What would have been one of the most unexpected news headlines at the beginning of the NFL season now makes perfect sense: Giants’ Tommy DeVito Draws Crowd at Primo Hoagies in Wayne. I suppose that isn’t quite as strange as the headline, Tommy DeVito Fever Is Reaching New Heights after Two Giants Wins. Either way, when the season started, it would be hard to imagine that the biggest quarterback story coming out of MetLife stadium was a guy who still lives at home with his parents and last won a game at that stadium as a high school junior.
That is exactly what’s happening, and if nothing else, it’s a rare moment of joy, or at least distraction, from what’s been a disastrous season for the boys in blue. For those not aware of the Tommy DeVito craze, he’s a third string, undrafted backup quarterback for the New York Giants who was previously known best in Northern New Jersey as a star high school QB who led Don Bosco to a state title in 2015. And after the Giants lost both their starting and backup quarterbacks to injury in a season that is only slightly less disappointing than the reboot of Rosanne, DeVito took the reins in what most coaches would best categorize as the nuclear option. And after an initial game against the Cowboys where DeVito was essentially told not to throw the football under any condition, Bergen County’s finest has managed to win two straight games – against Washington and New England, but still technically NFL teams. That has boosted DeVito’s status from former high school star to can’t walk into pizza shop without someone asking for a photo. DeVito’s mythology – yes, he does still live at home with mom, and she still cooks him dinner and make his bed – has made this much more than just a third stringer taking his shot. DeVito, the unabashed Italian kid from Jersey who rubs his fingers together to celebrate a touchdown, has become the talk of the town far more than the quarterback of any 4-8 team would expect to. And it’s a far contrast to what people are saying about the much higher profile backup quarterback at the other New York team.
There are a couple of familiar themes running through this story. Perhaps none is more obvious than the fact everyone loves the backup, especially when they win. A backup is a particular kind of sports archetype, an underdog, someone without pedigree or ego, someone who shows up to practice every day selflessly without any glory or fanfare. The understudy who never takes the stage and has to do everything in their power to make the stars shine brighter. So we love to cheer for the backup, because they represent the David in all of us. If Tommy DeVito can somehow be a star NFL quarterback, just imagine what’s possible for all of us. And quite often, the backup comes in because the starter, despite all his talents and massive salary, just can’t get it done. Of course, more often than not, we learn why the backup was the backup, unless of course it’s Tom Brady filling in for an injured Drew Bledsoe. But for the time being, Tommy DeVito’s slipper still fits.
Second, DeVito’s persona stands in stark contrast to the ethereal celebrity status around virtually all contemporary star quarterbacks. Like when Aaron Rodgers came to the Jets, it felt more like a corporate merger than a personnel decision. He bought a $10 dollar house in Montclair to go along with his $28 million pad in Malibu. Tommy DeVito’s mom makes him chicken cutlets for dinner. He’s a boomerang kid who still hasn’t left home at 25, even though he finally found a job. That’s very different from some QB with a $100 million contract who flies a private jet. Tommy DeVito feels a lot more like Tom Hanks in Big than a star quarterback destined for fame. At the moment, he seems to be living his dream, which makes us feel just a bit more like our own dreams may someday come true.
Of course, people do wake up, which may or may not happen as NFL defenses start to scheme against the backup from Bergen County. And the Giants may acquire a more pedigreed quarterback to take the reins next year, if not before. Or, just maybe, Tommy DeVito’s clock won’t strike midnight, and he’ll lead his hometown Giants to the playoffs and more huge crowds at hoagie shops across the Northeast. At this point, it wouldn’t be the strangest headline we’ve seen.
Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him at @KeithStrudler
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