Tom Brady is my hero. Sorry, Dad – win three Super Bowls and maybe we’ll talk. Brady sits… Tom Brady is my hero. Sorry, Dad – win three Super Bowls and maybe we’ll talk. Brady sits proudly atop my pantheon on “Athletes Whose Lives I’d Rather Have,” along with Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, Dwayne Wade and recent addition David Beckham. Matt Leinart used to be up there, until he went from running Los Angeles to living in the desert of Phoenix, but nobody can have everything.

But now, even though it’s been weeks since the New England Patriots were bounced out of the playoffs, their star player is back in the news for something other than football. Earlier this week, reports came out that Brady and ex-girlfriend/actress Bridget Moynahan are expecting their first child. This turn of events should prove to be a greater challenge to Brady than any defense he has ever faced.

Moynahan, who has starred in the movies “I, Robot” and “Coyote Ugly,” is three months pregnant. Brady’s agent told the Associated Press that the quarterback is “excited” about the prospect of being a father. He also thanked the press for respecting his privacy, something that will certainly not last if the paparazzi sticks to the moral values it has always held so dear.

These two celebrities are not dumb. They know that in the next six months there will be more cameras and microphones shoved in their faces than Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton combined. Brady, whose every social move is chronicled in detail by ESPN, the Boston Globe and every gossip blog in the Northeast, knows that every decision he makes in this sticky situation will be scrutinized to exhaustion.

Good luck, Tom.

Brady, who became the NFL’s “Golden Boy” after winning his first ring in 2002, has done an admirable job dealing with the pressures of revitalizing a sports franchise and being exalted to deity status, all before turning 30. His poster is hanging up in every boy’s bedroom in Massachusetts. However, if he lets down those fans, it means he threw an incomplete pass. A half-year from now, he’ll have a new fan – one who Brady cannot afford to disappoint.

Sure, plenty of people have children out of wedlock or at young ages. The mid-1990s saw an onslaught of illegitimate children fathered by athletes. But Brady, a future Hall of Famer who has always had a good understanding of his place in history, now has a chance to serve as a role model to young people around the country who are going through the same thing.

It’s true that most young fathers do not have the multi-million dollar salary to fall back on that Brady does, but money does not necessarily make a good father. Brady and Moynahan both have jobs that involve great amounts of time and traveling. Also, the couple has been split up since then end of 2006, and despite the fact that the breakup was amicable, this separation will no doubt add to the already steep challenge of raising a child. And, not too many other fathers are going to have every little parenting mistake broadcast on Entertainment Tonight.

I do not pity Brady, and I’m sure he would be surprised if anyone did. He makes his own decisions, and it is his responsibility to deal with the results. All I am saying is that the way he handles this situation will most likely shape his legacy as a player and a public figure. If he truly wants the respect of his peers and fans, Brady must be a good father. No number of touchdowns will ever justify a failure to raise his child well.

Though it may be heresy to say this in the Steel City, there are bigger things in life than football. Whether it is former players battling depression-inducing concussions, quarterbacks fighting back from dangerous motorcycle accidents or players dealing with the added responsibilities of fatherhood, human lives should always take precedent over wins and losses.

The reason this story is so interesting is that we’re not used to seeing our heroes out of their heroic elements, in positions of vulnerability. It makes us question their abilities. Tom Brady can handle a blitzing linebacker, but how will he deal with changing diapers?

More than anything, it makes us question our priorities. Raising a child is much more important than winning a football game. Maybe our role models should be the men and women who raised us, rather than the ones we grew up watching on television. Maybe I was wrong about my father. Maybe the job he’s done is more impressive than any pass Brady has ever thrown.

Good job, Dad.

E-mail Sam at [email protected], unless you’re a Colts fan.