INDIANAPOLIS — Gisele Bundchen ripped into the Patriots receivers for the failed plays she believes cost her quarterback husband Tom Brady a fourth Super Bowl ring.
The Brazilian supermodel was caught on camera lambasting No. 12’s teammates after Sunday’s game in Indianapolis as she angrily defended taunts against her husband by Giants fans.
Fans can be heard yelling “Eli rules!” and “Eli owns your husband” as she made her way through Lucas Oil Stadium following the Patriots’ 21-17 defeat, the second time Giants quarterback Eli Manning has bettered three-time winner Brady on the Super Bowl stage.
The comments riled Bundchen, judging by video obtained by online gossip site “The Insider,” with the model making it quite clear to those around her who she thought was to blame for Brady’s failure to land the win.
“You [need] to catch the ball when you’re supposed to catch the ball,” she is heard saying. “My husband cannot [expletive] throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can’t believe they dropped the ball so many times.”
Although Bundchen mentioned no names, she almost certainly was referring to wide receiver Wes Welker, who was judged to have made the costliest fourth-quarter drop, along with a missed catch by tight end Aaron Hernandez.
In response, TMZ.com reported Monday that people within the Patriots organization said the supermodel violated a “code of brotherhood” by bashing Brady’s teammates.
Bradley’s teammates apparently feel betrayed by Gisele’s words, with a source saying, “It’s like knocking someone when they are down.”
Brady was not available for comment on Monday, when the team flew back from Indianapolis and arrived at Gillette Stadium on buses. Asked if the team had any comment, Patriots spokesman Stacey James pursed his lips together and shook his head from side to side.
Defensive back James Ihedigbo said Welker was a big reason the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl, and he’s not to blame for the loss.
“You can’t point fingers at anybody. Wes made amazing plays all season,” Ihedigbo said. “You win it as a team; you win it and lose it as a team. And we lost to a good football team.”
Bundchen’s unwavering support for her husband came as no surprise after it emerged that she sent a gushing email to family and friends asking them to pray for “Tommy” in the buildup to Super Bowl Sunday.
The prayers went unanswered, with her husband’s own late Hail Mary failing to deliver victory for the Patriots.
A distraught Welker later said he “let the team down” with his play near the Giants’ 20-yard-line, which came with 4:06 left on the clock and the Patriots up 17-15.
“I’ve made it a thousand times in practice and everything else,” he said. “It comes to the biggest moment of my life, and [I] don’t come up with it. It’s discouraging.”
After the game, Brady refused to publicly blame the receiver, who he described as a “phenomenal player and teammate,” and offered to take a share of the blame for the throw while addressing the postgame media.
“[Welker] went up to try and make it, as he always does, and we just couldn’t connect,” he said.
With NewsCore; AP