Three years ago, moments before the Patriots-Broncos AFC Championship game kicked off, a picture of Tom Brady riding a bucking bronco popped up on the quarterback’s Facebook page. The image was rudimentary and appeared to be hastily done—the Photoshop skills of whoever designed it were questionable at best—and all the caption said was “8:30pm #SNF #letsgoooooo.”
The photo intrigued me because it wasn’t very in line with Brady’s public image—Brady doesn’t seem like an especially silly guy, and this was undeniably, delightfully silly. What I didn’t know is that this picture would be the start of a three-and-a-half year journey.