When Roger Goodell said it would be an “honor” to present Tom Brady and the Patriots with their Super Bowl hardware, he misspoke.
Awkward was more like it.
The day after they briefly shared the podium for the Vince Lombardi Trophy ceremony — Brady led the Patriots to the greatest Super Bowl comeback in history on Sunday night, rallying them from 25 points down to a 34-28 victory in overtime over the Falcons in Houston — the commissioner presented his courthouse rival with the MVP trophy at an more intimate press conference.
The precious photo op comes just months after Goodell wrapped up the years-long Deflategate saga by handing Brady a controversial four-game suspension to start this season.
On Monday, Goodell told Brady in a stern voice to come up to the stage. With a devilish grin, Brady walked up and met Goodell, forcing a contrived smile himself. After handing him the trophy, Goodell has to pull Brady, trying to keep his space, by the elbow to the side for photos.
Goodell and Brady, along with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, each managed to say the politically correct things.
“The two gentlemen we have here have set new bars across the league. Five Super Bowl championships, and four MVPs for Tom Brady, cementing his legacy as not just a great Super Bowl performer, but maybe one of the greatest player of all time,” Goodell said. “It’s a great honor for us, and me personally, to have both of these guys here this morning.”
When asked if Sunday night’s remarkable comeback victory would help fix the relationship with Goodell, Brady declined to answer, instead talking about his missing Super Bowl jersey and winning the MVP award (which he said should have gone to running back revelation James White).
“It’s an honor to be here and have the commissioner present us with the trophy,” Brady said. “It certainly means a lot and my kids will be happy to see that trophy. They always ask about it, and I get to bring them one home.”
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