Merry [Expletive] Christmas from the Patriots

While you were wrapping presents on Sunday—or in my case, gorging on Chinese food—Tom Brady was ripping his teammates. Apparently, the quarterback wasn’t happy with the Patriots’ performance. New England beat Jacksonville, 23-16, but it was ugly. The Globe’s Christopher L. Gasper has the story:

Brady wasn’t filled with holiday spirit after the win. An irate Brady could be heard upbraiding the team in the locker room following the game, with several expletives mixed in for emphasis. Multiple sources who were in the locker room confirmed that the franchise quarterback lit into his team after a lackluster performance.

Coming from anyone else, that kind of red-assed rant would’ve made me gag. But there’s something endearing—maybe fitting is a better word—about Brady delivering it. He’s one of the few Boston athletes who can get away with being so outwardly petulant, and sometimes it’s worth it for him to exercise the privilege.

This was like Larry Bird calling his teammates “a bunch of sissies” after Game 3 of the 1984 NBA Finals. Don’t expect any Patriots to clothesline the Dolphins next Sunday, but when a superstar delivers such an explicit message the team can’t ignore it.

We’ll see if it has any effect on the Patriots this weekend. Meanwhile, enjoy this greeting from Brandon Spikes:

We’re leaving a big fat rail of coke and a shot of Jack for Santa this year… cookies and milk will just slow him down. #SimpleTruth

— brandon spikes (@BrandonSpikes55) December 25, 2012

The Patriots linebacker, whose online exploits are well chronicled, thankfully moved on to tweet about more appropriate things. Like his favorite holiday movies:

Home Alone it is #GrinchSmile