What if the Lombardi Trophy had been dropped after Brady’s boat parade toss?
TAMPA, Fla. - It's only a "what if," but what if the Lombardi Trophy wasn't caught on Wednesday? What if it was a rare bad throw by Tom Brady, or an inadvertant drop by the sure-handed Cameron Brate?
The 7-pound trophy would have sunk about 12 feet to the bottom of the murky Hillsborough River.
"Down at the bottom, there's a silted sandy area, so it definitely would’ve plugged in there," said Chris Audet, a member of the TPD dive unit.
Audet was escorting Brady's boat Wednesday during the Buccaneers' Super Bowl boat parade.
"I thought it was the coolest thing," he said of the toss. "But in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, ‘Oh my God I hope they catch this thing.’"
Audet would've been among the guys having to retrieve the sterling silver piece.
"I have a device. It’s a marker buoy that I would’ve thrown," he said.
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He said it probably wouldn't have been down there too long.
Luckily, in the end, this is one recovery he didn't have to make. But he joked, "Coming up with that trophy would've been pretty awesome."
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