In baseball card ad, Tom Brady offers Expos fans a glimpse of what could have been
Posted December 12, 2023 5:36 pm.
Montreal Expos fans often ask themselves: “what if?”
What if Blue Monday weren’t a thing? What if the 1994 season never stopped?
Or what if there were a downtown stadium with a retractable roof?
What if the team never moved to Washington?
Well one former draft pick is helping Montreal baseball fans dream by presenting an alternate timeline of events: what if one of the greatest athletes ever had stuck around and played for the Expos?
That athlete is Tom Brady, the now-retired NFL quarterback who won seven Super Bowls, who was famously drafted by the Montreal Expos as a left-hitting catcher.
He went on to become one of the greatest NFL pivots to ever play the game. But could his talents have served the since-departed Expos equally well?
In an ad released Tuesday, the 46-year-old’s career arc takes a decidedly different turn: seven World Series wins with the Expos, a three-time National League MVP, 649 home runs across 23 seasons and a first Hall of Fame ballot.
Montreal sports fans can be seen reminiscing on Brady’s baseball heroics while having a drink at “Brady’s Brasserie” and ordering a Brady-style poutine.
Even former Expos Vladimir Guerrero Sr., Larry Walker, and Pedro Martinez make an appearance, saying “that guy just never let us lose… except to the Giants.” That’s a reference to the pair of Patriots Super Bowl losses to New York, but it takes on a different meaning in this tongue-and-cheek world.
The spoof video is all part of a promotion for Topps’ Bowman Draft 2023 cards, which are being released by Fanatics. The cards focus on MLB prospects before they play a big-league game. The release features some “what if?” rookie cards, including one for Brady.
The ad ends with Brady waking up in his bed, realizing exploits of leading the Expos to greatness were just a dream.
Not content to let Brady have all the fun, former N.Y. Giants quarterback Eli Manning responded with a video of his own, decked out in San Francisco gear, jokingly referring to a pair of championships won by the Bay Area baseball team.
Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, also posted a Hall of Fame plaque on X featuring the near-Major Leaguer.
–With files from Sportsnet
