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MILLBURY, Mass. — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, speaking about meeting future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady for the first time, said, “I still have the image of Tom Brady coming down the old Foxboro Stadium steps with that pizza box under his arm, a skinny beanpole, and when he introduced himself to me he said, ‘Hi Mr. Kraft.’ He was about to introduce himself and I said, ‘I know who you are; you’re Tom Brady, our sixth-round draft choice.’ And he looked me in the eye and said, 'I'm the best decision this organization has ever made.'"
That is among the anecdotes author Sean Glennon uncovered while researching his book, "Tom Brady vs the NFL: The case For Football's Greatest Quarterback."
Glennon visited a packed Barnes & Noble at the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon to autograph copies of the book.
Glennon spoke to The Daily Voice about his fourth book and his thoughts about the work that goes into such an undertaking. Unlike his other books on the Patriots, this time the Kraft Group didn’t speak with Glennon nor did Brady, Bill Belichick or any of the players on the team.
“I think with Tom still playing,” Glennon explained, “they probably felt that now wasn’t the time to promote Brady as the best ever and may possibly put a bulls-eye on his back, even though Robert Kraft has said as much this season in interviews,” he added.
Glennon has written several books about the Patriots, including "Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in New England patriots History," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: New England Patriots," and "This Pats Year: A Trek Through a Season as a Football Fan." This book, Glennon said, was definitely the most difficult.
“I love stats,” he said, “and with a book like this, you need stats to back-up your premise. However,” he added, “it can’t just be all stats or no one will read it. So there had to be stats followed up by enough narrative to make your argument,” Glennon said.
“I had to wear two hats,” he explained. “At times the narrative guy hated the stats guy in me, and at others, the stats guy hated the narrative guy.” It was a long, time-consuming effort, Glennon admitted, with at least 18 months elapsed from start to finish.
The most difficult chapter was the final one, in which he did his comparison between Brady and Joe Montana.
“I breathed a huge sigh of relief when this book was finally done,” he admitted. “It was quite an undertaking, and I think a worthy one.”
Glennon’s book can be found on Amazon.com and his own website, as well as at Barnes & Noble.
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