Give credit where it’s due: Rob Parker is committed to the shtick.
Even as Tom Brady continues to pile up Super Bowl appearances, Parker still can’t bring himself to recognize the New England Patriots quarterback as the best signal-caller in NFL history. That honor, Parker claims, belongs to San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana.
Fine. Montana was great. There’s no denying that. If you make a list of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Montana probably should sit in second place behind Brady. But Parker’s logic is so incredibly irrational that it strikes a certain chord with Patriots fans — and he knows it.
Parker believes — or so he says — that Montana is the GOAT because he went a perfect 4-0 in Super Bowls. This, Parker suggests, is more impressive than Brady’s accomplishments, which include nine trips to the Super Bowl and a chance to secure his sixth championship ring Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta.
Yes, that’s right: Parker penalizes Brady for his Super Bowl losses despite the Patriots QB already winning one more ring than Montana and reaching the big game five(!) more times. According to Parker’s flawed rationale, Brady would’ve been better off losing before the Super Bowl rather than leading the Patriots to defeat on football’s biggest stage. Got it.
Brady has been making Parker look like a fool for years, and this season has been no different with the Patriots one victory away from another title. But again, Parker refuses to back down, likely knowing it’ll keep him relevant and in the headlines. So he doubled down (again) this week in claiming that Brady is the “LOAT” (luckiest of all time) rather than the “GOAT” (greatest of all time).
“It’s not that he’s not a great player and if you give him an opening he doesn’t make you pay. But so many things have happened to him to set him up,” Parker said on NBC Sports Boston’s “Boston Sports Tonight” from Radio Row. ” … I’m not saying that he’s not a great player. I’m just saying that things have worked out for him. We can go Super Bowl for Super Bowl. You’re telling me he’s the greatest of all time, yet Eli Manning beat him twice, a backup quarterback (Nick Foles) beat him last year.”
Brady isn’t perfect, and losing twice to the New York Giants and once to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl shouldn’t be dismissed — just like Montana’s playoff failures in rounds prior to the Super Bowl shouldn’t be dismissed when evaluating the totality of each quarterback’s legacy.
When it comes to sports takes, Parker’s just might be the “WOAT” (worst of all time).
