Quick: What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Brett Favre?
Maybe it's 20 years as a gritty NFL quarterback or the Super Bowl he won for the Packers or the three consecutive MVPs or his career passing marks or, perhaps, a lingering recollection of a bushel of bad picks in the waning days of his career.
Favre is eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2016, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a pundit who won't declare him a first-ballot entry.
Never mind that Favre was fined $50,000 by the NFL in 2010 for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into charges that he sent lewd texts to a female Jets employee. Never mind that two team massage therapists followed up by suing Favre because they claimed he sent them racy text messages, and after they reported it, they were let go by the Jets (Favre settled out of court with both women).
Those allegations are a footnote in an otherwise illustrious career -- twilight interceptions aside -- because that's how fans prefer it. Fans measure sports heroes by statistics, not indiscretions. They crave results, and if they get them, they willingly turn a blind eye to missteps that might sully the reputation of an icon they so fervently wish to embrace.
Has Tom Brady emerged as the exception to that rule? His personal and professional success has placed a bull's-eye on his back and left many gleefully and dutifully charting his demise. The only thing we seem to enjoy more than building up superstars is tearing them down.
Brady will meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday at the NFL offices in Manhattan to appeal his four-game suspension for his role in Deflategate.
It was "more probable than not" that Brady, according to the Wells Report commissioned by the NFL, was "at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities" of locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski.
Brady's so-called transgressions aren't anywhere close to as unseemly or heinous as Favre's, yet they have been treated with unprecedented weight and gravity. Make no mistake: Tuesday is a significant day for Brady. He's fighting for his reputation and his livelihood, and those close to him insist he has been steadfast in proclaiming his innocence and is prepared to take the necessary steps, however prolonged the process might be, to expunge this stain from his resume.
The fortunes of the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, obviously, are directly tied to Brady's fate. The team will be watching closely, knowing full well any reduction in Brady's suspension will reverberate throughout the NFL.
But the idea that Brady's legacy is hanging in the balance, based on Goodell's ruling, is simply nonsense.
Brady's place in the annals of NFL history was cemented years ago, when he and coach Bill Belichick teamed to win three Super Bowls in four seasons. It was further enhanced by Brady's leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl XLIX comeback win over the Seattle Seahawks, which sported the league's stingiest defense.
The surreal developments that followed have turned Deflategate into a punch line gone viral, a social media feeding frenzy gone amok, and have left a sports icon on "trial" for liking his footballs a certain way.
When you say it out loud, it sounds absurd, but there are legitimate questions about the game's integrity and why Brady was so uncooperative in releasing phone, email and text messages. Goodell's favorite buzzword is "transparency," and he left the door ajar for a potential reduction in the four-game ban when he said, "I look forward to hearing directly from Tom.''
Regardless of what happens, it seems highly unlikely the hearing will alter the opinion of the masses.
Brady has become one of the most polarizing figures in NFL history. In five New England states (with Connecticut and its proximity to New York the exception), fans are unwavering in their defense of their franchise quarterback, and they find it inconceivable that he did anything wrong. Some of his supporters have exhibited an irrational defiance (see the "Free Tom Brady'' rallies) that makes us wince.
Throughout a large swath of the rest of the country, however, no matter what the quarterback says or the commissioner determines, fans have already decided Brady is a cheat and a fraud, yet another in a list of arrogant Patriots who believe they are above the "shield." Goodell could reduce his ban to zero games and publicly exonerate Brady, and it would not shake the stubborn resolve of a football population that has already tried and convicted Gisele's husband in the court of public opinion.
Even the most ardent Brady critics concede the deflation of the footballs -- regardless of how that occurred -- did not provide a significant advantage to the quarterback. As we all know by now, Brady's numbers were far more prolific after the so-called deflated balls were removed in the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Go back, and reexamine what Brady accomplished in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX, with his team trailing by 10 points with 12 minutes to play. He completed 13 of 15 passes in that final quarter, including eight straight completions on the final drive. He did so throwing footballs whose pounds per square inch (PSI) pressure levels were more closely guarded than the recipe for Coca Cola, which has been locked in a vault in Atlanta for decades.
My guess is Brady's suspension will be reduced but not eliminated. When he and Goodell cozy up for a fireside chat in his Manhattan offices, you can be sure the quarterback will eloquently state his case and sway the commissioner to exhibit some leniency. Heck, if Ray Rice can do it, Tom Terrific can!
But Goodell can't let Brady off without a penalty. The commissioner has already wandered too far down the path of Deflategate, with too much scrutiny, criticism and skepticism dogging him. If Goodell eliminates the suspension, he would be, in essence, ruling against himself. There's also the matter of the Wells Report, which cost the NFL millions of dollars.
The good news for Brady is our attention span is scattered. Although missing a quarter of an NFL season would be frustrating and inherently unfair in his eyes, he would return in plenty of time to salvage the year and his reputation as a clutch player who closes the deal.
By the time Brady retires, Deflategate will be an afterthought overshadowed by his exemplary accomplishments. More salacious scandals involving other high-profile NFL stars will have unfolded, and when Brady comes up for Hall of Fame consideration in 2023 (or '24 or '25), the Deflategate narrative will be muted.
Just ask Favre. All these years later, he's still hawking Wrangler Jeans as a family man with a football, a dog and a truck.
Eventually, we either forgive, forget or move on.
Even when it's Tom Brady.