Malcolm Butler: "I'm still just a regular guy"

Malcolm Butler wrote an article on the Players' Tribune website here talking about the way his life has been since becoming a celebrity of sorts. Check it out here, and let me know your thoughts. There's also an interesting bit on making the 'immaculate interception' on SB 49

Chiuba E. Obele said:

Malcolm Butler wrote an article on the Players' Tribune website here talking about the way his life has been since becoming a celebrity of sorts. Check it out here, and let me know your thoughts. There's also an interesting bit on making the 'immaculate interception' on SB 49

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Love the article and thanks for posting. But please change the title. He's not 'Michael'!

Mike the Brit said:

Love the article and thanks for posting. But please change the title. He's not 'Michael'!

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Title fixed. Thanks @jmt57

I'm not sure that Butler wrote that article by himself, but if he did, he's a very articulate, and well grounded young man. He hit just about every point that you'd hope a kid with that kind of instant notoriety would end up understanding.

Butler didn't just have a single great play last season. He provided consistently tight coverage almost all season. A young player who had to fight his way on the roster and ended up being a much better player at the end of the season than he was in the beginning.

I hope he understands expectations are going to be different this season and the team is going to have to make much greater demands of him. If he thought it was tough last season, just wait. Sounds like he preparing for it. I hope he really is.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

Malcolm Butler wrote an article on the Players' Tribune website here talking about the way his life has been since becoming a celebrity of sorts. Check it out here, and let me know your thoughts. There's also an interesting bit on making the 'immaculate interception' on SB 49

Click to expand...

He's not just a regular guy. He's a Super Bowl Champion!

There were several key plays before that huge, monster play. He tipped a pass, leaping in front of the WR. He had the good sense to react quickly to push the WR out of bounds after that crazy catch.

I have no idea what Butler is going to become. But it'd really help out if he becomes a good, solid starter.

patfanken said:

I'm not sure that Butler wrote that article by himself, but if he did, he's a very articulate, and well grounded young man. He hit just about every point that you'd hope a kid with that kind of instant notoriety would end up understanding.

Butler didn't just have a single great play last season. He provided consistently tight coverage almost all season. A young player who had to fight his way on the roster and ended up being a much better player at the end of the season than he was in the beginning.

I hope he understands expectations are going to be different this season and the team is going to have to make much greater demands of him. If he thought it was tough last season, just wait. Sounds like he preparing for it. I hope he really is.

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Man, I totally agree. Very well written, and he comes across as very mature and sensible. Thorough embodiment of the Patriot Way...humility and hard work.

Thanks OP for posting!

Btw, is the players tribune a big name site/magazine? Such a great article should be all over the national media.

I can't wait to see him and were he ends up this upcoming season

Interesting website thx
-- since its draft time, when we talk often about BB (Patriots) kind of players, it is clearly evident that Butler is THAT KIND of player.

It seems pretty clear (IMO) that they have professional editors helping these guys, and it appears(IMO) not so much ghostwritten as just 'well edited,' so from the purpose of the site it appears that the thoughts from butler are pretty genuine.

From the about page:

THE VOICE OF THE GAME
Introducing The Players’ Tribune, a new media platform that will present the voices of professional athletes, bringing fans closer to the games they love than ever before. Founded by Derek Jeter, The Players’ Tribune aims to provide unique insight into the daily sports conversation and to publish first-person stories directly from athletes. From video to podcasts to player polls and written pieces, The Tribune will strive to be “The Voice of the Game.”

"My goal is for the site to ultimately transform how athletes and newsmakers share information, bringing fans closer than ever to the games they love.". -- Derek Jeter

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Love this guy. Really hope he has a place in our secondary for years to come!

great great article...

MALCOM GO !!!

what a play...what a play...for us it will be one of the best plays in franchise history - grande Malcom !!! what an immense resounding unforgettable play...

i root for him next season !

I am a fan, so I will be watching him this coming season.

I always judged a player by how well he performs under extreme pressure in a big game, especially the ultimate game. I never understood letting guys go who stepped up bigtime when it was all on the line. Guys like Jermaine Wiggins I was baffled to see let go. Butler has earned a chance at starting cornerback.

italian pat patriot said:

great great article...

MALCOM GO !!!

what a play...what a play...for us it will be one of the best plays in franchise history - grande Malcom !!! what an immense resounding unforgettable play...

i root for him next season !

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I can't recall a bigger play, but this one was close [and no flag].



Actually, quite similar moves ha ha .

RayClay said:

I can't recall a bigger play, but this one was close [and no flag].



Actually, quite similar moves ha ha .

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Folklore is that the 12th man was Billy Sullivan, though that is a football legend that has never been confirmed.

The Patriots seemingly had the game won, and fans had come down to the field to celebrate the victory. But the Texans completed a 70-yard Hail Mary flea-flicker down to the three yard line, and officials reset the clock to three seconds left to play.

Dallas filed an official protest, but the result stood. The AFL acknowledged the mistaken non-call, but did nothing because they said they did not want to set a precedent of penalties and outcomes of games being determined by television and film replays. Little did anybody know that 25 years later that would become an integral part of the game.

The Patriots were coming off a losing season in 1960, and after a 2-3 start they fired Lou Saban. The game in the video above was the fourth straight without a loss for new coach Mike Holovak. 1961 was also the first season with Babe Parilli at QB, and with each victory local interest in the Pats grew. The Patriots won their last four games of the season (including the final three on the road) to finish 9-4-1. Under Holovak the Pats went 7-1-1; the tie was in Holovak's first game, against Houston. Had the Patriots won that game they would have forced a playoff game against the Oilers to determine the AFL East champion; Houston went on to win the AFL championship that year.

That game was arguably the beginning of what was the Patriots' first run of good teams. The Pats were highly competitive for six seasons, from 1961 to 1966. That streak ended when they fell just short of representing the AFL in the first AFL-NFL championship game - something that would later become known as the Super Bowl - at the end of the '66 season. The winning ways from those teams were the foundation of the first generation of fans of the Patriots - mostly young people who refused to follow and root for any team from New York, like their parent's generation did.

jmt57 said:

Folklore is that the 12th man was Billy Sullivan, though that is a football legend that has never been confirmed.

The Patriots seemingly had the game won, and fans had come down to the field to celebrate the victory. But the Texans completed a 70-yard Hail Mary flea-flicker down to the three yard line, and officials reset the clock to three seconds left to play.

Dallas filed an official protest, but the result stood. The AFL acknowledged the mistaken non-call, but did nothing because they said they did not want to set a precedent of penalties and outcomes of games being determined by television and film replays. Little did anybody know that 25 years later that would become an integral part of the game.

The Patriots were coming off a losing season in 1960, and after a 2-3 start they fired Lou Saban. The game in the video above was the fourth straight without a loss for new coach Mike Holovak. 1961 was also the first season with Babe Parilli at QB, and with each victory local interest in the Pats grew. The Patriots won their last four games of the season (including the final three on the road) to finish 9-4-1. Under Holovak the Pats went 7-1-1; the tie was in Holovak's first game, against Houston. Had the Patriots won that game they would have forced a playoff game against the Oilers to determine the AFL East champion; Houston went on to win the AFL championship that year.

That game was arguably the beginning of what was the Patriots' first run of good teams. The Pats were highly competitive for six seasons, from 1961 to 1966. That streak ended when they fell just short of representing the AFL in the first AFL-NFL championship game - something that would later become known as the Super Bowl - at the end of the '66 season. The winning ways from those teams were the foundation of the first generation of fans of the Patriots - mostly young people who refused to follow and root for any team from New York, like their parent's generation did.

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Great stuff, JMT. I was always curious about the TV coverage. I was just a Tyke in 61, probably the first season I remember watching any sports. I remember following Larry garron's rushing totals in the paper and starting to get cranky about having to watch the darn giants on sunday, when we had our own team.

Would you or any of the dinosaurs here know when the patriots first showed up on TV? I thought there was some coverage before the league contract, but I really don't remember.

Oh, and for the record, I think it was Bucko Kilroy.

RayClay said:

Great stuff, JMT. I was always curious about the TV coverage. I was just a Tyke in 61, probably the first season I remember watching any sports. I remember following Larry garron's rushing totals in the paper and starting to get cranky about having to watch the darn giants on sunday, when we had our own team.

Would you or any of the dinosaurs here know when the patriots first showed up on TV? I thought there was some coverage before the league contract, but I really don't remember.

Oh, and for the record, I think it was Bucko Kilroy.

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I vividly recall the AFL games being on channel four, which was NBC at that time, and the NFL games being on CBS (channel 5). This was pre-merger, so there were four games every Sunday afternoon: two early games and two late games, going head-to-head. That meant the Patriots and Giants were usually on at the same time, resulting in those family battles for the tv set that you mentioned. (For those of you who were not around in the sixties, households had only one television set back then). Our work-around was for us to convince one of the neighborhood's dads to watch at another neighbor's house, convincing him he would have more fun watching the game with another parent. That left an open tv on the street for us kids to watch the Patriots. Curt Gowdy (who also broadcast the Red Sox games back then) usually called the play-by-play on television for the Patriots' games.

The late afternoon game almost always involved the Chiefs, Raiders or Chargers (Denver wasn't very good then), and those were always thrilling games; far more exciting contests with more scoring than the NFL counterparts, with Len Dawson, Daryl Lamonica, and John Hadl throwing the ball downfield. Even many of the loyal Giant fans from the older generation would flip the channel at 4:00 to watch those games. After the merger fans were unfortunately left with the current setup that offered only two or three games on a Sunday afternoon rather than four.

**** Note: apparently the AFL was broadcast on ABC (channel 7 in Boston back then) from 1960 to 1964, and then switched to NBC in 1965. Gowdy called Super Bowl III between the Colts and Jets, and apparently made a remark about highly biased SI lead writer Tex Maule. Maule never gave AFL players or teams any credit, and with the Jets winning that game Gowdy said "I wonder if that son of a ***** Tex Maule is watching"?


For any other old fogies like myself who enjoy a bit of AFL nostalgia and history, check these out:

Remember the AFL | Tex Maule

History - Chronology, 1951-1960 | NFL.com

The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History, 1960-1969

jmt57 said:

Folklore is that the 12th man was Billy Sullivan, though that is a football legend that has never been confirmed.

The Patriots seemingly had the game won, and fans had come down to the field to celebrate the victory. But the Texans completed a 70-yard Hail Mary flea-flicker down to the three yard line, and officials reset the clock to three seconds left to play.

Dallas filed an official protest, but the result stood. The AFL acknowledged the mistaken non-call, but did nothing because they said they did not want to set a precedent of penalties and outcomes of games being determined by television and film replays. Little did anybody know that 25 years later that would become an integral part of the game.

The Patriots were coming off a losing season in 1960, and after a 2-3 start they fired Lou Saban. The game in the video above was the fourth straight without a loss for new coach Mike Holovak. 1961 was also the first season with Babe Parilli at QB, and with each victory local interest in the Pats grew. The Patriots won their last four games of the season (including the final three on the road) to finish 9-4-1. Under Holovak the Pats went 7-1-1; the tie was in Holovak's first game, against Houston. Had the Patriots won that game they would have forced a playoff game against the Oilers to determine the AFL East champion; Houston went on to win the AFL championship that year.

That game was arguably the beginning of what was the Patriots' first run of good teams. The Pats were highly competitive for six seasons, from 1961 to 1966. That streak ended when they fell just short of representing the AFL in the first AFL-NFL championship game - something that would later become known as the Super Bowl - at the end of the '66 season. The winning ways from those teams were the foundation of the first generation of fans of the Patriots - mostly young people who refused to follow and root for any team from New York, like their parent's generation did.

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I went to my first game in 1963 at Fenway and saw the Chargers beat the Pats 7-6. I don't remember much of it other than walking along the aluminum bleachers that were along the wall in left and seeing big #77 Ernie Ladd, all 6'9" and 290 lbs of him. He was warming up without pads in pregame by banging into the padded goal post to our left. It was rocking like crazy. I bet he'd be a monster even today.

I hated the fact that we were constantly fed the Giants games, and as soon as I saw the Browns play I was hooked on Jim Brown, the greatest RB that I've ever seen, and became a Browns fan. Then came the Boston Patriots and that was it, they were my team.

Then when the NFL refused to acknowledge the AFL, I was still a Pats fan but also an AFL fan. I was so happy for the Jets and Chiefs wins in 68 & 69 that even today it brings a smile to my face to think about it. Though I don't root for the Jets much anymore considering our more recent history, they and KC did shut those NFLers up for good.

Now the Pats own the NFL and it's been the ride of a lifetime. Thanks j57 for the jog down memory lane.

My memory, and I was only a tot, was that the Patriots were rarely on in the early days, maybe due to blackouts? I certainly recall whining about the Giants game being shown while the Patriots had a game.

Maybe there was a neutral AFL game on,I don't know. I was pretty young and didn't know about networks and contracts.

jmt57 said:

I vividly recall the AFL games being on channel four, which was NBC at that time, and the NFL games being on CBS (channel 5). This was pre-merger, so there were four games every Sunday afternoon: two early games and two late games, going head-to-head. That meant the Patriots and Giants were usually on at the same time, resulting in those family battles for the tv set that you mentioned. (For those of you who were not around in the sixties, households had only one television set back then). Our work-around was for us to convince one of the neighborhood's dads to watch at another neighbor's house, convincing him he would have more fun watching the game with another parent. That left an open tv on the street for us kids to watch the Patriots. Curt Gowdy (who also broadcast the Red Sox games back then) usually called the play-by-play on television for the Patriots' games.

The late afternoon game almost always involved the Chiefs, Raiders or Chargers (Denver wasn't very good then), and those were always thrilling games; far more exciting contests with more scoring than the NFL counterparts, with Len Dawson, Daryl Lamonica, and John Hadl throwing the ball downfield. Even many of the loyal Giant fans from the older generation would flip the channel at 4:00 to watch those games. After the merger fans were unfortunately left with the current setup that offered only two or three games on a Sunday afternoon rather than four.

**** Note: apparently the AFL was broadcast on ABC (channel 7 in Boston back then) from 1960 to 1964, and then switched to NBC in 1965. Gowdy called Super Bowl III between the Colts and Jets, and apparently made a remark about highly biased SI lead writer Tex Maule. Maule never gave AFL players or teams any credit, and with the Jets winning that game Gowdy said "I wonder if that son of a ***** Tex Maule is watching"?


For any other old fogies like myself who enjoy a bit of AFL nostalgia and history, check these out:

Remember the AFL | Tex Maule

History - Chronology, 1951-1960 | NFL.com

The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History, 1960-1969

Click to expand...

Great links, thanks. I still have a vague recollection of some Patriots games not being shown, in favor of a neutral game, or even a movie. i guess there's no way to verify that by research, though.