since then he has become a bonafide celebrity and has found putting in the same amount of focused training as lot harder. His results have been nowhere near as spectacular. 

Brady won his 3 Super Bowls climbing the ladder to celebrity
He wasn’t the star he is today. When he won his early Super Bowls, he was barely known outside of football. Winning 3 times on the biggest stage in sports and television worldwide shot him into the celebrity zone and when he married Gisele Bündchen he solidified his celebrity status forever. If there was a Celebrity Hall of Fame he would already be in it! Yet, since reaching celebrity staus he hasn’t won nearly as much. They haven’t won nearly as much, they haven’t won in the playoffs as much and the one time they got back to the Super Bowl, they lost. It could be that Tom has been a celebrity for so long now he can handle it and still perform at his peak. We’ll see.

The fun of the Super Bowl is all the games within the game. 
This is just one you can keep your eye on to add a little extra interest. There are a lot of factors that go into winning, maybe this will be one. Will Manning be more focused and driven than the one who already “has it all?”

Will Brady’s distractions and more “exciting” life divert him from playing at his peak? It did last week. By his own admission “he sucked” compared to how he usually played as opposed to Manning who has been red-hot and deadly accurate in all the recent games.

Will it make a difference? We’ll find out Sunday!

Tom Coughlin, The People’s Coach

Most of us can relate to Tom.

In spite of obvious ability, hard work and past achievements, poor Tom always seems to be on the hot seat.

Things just seem to find a way to go against him. Player injuries, strange losing streaks, player dissension are common for every NFL team. But for Tom it always seems to be a little worse. Its like the guy just can’t get ahead. The least you can say is that he seems to have to work harder than everyone else. He knows he can’t leave anything to chance because no one is going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Things don’t come easy for Coach Coughlin
He wasn’t a child coaching prodigy. He had to work his way up the coaching ranks from the bottom one tough step at the time. He was overlooked and taken for granted. Over a long time he developed a great reputation. Only through tons of hard and extra work did he move up and reach the point where he could even interview for head coaching job. At 49 he finally got his chance and was hired to be the first coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 7 years he took this expansion team to 2 AFC Championship games. His reward for this incredible achievement? Fired. 

Most of us can relate to his struggles
We go through life and see the breaks go against us. We find ourselves often ignored, past over and taken for granted. So much of our life seems like it’s tied up in grinding out work that no one notices or appreciates. We keep ourselves on track doing the quiet, thankless jobs that we know are important but we don’t ever see it pay off in anything big for us. Also no matter how much effort we put into our work it often seems like it’s not good enough.

The few times we have pulled off some great achievement and gotten recognized - finally - the moment is quickly forgotten by those in authority. In no time at all it seems like it never happened. We are still treated like we are just faces in the crowd. 

Tom is always on the hot seat
He took over as head coach of the New York Giants in 2004, inheriting a 4-12 team. He quietly went to work to turn things around. Four years later the Giants won the Super Bowl in one of the biggest upsets ever! But amazingly he still has been on the hot seat constantly ever since. You have to assume he works hard and takes his job seriously but when his team gets hit with injuries, bad play by key players or any of the hundreds of things that happen to a football team to create slumps, immediately there are calls for his job. It’s like overnight it’s all his fault because he’s no longer good enough. He can’t reach today’s players, he can’t relate, he doesn’t have charisma, he doesn’t have good enough coaches, etc. Result? Tom is always on the hot seat.

But how does Tom respond? Like you do.
He knows no one feels sorry for him. He keeps his head down. He keeps working. He keeps encouraging his team. He keeps looking for ways to improve. He keeps believing things will work out if he keeps working. He keeps believing that the odds will even out over the long haul if he stays on track. He keeps believing his luck will turn for the better. And the amazing thing is that they do. His teams are tough. You can never count them out. Just when the criticism is the loudest and people have totally given up on his team they come back strong and surprise everyone. This year is no exception. They had such a mid season slump many felt Tom would be fired before the season ended. Tom kept working. He kept the team focused and improving. Result? THEY ARE IN THE SUPER BOWL! They didn’t quit, they kept fighting and the results eventually started to show.

Tom has a style we can relate to
He isn’t known as a genius. He’s not a celebrity. He doesn’t dominate television with commercials and appearances on talk shows. He just works hard and keeps on working hard  even when faced with withering criticism or disastrous results. He keeps the faith. He keeps moving forward. He knows hard work can overcome almost all obstacles. He doesn’t make excuses. He doesn’t blame others. He just works…..and because of that he eventually wins!

Tom Coughlin’s  example of winning primarily through toughness and hard work is an example for us all. We can relate to his struggles. He is the “People’s Coach!”