This take focuses on a song and a man. In the summer of 2001, that song was Alien Ant Farm’s cover of the Michael Jackson hit “Smooth Criminal”, and that man was the New England Patriots’ second string quarterback Tom Brady. In the ensuing months not only did Tom Brady suddenly rise to become a Super Bowl MVP, but “Smooth Criminal” dominated the modern rock charts. What is the relationship between these two? Let’s explore!
Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal” is perhaps one of the greatest covers of all time. It infuses a satisfying early 2000s nu-metal/pop rock musical blend to a classic 80s jam. At the start of the 2001 NFL season, “Smooth Criminal” stood on top of the Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart, only to be eventually succeeded by Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me”. Culturally, the song made its mark just weeks before the first Patriots game of the year in the classic comedy film American Pie 2. The song’s appearance occurs at what is likely the most iconic scene in the film, owing to the track’s widespread popularity at the time.
The Legend of Tom Brady is a well-known childhood story, so there’s no need to dive too deeply into that here, but this is what you need to know. On September 23rd during the team’s second game of the NFL season, Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe suffered a terrible injury and was replaced by a 6th round draft pick entering his sophomore season. If you haven’t got it by now that replacement was Tom Brady. From that game onward, Brady would remain the team’s quarterback and eventually lead them to a Super Bowl victory.
Notice the dates here. Only a week before Tom Brady became the starting quarterback, it is very possible that that Brady was jamming to the number one alternative rock song in the country. Maybe he downloaded it to his I-Pod?** Tom Brady’s music interests are a mix of rock and hip hop, so certainly this isn’t out of the question.
To take a deeper dive, let’s explore some of the song’s lyrical content. It’s never healthy to look too much into the meaning of a Michael Jackson song, but this verse in particular is important to highlight:
So they came into the outway
It was Sunday, what a black day
Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
Sounding heartbeats intimidations….…You’ve been hit by, you’ve been struck by a smooth criminal
Sunday, eh. Is it a coincidence that the Patriots’ second game of the NFL season was also on… a Sunday? Well, probably but I’m trying to connect some dots here. I’m not suggesting that Tom Brady conspired to injure Drew Bledsoe either. After all, there were still a few more years until Mean Girls came out, so backstabbing was not a thing yet. The truth is that Bledsoe was never very good and was bound to be benched anyway.
The heart of the matter here is simple: Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal” bred Tom Brady into the hall of fame caliber player he is today. Could you imagine other top hits of the time such as “Fat Lip” by Sum 41 and “It’s Been Awhile” by Staind having the same impact? Likely not. In 2002, Brady cruised through the playoffs and the Super Bowl with Linkin Park and Puddle of Mudd as the top artists respectively. However, it’s no question that the very tune that took the summer of 2001 by force, is the same one that transformed Tom Brady from a second string nobody to a gunslinging GOAT.
**Historical note: technically the first I-Pod did not come out until October 2001. Point still stands, nevertheless. If he downloaded “Smooth Criminal”, it would have been after he became the starting QB.
