It was the perfect coda for the Super Bowl.
A Giant fan saw Gisele Bundchen, wife of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, heading to an elevator. He screamed out: “Eli owns your husband.”
To which she responded: “My husband cannot f#$%ing throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times."
Gisele was not in the privacy of her home but she was also not standing in front of a camera speaking into a microphone.
Strictly speaking, she was not on stage.
And yet, she was in public. She is Gisele and she is married to Tom Brady, so her remarks were immediately broadcast. And she was widely criticized for not showing the proper respect for her husband’s teammates.
Yet, as Jason Gay sagely pointed out, if you run into Gisele in the hallway and the first thing you think of is: “Eli owns your husband” you have a serious problem, one that has nothing to do with football.
One is supposed to understand the impulse to pile on Gisele, to teach the woman a thing or two about football etiquette, and especially about team-mating.
Anyone who thinks that has missed the point. Gisele was teaching a lesson in spousal loyalty.
It’s not quite the same thing as true love. You can love your spouse and be disloyal.
Unfortunately, in our narcissistic age, where people are incessantly told to be independent and autonomous, spousal loyalty has gone out of style.
As I have often had had occasion to say, spousal disloyalty is one of the quickest and easiest ways to kill a marriage.
Spousal loyalty is critically important to a long, happy marriage.
Gisele was just offering a demonstration of a transcendent ethical virtue. Among her many wonderful qualities this one has nothing to do with genes.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'd bet the players that dropped the ball would agree with her ...
ReplyDeletebeing a good "teammate" doesn't meaning ignoring reality ...
I don't know what the big deal is. It was a clever comeback, and she did nail it.
ReplyDeleteGood point... it was a very clever comeback... especially from a woman whose native language is Portuguese.
ReplyDeleteThese guy are supposed to be adults and if they are so delicate as to have their feelings hurt they don't deserve to be playing professional sports. I suspect that they were not to bothered by it.
ReplyDeleteAs in all things sometimes one does really well and other times one does not do so well. Anyone who has been in the "area" knows that they are not perfect. It is too bad that we have become such cry babies that we cannot handle criticism whether positive or negative.
Whats the old saying? " If you cannot handle the heat get out of the kitchen." What a bunch of pantywaists we have become.
Excellent! If there was any opening, then it is the proper place of a husband or wife to defend their spouse. Her wit and courage are admirable.
ReplyDeleteDo they have children? This could be further evidence that there is a revival of the fundamental family unit.