There are people who dislike the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady because of so many Super Bowl appearances and their subsequent success this century. Then there's Ace Davis, an elementary kid who took hatred to another level. A scientific level.
Davis, 10, attends Millcreek Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky, and he's the quarterback of his youth football team. At a recent science fair, he decided to prove Tom Brady used deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage in a project titled "Is Tom Brady a Cheater?"
Davis obviously did something right as he won the school's science fair and is now headed to the district science fair.
In this interview with NFL Draft Diamonds, he was asked what prompted him to delve into the Brady project.
"Because I hate Tom Brady, he's been accused of cheating before, I want him to be caught," Davis said. And when asked why he thought his science fair project got so many shares on Facebook, he said, "because it's funny and people are tired of watching him in the Super Bowl. And Julian Edelman takes steroids."
So he took a swipe at yet another Patriots player by calling out Edelman, one of Brady's top targets at wide receiver. Talk about some Patriots hate.
But the science project was about Brady. Davis went with his sister and mom to the backyard for the experiment. They threw footballs of varying inflations, scientifically marking the distance of each ball and their respective inflation levels. Ace, his mom and sister each made three throws apiece with PSI of 9, 7 and 5, and the average was tallied for each.
The outcome? The deflated balls traveled farther for all three participants in the study, but accuracy wasn't affected.
The project's poster board came equipped with a Brady internet meme and photos of Davis throwing balls in the yard. It also showed a photo of Davis in his football uniform with a green check above it, and next to it was a photo of Brady with a red 'x' above it.
Davis included facts like the Patriots were fined $1 million and a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft for using deflated balls during the Patriots' 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game on Jan. 18, 2015.
Rumors of the Patriots using deflated balls during the game surfaced almost immediately after Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson intercepted a Brady pass, and then handed the ball to the Colts equipment manager because the ball didn't feel quite like an NFL football at full inflation, according to this timeline of "Deflategate" on ESPN.com.
The Patriots went on to win Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, but investigations into the AFC Championship game dominated sports headlines.
By May of 2015, the NFL determined that Patriots personnel deflated balls to give Brady an advantage, costing the Patriots money and two draft picks — a first- and fourth-round pick. Brady was also suspended four games to start the 2016 season.
Davis said he believes Joe Montana was the best quarterback in NFL history, and that his favorite player today is quarterback Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 10-year-old isn't too high on the Patriots winning Super Bowl LIII over the Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 3 in Atlanta, either.
"Julian Edelman pushes everyone around, [Rob] Gronkowski gets shut down, [Todd] Gurley runs for two touchdowns," Davis said. "Brady plays terrible – three interceptions, Rams win 30-14."
Uncommon Knowledge
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