When the calendar flipped to February, the National Football League (NFL) was in the middle of an exciting playoff run with the Super Bowl scheduled in less than two weeks. Indeed, on Feb. 1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady confirmed what had been reported during the prior weekend: that he was retiring after winning seven championships (in 10 Super Bowl appearances) as well as holding any number of individual records, including completions (7,263), touchdown passes (624), and passing yards (84,520). Surely nothing could bump the Brady retirement from the 24/7 media cycle for a few days. The league was ready to bask in the glory of highlights of arguably its most accomplished player. It did not happen. Brady was not even the lead football story by the end of the day.