Happy Groundhog Day!
And, Happy Anniversary to Groundhog Day, the movie! It turns 30 this year.
Do you watch Groundhog Day every Groundhog Day? I do. At least I think I do. Blind commitment to routine has flattened my memory to a one-dimensional disc. Two years ago, I remember watching Groundhog Day all day long, like maybe six times in a row on commercial television. I started in the early morning, around seven, and watched until seven or so at night. By lunch, I was beginning to experience a warped sense of time. As I watched Bill Murray portray Phil Connors living the same day over and over, I felt like I was becoming part of the film’s spiraling vortex. I probably witnessed Needle-Nose Ned ask Phil Connors if he was right, or if he was right, or right, or right, dozens of times. I began to question if I was right, as every two hours my day rewound and replayed with fresh opening film credits.
I used to love repetition. I found it comfortable and hilarious. At one time in my life, I thought scenes like this one from They Came Together (2014) were just about the funniest thing in the entire world.
But I don’t know if I have the constitution for it anymore. Sometimes it’s best to recognize that while you’ve been galloping on the wheel of familiarity, the world has moved on. And you’re all alone, a 45-year-old quarterback surrounded by youthful energy that simultaneously wants to protect you and knock you down so hard that your soul flies away, leaving you empty for a few heartbeats. And, as you rock to a seated position, take in a short breath, you’re startled by the sensation of never having taken a breath before. Not like this. It’s time to give up. It’s time to rest, and get to know your substitute soul.
Tom Brady first announced his retirement on Feb. 1, 2022, the day before Groundhog Day. He had gotten so good at his job: Seven Super Bowl championships, five Super Bowl MVPs, three NFL season MVPs, and a record-holder for just about every possible quarterback achievement. For five weeks, he contemplated a life without football, without familiarity, without routine. Like Phil Connors, he had reached a sophisticated and near complete version of himself. But unlike Phil Connors, Brady held a desire to remain in a Groundhog Day cycle. There had to be more to discover, if only he could take one more stroll through the carnival. And so, in March of 2022, he announced that he would not be retiring from professional football after all.
But Brady found that life was not as routine as he had hoped. As the 2022-2023 NFL season got underway, he and his wife of 13 years, Gisele Bündchen, announced their divorce. And by the end of the season, his team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finished with a below .500 record. He fell victim to the inert force of doing-it-like-it’s-always-been-done.
Can we blame him? Yeah. But change is difficult. If we’re honest with ourselves, many of us prefer what we know over what we don’t. It’s a shortcoming of the species, the adult version, anyway. Teenagers are the only ones with the foolish energy to take risks adults dismiss at mere mention.
Groundhog Day premiered in theaters on Feb. 12, 1993. Tom Brady was 15. Maybe he went to the movies, and watched a jaded Phil Connors deliver uninspired reports from Punxsutawney, PA. Maybe he asked himself why the guy was so fed up with his job. Maybe he wondered what it would be like if he had endless time to become the best at what he loved to do. A dumb teenager with a vision of the future.
Tom Brady made it happen.
And then, yesterday, the day before Groundhog Day, he brought it to an end.
Here’s to hoping it sticks this time. Or unsticks.
It’s time to do something new.
