Can’t take our eyes off crash
Tom Brady is OK, thank God.
I know this for certain, because I own two television sets, and very excitable folks on both were reassuring me almost immediately that the dashing
I was worried for a while, and you probably were too. When I saw the crowds gathering at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Gloucester Street I feared the worst — and that was even before I knew who was involved. But I knew crowds wouldn’t be gathering around a crash scene unless it was bad. My concern only intensified when every sports reporter in town — and many non-sports reporters — huddled at Gillette Stadium waiting for a glance of poor, shaggy Tom.
By then, a story line was beginning to take shape: that Brady appeared shaken, but wasn’t really hurt, and — crucially — that the accident wasn’t his fault. Teammates were interrogated and testified that their captain was unscathed.
It all started to get a little boring, to be honest. The Patriots, as is their wont, had nothing of interest to say. And Brady, predictably, said nothing at all.
Meanwhile, I was starting to wonder why Brady being unhurt in an accident was getting the same kind of attention it would if he were, you know, hurt.
I realize that Boston feels emotionally invested in the franchise QB. He’s a wonderful story, even if I liked him a little better when he was less stylish. Love the quarterback; the sometime model, not so much.
There was, of course, another car in the crash. It was driven by 21-year-old Ludgero Rodrigues, whose father, Rogerio, was the one person who was seriously injured. He was in surgery yesterday. The younger Rodrigues apparently ran a red light, which prompted some talk show callers to question his immigration status, and to muse about whether he should be deported for running into Brady. I kid you not.
Every indication is that young Rodrigues is in for a pounding. Already, early reports wrongly said he had been arrested for drunken driving; state driving records said as much, but officials say it was a case of stolen identity. He does have a sorry history of infractions, but nothing that involves dangerous driving. And while I realize that immigration is an easy accelerant on radio and cable, the instant fixation on it didn’t reflect well on the Brady fans raising the issue. Tom Brady Sr. — the quarterback’s father — deserves credit for expressing concern for the Rodrigues family at a time when most of us were treating them as an afterthought.
And by a show of hands, let’s see the Boston drivers who have never run through a light.
Brady has always come across as a glass-half-full kind of guy, and this accident seems to be no exception. On the same day that he walked away from a serious accident by brushing some broken glass off his jeans, he signed a $72 million contract extension. Though the contract was obviously almost done, some in the football commentariat speculated that he signed Thursday because the accident was a reminder that anything can happen. Hard to know how they arrived at this, since Brady hasn’t said a word, but I guess it’s a reasonable hunch.
This is not a hunch: It’s really good to be Tom Brady. Even the $97,000 car he wrecked was apparently loaned to him by a charity he works with, and he clearly won’t be sweating the possibility of a higher insurance premium.
Brady is certain to be closely scrutinized during tomorrow’s game, lest he have some hidden injury. Or just in case he still looks shaken.
And for all I know, helicopters may be hovering around the Back Bay, tracking his movements, for weeks to come. Because Tom Brady walked away from a car accident, and we can’t possibly know enough about it.
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com.