CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) — Actions have consequences. Some are little and some could potentially alter the future.
“I might be responsible for some of these Super Bowl trophies here up in the rafters,” Bobby Sabelhaus joked.
Funny guy. But there is truth to what he’s saying. Sure, he never played for the Patriots but maybe in part due to his decision, a certain legend named Brady did.
“Tom and I don’t know each other,” he says. “But we do have a history.”
It goes back 30 years ago when Bobby was the number 1 high school quarterback in the country. Every school wanted him including the Michigan Wolverines, while Brady on the other hand was their backup.
“I gave up my scholarship to the University of Michigan and Tom was their second choice.”
Sabelhaus picked Florida and from there, his and Brady’s paths were about as different as night and day.
“I didn’t make it in college like I planned,” he admits.
Sabelhaus would go on to become one of the biggest disappointments in Gator history. By 1998, he had taken his last snap. At that point, Brady’s career was just taking off.
“Tom is Tom. He is the greatest of all time.”
But Sabelhaus would also find success. In fact, his Hollywood ending actually involved moving out to Hollywood. He became a producer and was responsible for films like “She’s the Man,” starring Amanda Bynes, and “X-Men, The Last Stand.”
Now he does real estate in New England.
“Football had been my identity for so many years. Then I found film as a new passion and I never looked back.”
Without question, sometimes he wonders what might have been.
“It’s one of those things,” he says smiling.
But ultimately all these years later, he still feels he made the right call and come Sunday, he’ll be cheering Brady on while he’s on the call for Super Bowl 59.
“I always looked at it like Tom was my peer,” he said. “Honestly, I had a lot of respect for him.”
