“There is this tradition of white athletic excellence at a time when the quarterback position is changing, becoming more black,” said de Oca, founding director of the Center for the Critical Study of Sport at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. “Joe Burrow’s genius is connected to a black aesthetic, unlike Tom Brady, who is such a white quarterback. When you have a white quarterback like Burrow who can code switch, that makes him an especially effective face of the NFL.”
Credit…Erin Baiano for The New York Times
Brady has transformed himself into a sophisticated brand, with a supermodel wife and a growing wellness empire, but he began his career as a naive, goofy, if hyper-driven, everyman. Even if Burrow came into the NFL far more successful than Brady, having won the Heisman Trophy and a national title at Louisiana State and being selected No. 1 overall in the draft, his teammates and old friends say he it is eminently identifiable.
For years, Burrow has shown an intuitive understanding of his environment and the ability to connect with it. Before his final home game at LSU in 2019, he expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the state that embraced him after his transfer from Ohio State by wearing a “Burreaux” jersey, nodding to the cajunified spelling of his last name. . When he won the Heisman a few weeks later, in his speech he acknowledged the food-insecure population of his rural Ohio home, not because he was looking for support but because, friends said, he’s proud of where he grew up.
“He can walk among so many different groups,” said Zacciah Saltzman, Micah’s older brother. “He’s a clean guy, so old white guys say, ‘We love this guy.’ He then he pulls up with his chains and his glasses, and the younger guys (black, white, whatever) can be behind that. He’s a pretty adaptable guy without having to adapt. Who he is attracts the masses.”
When asked last week to quantify that magnetism, Bengals teammates and coaches offered different explanations. Calling him “definitely a ballplayer,” center Trey Hopkins mentioned both Burrow’s competitiveness and his readiness to get up after being hit.
“It’s a nonverbal way of communicating: ‘Hey, I’m in this fight with you,’” Hopkins said.
Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher cited Burrow’s unabashed comfort in who he is. Left tackle Jonah Williams said Burrow seems unaffected by outside opinions and conveys a certain authenticity in his leadership.
Source: www.nytimes.com