Gisele thought football was ‘the most boring thing I’ve ever seen in my life’

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Tom Brady is the subject of a new ESPN+ five-part docu-series called Man in the Arena: Tom Brady. It’s about his career in football, his wins and loses, and about his life off the field. Gisele Bundchen is part of the series and she’s interviewed extensively. Apparently, when they first met, Gisele had never even seen an American football game and she didn’t understand it.

Gisele on watching football for the first time: “I thought it was the most boring thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I was like ‘What are they doing?’ … In the end, I was like, ‘God I don’t know what to tell this guy?’ … I didn’t understand anything.”

Tom invited Gisele to watch his game after a few dates: “She didn’t grow up watching football, she could care less about that.”

Gisele understood that Tom was good though: “I think we both could understand the level of commitment and the level of dedication it takes to be really good at something.”

He didn’t think he would get married so (relatively) young: “I didn’t think I’d be married ’til I was late in my career, late 30s, early 40s, I was gonna get married. And obviously she came into my life. We shared a great love of family, we shared a great love of each other, and we wanted to build a family together.”

[From People]

I think it’s interesting that Gisele could not have cared less. Tom had probably never dated a woman who didn’t know sh-t about football and someone who just liked him for who was and not his football career. During the series, Gisele and Tom also spoke about that infamous 2012 incident when Gisele was caught on camera after the Patriots lost to the Giants at the Super Bowl. Gisele was responding to hecklers and she said: “My husband cannot f—ing throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.”

During the game, Bündchen, 41, recounted the nerves she was feeling as Brady, 44, faced down Giants quarterback Eli Manning. “I couldn’t handle it was too much for me, it was a nail-biter,” she recounted, adding, “And I’m like drinking wine because I’m just trying to relax. it was the most stressful game ever, I think.”

After the game ended in the Patriots’ loss, the mom of two said, “So now we have to walk to the freaking elevator. And these guys who probably had a few drinks on them as well were like, ‘Your husband sucks.’ ” She continued recounting, ” ‘Just tell him to go home and cry like a baby.’”

It was then that Bündchen made the remark, which she told Brady about later that night in their hotel room. “I said, ‘You can’t say that,’ ” Brady explained in the Man in the Arena episode.

“I thought I was like mild, what I said. I mean it’s true, how can he do everything? He can’t catch and throw the ball at the same time, that’s just a fact,” Bündchen doubled down now. Still, there were repercussions, like some people assuming her comment was directed at Brady’s teammate Wes Welker. She said she was surprised to see some thought that was her implication, asserting now, “that’s the hardest working guy I know in that team.”

Welker, for his part, seemed to be a good sport about it. He said during the episode, “I know where her heart is so I know who she is so I almost agreed with her at the time.”

[From People]

I remember that comment really well. Gisele’s comment almost got more attention than the actual game, and it was one of the biggest post-Super Bowl stories that week. I still kind of agree with her that it was an obvious statement, but I also understand how Tom’s teammates would have been very irritated.

The 2019 Hollywood For Science Gala

Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady at the Costume Institute Benefit at the Metropolitin Museum of Art at the opening of 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination' in New York City

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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31 Responses to “Gisele thought football was ‘the most boring thing I’ve ever seen in my life’”

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  1. Qatar2 says:

    Fuck me he looks like Lurch. I can’t even finish the article.

    • shanaynay says:

      Lurch….. I love it!!!

    • KTate says:

      @Qatar2 I don’t know how no one else notices.

    • Eurydice says:

      Lol, yeah, in these photos he does. But, I’ve met him in real life and he’s just a big handsome dude.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      always thought that he was a two-face (a la Seinfeld).

      sometimes I think he looks quite handsome, but most times…yup…LURCH.

      • Lucy2 says:

        Exactly- sometimes handsome, sometimes all I see is exactly what that court room sketch captured. I’ve heard the lurch thing about him forever. I suspect he’s one of those people who is much better looking in motion and in real life than in photographs.
        Photo selection for the article on point though.

  2. Cee says:

    Does anyone outside the US watch American football? She grew up watching football, just the different kind.

    • Hotsauceinmybag says:

      I grew up in the US and don’t even watch it. So boring and the NFL is a gross organization that certainly doesn’t need my money.

    • AmelieOriginal says:

      No, nobody watches US football outside the US despite Americans thinking it is the best sport ever lol. And I also agree with Giselle’s initial statement about football, that it is the most boring thing I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s more into it now obviously now that she’s married to Tom but I never changed my stance. My apathy towards football stems from the fact I didn’t grow up in a family that followed sports at all. I only know who football players are if they’ve been on Dancing with the Stars and if they date celebrities like Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen. I legit had no idea who Tom Brady was until he started dating Giselle (I was also in high school back then and more worried about getting into college).

    • RoyalAssassin says:

      A big NO to American football outside of America. I’m from Australia, and we laugh at how your pussy-players need helmets, padding, massive shoulder gear, all of, to play what every rugby guy does in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt!! So yeah…no. No one gives a hoot about American football, same as no one outside Oz gives a hoot about Aussie football, and on and on and on…

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        People need to be mindful of absolute statements like ‘nobody’ outside of the US watches American football. It’s simply not true. If that was the case then the NFL games at Wembley stadium with people from a number of countries filling the stands would not happen. The EFL is based on American football. Are all the participants and fans part of the ‘nobody’?
        https://www.wheretraveler.com/play/12-european-cities-love-american-football

        The international engagement in betting on the NFL is huge. Are the bettors non watchers who ar betting on something they have no interest in? It is not the be all to end all. it’s also not worthy of the ‘nobody’ outside the US cares. Otherwise the games played in London & Mexico City wouldn’t happen.

        Gisele was kind of right with her comment about throwing and catching the ball. I get what she said. Though, there are a few cases showing otherwise. In 1997, then Vicking QB, Brad Johnson, was the first (I believe) NFL QB, to catch his own touchdown pass vs. Carolina Panthers. Brett Favre’s first completed NFL pass in 1992 vs. Tampa Bay was to himself after a deflection. Stafford did the same thing. Maybe it’s an NFC North thing?

        If no one gave a hoot about American football vs. Rugby then all the comparisons wouldn’t be made. There are different rules between the two. Rugby probably is tougher Rugby seems to be compilation of football, soccer & basketball. Without helmets. Concussions are pretty high though not reported as much in comparison to the NFL.

  3. HeatherC says:

    Well he wouldn’t have to throw and catch if he strayed out of the pocket and changed up his game. But it works for him and his aging shoulder (don’t come at me for ageism), His line keeps him protected so all he needs to do during the play is spot a receiver, throw it and hope the receiver catches it/it’s not intercepted.

    Gisele and I were for 2 seconds soul mates and twins. During the Bills/Bucs game this past week, I was yelling almost that same phrase for poor Josh Allen and the crumbling Oline the Bills seem to be having, but Allen has a running game in his arsenal (he’s a lot younger than Brady in football years) though his line didn’t protect him enough and his uniform was very green by the end of the game.

    • Aud says:

      There are just different types of players and passers. Brady not playing the same way as Allen or Wilson has absolutely nothing to do with age and it’s obviously working fine for him. He gets the ball out extremely quickly to make up for his lack or mobility

      • HeatherC says:

        He’s a GOAT. I don’t like him but he’s a GOAT. The Patriots and now the Bucs have crafted a line around him that plays to his strengths as a passer and limits how often the other team sacs him, which could lead to injury which would be cumulative over time. You can stay in the pocket with a strong passing game but if your line crumbles, you get sacced and eventually you get hurt which then limits your ability to play. At this point in his game, it IS an age thing, He’s 44, the oldest QB was 48 and Brady is the oldest active player in the NFL right now. He takes incredible care of his body, which is his livelihood and is to his credit.

    • girl_ninja says:

      Wes Welker could have caught the ball and it would have also been over. Appreciated Josh’s hustle but he may be a tad over rated. Having Sean McDermott having temper tantrums over penalties would probably help Josh as well.

  4. Gabriella says:

    I just reread some comments from that 2012 article and wow have we come a long way. So many horrible comments about Gisele’s appearance and other general misogyny.

  5. thinking says:

    I like her comment. It’s something I might think to myself but not say out loud because I’m sure someone would argue with me about it (they might be correct too). And…eh… I don’t want to start fights with people.

    I follow the headlines (who won what) just to engage in conversation with people. Sports are an easy point of commonality to communicate about. Ask me who a certain sports star is and I can make the reference (it’s not hard). Actually sitting through a whole game — I feel I could do something else. Even during the Super Bowl I leave to do something else until the score is close again.

  6. Veronika says:

    And then Gisele realized it wasn’t football in itself that was boring….it was Tom Brady that was boring.

  7. Becks1 says:

    I think the comment makes more sense in the context of hecklers after the game giving her a hard time (which is just so obnoxious.) Why are you blaming her at all, its not her job to play the game, and even if it were Tom there – he can only do so much, that’s why its a team. Brady is one of the GOATs of football, there is no doubt about that, but its still a team.

    That said, my husband is a big Giants fan and 2008 and 2012 were very good years for them, lol. Just ignore whats happening this season.

    • Lightpurple says:

      The hecklers were Giants fans. What often gets left out of this story is that Giselle was with Bianca Wilfork. The families had to walk through a crowd, with little or no security, to get to the locker room to their husbands. Bianca said that crowd was aggressive, threatening, and the women were frightened. The Wilforks filed a grievance against the NFL through the Players Association and the Patriots also filed a complaint. As a result, the NFL now takes security for players’s families far more seriously. And Bianca backed Giselle.

      • Lizzie Bathory says:

        That’s horrible. I’m glad they’ve changed things, but I’m sure it was scary. I had no issue with her comment at the time, but the context adds a different element.

      • Lucy2 says:

        Yeah I’m not a fan of either of these two, but no one should be subjected to that kind of abuse and threats. Hopefully the changes do better protect families.

      • Becks1 says:

        Yeah, I said that i could understand her response more with the hecklers.

        My husband was not one of them, don’t worry, lol.

  8. Sue says:

    I still remember that Giselle got a breast augmentation (and maybe more) and used a veil / burqa to hide in it. Just in France, where wearing burqas in public is prohibited. So so clever!

  9. Sarah says:

    I think they look so much alike that they perhaps should have done genetic testing to make sure they aren’t brother and sister… 🙂

  10. Kath says:

    Well, nobody outside the US really watches American Football. I remember when Gisele married him, a lot of Brazilians were like “who??”

  11. PixiePaperdoll says:

    I feel like Tom forgot that he had kinda already started a family with Bridget Moynihan.

  12. Meg says:

    “She didn’t grow up watching football, she could care less about that.”
    Sounds like what shaileen Woodley said about Aaron Rodgers -so for guys who performed at such a high level with so much pressure at work it may be nice to know their partners don’t really get into it either way

  13. Patricia says:

    In Brazil people call him “Giselo” or “mr Gisele” and I think thats beautiful.
    Jokes apart I do actually apreciate that she is confident saying this, we came a long way from the cool girl who should love everything her boyfriend loves. What she said is what many women would say but don’t because “cool girl” culture taught us we shouldn’t.