There’s no shame in naming your pet after your favorite athlete. I know that when I get a dog, “Wilfork” has to be one of the top names on the list. I know people that have Gronks after Rob Gronkowski and Brady after Tom Brady and Bruschi and Tedy Bruschi. I wouldn’t blink if a pet was named Big Papi Ortiz, or The Truth, or Zdeno.
Naming your kid after a star athlete is a whole different ball game and it takes a whole different level of commitment.
FiveThirtyEight ran an article last year about the rise of the name “Peyton” in Indiana to show the influence of the star quarterback. I copied and looked at the name “Thomas” and “Brady” in Massachusetts.
"Thomas" and "Brady" baby names in Massachusetts (Brady not in top 100 in 2000, 2001, or 2014). pic.twitter.com/JowO0dVKFt
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) November 6, 2015
“Brady” as a name (and player?) peaked in 2007, and didn’t even come on the scene until after the Patriots quarterback led the franchise to its first Super Bowl title early in 2002.
And it turns out that Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon loves Brady so much that he named his kid after them, according to Monday Morning Quarterback.
“Tampa Bay quarterback Mike Glennon and his wife had a baby last Wednesday, which was also Tom Brady’s birthday. The Glennons named their baby Brady, born 39 years after Tom Brady was born in the Bay Area.
“Dad says Brady Glennon was not named after Tom Brady, but it seems like a little bit too much of a coincidence that Brady was born on Brady day for Brady to not be named after Brady.
“‘Mike said he didn’t name it after Brady,’ Jameis Winston reported exclusively Saturday. ‘But I know he was hoping that baby was born on Tom Brady’s birthday. I know that for a fact.’”
That’s a total Super Fan move right there and props to Glennon. He doesn’t have to admit it, but it’s pretty obvious what happened. The baby shares a birthday with the greatest player in the history of the sport- what more can you do? Glennon could have named his son after himself, but he understood that the best chance for his child’s continued success would be to follow in the footsteps of a different quarterback.
Congratulations to the Glennon family. I believe that by law they are now cousins with Tom Brady. Don’t quote me on that.
PS: Glennon is one of those players that deserves a chance at a starting job, somewhere. He is a 58.8% passer on 619 attempts, with 4,025 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. That’s pretty much what Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick did last season (59.6%, 3,905 yards, 31 TDs, 15 INTs). #FreeGlennon #FreeBradysDad