The political world took notice of the NFL again on Thursday, in the most bizarre of ways, as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was broadcast on seemingly more channels than the State of the Union as he discussed the condition of his balls.
In this case, 11 of the 12 game balls his team used during its AFC championship game victory against Indianapolis last weekend. Reports have swirled alleging that the Patriots used balls that were under-inflated by league specifications, which would have made them easier to catch and grip.
On Thursday, Brady denied any knowledge of any such activity. However, the way he did so brought about a reaction from people who normally wouldn't bother with the game, as seen below:
This Tom Brady person is attractive.— Lizz "Watch my special @ Vimeo On-Demand" Winstead (@Lizz "Watch my special @ Vimeo On-Demand" Winstead) 1421962065.0
Hilariously polarized perception of this from Pats fans on the staff vs the rest of us.— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1421962451.0
Brady himself attempted to bring some perspective to the proceedings, saying, "This isn't ISIS." However, that, too, became meme bait:
Super Bowl refs turn back on Brady. RT @Coondawg68 And the media desperately wants an apology. Brady isn't going to give one. Good.— Rob A Stocking (@Rob A Stocking) 1421962686.0
"Tom, enough about your balls, can we see your penis?" -- great question @jaketapper @CNN!— Jimmy Kimmel (@Jimmy Kimmel) 1421962265.0
This is the best sports story of all time. http://t.co/3aroNwOPjI— Nick Baumann (@Nick Baumann) 1421961643.0
I'm missing helen thomas in the front row. wish she were questioning brady right now. #DeflateGate— Michael Smerconish (@Michael Smerconish) 1421963224.0
Time to ask politicians if they're going to return campaign contributions they've received from Tom Brady.— David M. Drucker (@David M. Drucker) 1421962957.0
Word cloud of the Tom Brady press conference, pretty interesting http://t.co/h9OhYYS4F2— Dan Amira (@Dan Amira) 1421962793.0
Only one question: How does DeflateGate affect 2016?— David Corn (@David Corn) 1421962128.0
haha RT @zeltdc: #deflategate LOL RT @DanielStrauss4: ---> RT @anchorlines: http://t.co/lEVYd9a8dS— Mary Katharine Ham (@Mary Katharine Ham) 1421962523.0
Lastly, a word from a sponsor:
