It's been a complicated path but I've come around to really loving and appreciating Drew Bledsoe and how much he meant to Boston sports in my childhood.
People kinda forget how toxic things were by the time Brady took over. The Pete Carroll years weren't great, and by 2000 when they stagnated to 5-11 I feel like I was so negative on Bledsoe that I wanted Michael Bishop to start (dude could throw the ball like 70 yards in the air and was the first scrambling QB I remember in Foxboro. He was basically a Dollar Tree version of Michael Vick.) After they gave him that huge contract and he had that incident at the concert, the media was starting to circle around him like sharks smelling blood.
When he got hurt and Brady took over and there was a controversy over who should start, I was definitely team Brady, but was always impressed with how well Drew carried himself. He wasn't being a baby and crying to the media, he supported and helped coach up Brady, and when he came in in the AFCCG it was a wonderful moment.
Of course, after the trade inside the division, along with all the petty Bledsoe vs. Brady debates and such, I was a little unfair to him. But with time passing I have come around again to appreciate what he meant to the franchise. He was the star of the first team I watched (1994 Pats), he played exciting football, helped them get to a Superbowl in 1996-97. I remember I had a Drew Bledsoe uniform for Halloween back in like 1995 or 1996. Had a jersey at some point. And historically, he may have done more than anyone other than Robert Kraft to save this franchise from being moved. If they don't have the #1 overall pick and a blue chip franchise QB lined up, is Parcells going to give up his broadcasting job to take the job here? If they wound up with bust Rick Mirer or Scott Secules or someone as the starting QB from 1993-1995, does that team survive? Does Kraft see enough value in them as a future investment to take the actions he did in leveraging the stadium lease to take the team over from Orthwein if you've got Rick Mirer and Dick Macpherson? I kinda doubt it. And if Bledsoe and Parcells don't have that great 1994 season, are they worth enough that Kraft could hold onto them and get a new stadium built in New England? It's all interesting to think about.
I love her but it was hilarious and still is.
