America has a love/hate relationship with Tom Brady, and we mean that quite literally.
The New England Patriots have been a lightning rod over the last several years, and Brady, one of the NFL’s highest-profile players on one of its highest-profile teams, usually is at the center of the chatter. But it turns out there are plenty of people who both adore and despise the Patriots quarterback.
A study released Monday by Public Policy Polling asked American fans to weigh in on several NFL topics, among them their most favorite and least favorite quarterback in the league. Their answer for both was Brady.
Brady received 22 percent of America’s vote for “most popular,” beating out Aaron Rodgers (16 percent), Eli Manning (11 percent) and Dak Prescott (10 percent). But 24 percent of fans tabbed Brady as their least favorite QB, giving him a landslide win over Cam Newton (15 percent), Ben Roethlisberger (10 percent) and, somehow, Tim Tebow (10 percent).
These numbers, of course, make sense. Brady is adored by Patriots fans, and many others idolize the veteran QB who might go down as the greatest ever to play the position. But even more fans despise Brady and the front-running Patriots, especially after the Deflategate scandal cast him as a cheater in some eyes. Brady’s connection to President Donald Trump also likely complicates matters.
An even less surprising finding from the poll is that New England is the most hated team in the NFL (again), earning 21 percent of votes to beat out the Dallas Cowboys (19 percent). The poll also found 53 percent of respondents will be rooting for the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, while just 27 percent are pulling for the Patriots.
In short: If you’re not with Brady and the Pats, you’re against them.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
