Bird thinks he’ll be at the game Sunday.
‘’I got two tickets. My son’s trying to get ‘em for him and his buddy because he’s a big Patriots fan. He went out there for his birthday ten years ago and Belichick let him in the locker room. I might go to this game, even though I don’t want to hear him complaining if the Patriots aren’t doing well. It depends on how badly my son wants that other ticket. They’re not cheap, you know.’’
They’re not cheap.
Nice to know Larry never changes. He’s got enough money to buy half of Indiana, but he’s the same guy who let his wife join him in Los Angeles for the 1985 finals only because he was able to get her a plane ticket with frequent flyer miles. He’s the guy who stormed out of a bar in Monte Carlo in 1992 because they were charging $7 for a bottle of Budweiser.
Bird loves free stuff the way sports writers love free stuff. I think that’s why we always got along. And those Super Bowl tickets ... well, they are not cheap, you know.
Larry forever will be one of the most popular athletes in the history of New England. If our Boston pro sports Mount Rushmore allowed fives heads, he’d be up there with Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Bobby Orr, Bird and Tom Brady.
What does Bird think of Brady, who first played in New England a full decade after Bird retired?
‘’I think he’ll go down in history as one of the greatest,’’ said Bird. ‘’I’ve been here for eight years watching Peyton Manning and I can’t believe how good he is, but Tom’s won so much. He makes the pass. He don’t try to force a lot of things. He takes advantage of what the defense gives him. I don’t know football, but he’s patient and makes quick decisions. Peyton gets the ball out of his hand real quick and relies on the receivers to make the right cuts, but Tom, he don’t care if it’s a 4-yard throw or a 10-yard throw. He just keeps pounding you and pounding you. A lot of it I think is just keeping the defense on the field for so long.
