MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2019 The Boston Globe Sports C3
Landing Brady autograph is a prize for fans
For the average fan to obtain
Brady’s autograph,patience,
preparation, and plenty of luck
are needed.
“You better have a good sign
or something,” backupquarter-
back Brian Hoyer said.
The demandfor patience
starts in the wee hoursof the
morning. Brian Rosenberger, of
Milford, typicallyarrivesfor
each day of training camp at
the general admission gate near
the practice fields between
3:30-4 a.m. This affords him a
better chance of being first in
line, as he was Wednesday.
Oncethe gates open at 8:30
a.m., he can be one of the first
to jog to the fieldand grab a
front-row seat on the bleachers,
more than an hourbefore prac-
tice begins.
“If you are not front row,”
Rosenberger said,“you are not
getting Tom Brady.”
Rosenberger wouldknow.
He has obtained five Brady au-
tographs over his eightyears of
attendingcamp.Fivemight
soundlike a big number, but
that is just a sliver of the 150-
200 autographsRosenberger
estimated he has procured.
Rosenberger has missedout
on getting Brady’s autograph
morethan he has succeeded.
After last Monday night’s prac-
tice at Gillette Stadium, Brady
skipped overhim,moving
swiftly downthe barricadesep-
arating him fromfans for about
a minuteuntilhe exited down
steps beneath the stands.
That’s how Brady typically
operates when he signs. He sel-
dom speaks or stops while fans
shriekand pressagainst one
another, jostling for position.
“It’s a frenzy,” Rosenberger
said. “The heavens openup, the
angels come out of the clouds,
thenyou see a white light, and
it’s Tom Brady.”
Fans chasing Brady’s auto-
graph go on highalert for the
annualnightpractice. It’s well
known that this is typically one
of two days during training
uBRADY
ContinuedfromPageC1
camp every year that a fan with
no special access has a shot at
Brady’s autograph. The other is
the quarterback’s birthday,
Aug. 3.
Chances are still slimon
thosedays, even with a solid
strategy.
“I thought we hadone,”
Dartmouthresident Krystal
Sears said. “But he tricked us.”
The past two times Sears has
attended the night practice, she
watched carefully and took
note of where Brady signed. As
she walked out of the night
practice in 2018still without
Brady’s autograph, she vowedthat she would do everything
she couldto end up in that spot
next year and leave withthe
quarterback’s signature.
So thereshe was whenthe
Patriots practiced last Monday
in the spot she had seenBrady
sign at Gillette Stadium. The
problem: Brady wentelse-
where.
It’s the latest episodein
coming up short for Brady’s au-
tograph. Sears and Scott Smith,
a couple that has attended
camp for six years, have never
comecloser than about15 feet
fromBrady in theircollective
pursuit of his autograph. As akid, Smith had his best chance
in 2002when Brady walked to-
wardhim. But thenBrady
skipped over him.
Just like Brady’s on-field
performance, his elusivenessin
this setting remains unchanged
with age.
“It’s a quest, for sure,” Smith
said.
And they plannedto contin-
ue that quest the rest of the
week, staying throughthe
weekend. Bothtook the week
off from workto attendcamp.
They selected this past weekon
purpose — they knew it includ-
ed the nightpractice and thebirthday practice. Brady turned
42 on Saturday.
“[His birthday] is one of
thosedays whereyou might
want to get here a little earlier,”
North Attleboroughresident
Emily Thomas said Wednesday.
“If you normally get here at 5 or
6, you might wantto get here at
3 or 4. I am just going to hope
for the best.”
Hope is all that Thomas, 22,
has had during her two decades
of attending camp. She first
traveled to campas an infant
and has an autographedPatri-
ots onesie to prove it. She has
obtained many autographssince then, but not Brady’s.
Securing an autograph at
Patriotscampis moredifficult
than at othercamps around the
league. For example, the Vi-
kings have a designated auto-
graph areawherea different
position groupsignseach day.
The Steelers don’t, but most
playershave to walk downa
hill, past fans, to enter the prac-
tice fields.
The Patriots, by contrast, en-
ter andexit far away from
where fans sit.
But if a player decides to de-
lay his exit and walktoward the
fence on the outside of the prac-
tice field, fans have a shot at a
signature.
Anticipatingthat Brady
wouldmake that stroll on Sat-
urday — his birthday — some
fans intended to arriveat the
gate before sunrise.
Sears and Smithplanned to
bringall the Brady merchan-
disethey could,includinga
Brady beachtowel.They would
have their Sharpies ready, so
that when practice ended and
everyonebeganto stand,they
would be prepared in case Bra-
dy shuffled in front of them and
decidedto signone of their
many items.
One thing they did not plan
for: The Patriotschosenot to
hold practice Saturday, dashing
the hopesof so many fans and
freeing up theirpre-dawn
schedules. Several Patriots in-
stead were traveling to Canton
to see Ty Law inducted into the
Hall of Fame before the team
flew to Detroit for the week.
Before they learned of the
schedulechange, Sears and
Smith stood in line one morn-
ing wearingBrady jerseys with
TB12 hats and making plans to
set their alarmsfor a time be-
forefirst light on Saturday.
They would drivetogether to
PatriotPlaceastheyalwaysdo,
and likely spend part of that
ride fantasizingaboutit finally
being the day they would se-
cure a signaturefrom one of
football’s all-time greats.
Said Sears: “I think I’d cry.”FILE/JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF
Thesefansbroughta birthday balloonto attract Tom Bradyat a recentpractice— andwererewardedwithanautograph.Forstraightand curved stairs
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