Gallagher: Brady Day for Tom Brady in Topps/Expos commercial
On December 12, 2023, Topps created a commercial highlighting the fictitious career of Tom Brady as a catcher with the Montreal Expos, if he had signed with the club after being drafted by them in 1995. Photo: MLB.com
December 12, 2023
By Danny Gallagher
Canadian Baseball Network
Tom Brady is receiving the Expos' treatment from Topps and Major League Baseball.
The 1995 Expos draft pick was honoured Dec. 12 with a 79-second commercial spoofing his fictitious Expos career as part of Brady Day being celebrated on the 12th day of the 12th month, No. 12 being his number when he played in the NFL.
In publicity for the commercial, Topps created a world in which Brady played an entire MLB career. The Expos logo and merchandise, which are owned by MLB, are prominent in the commercial and getting some neat air time were Expos greats Vlad Guerrero, Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and Pedro Martinez, who were complimenting Brady's 'career' with the Expos while looking at a television.
"That guy just never let us lose,'' was the writing on the screen when the famous trio was looking on.
In his Twitter (X) post promoting the commercial, Brady says, "it was all a dream....right?” At the end, his alarm rings at 12:12 and he realizes how neat it could have been if he had been in an Expos uniform.
The commercial commences with shots of a fictional Montreal bar called Brady's Brasseries, complete with newspaper clippings on the walls of the catcher's various deeds as a catcher and at the plate.
One local in the French-speaking community puts in an order for two poutines with extra Tommy, in order to highlight Brady's presence in the province of Quebec where poutine is a popular delicacy.
As part of the package, Topps and Bowman produced what they called the Expos 1995 Dream Draft Picks card for Brady.