Go Long is heading to Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix

Come along for the ride. We'll be on site all week.

Illustration by Brave Buffalo

Good morning, readers!

And what a strange morning this is. Tom Brady always struck me as someone who’d navigate the pocket with a cane in one hand, a crossword puzzle in the other and a football tucked underneath a wrinkly arm before retiring. This quarterback is not merely obsessed with athletic competition — he’s addicted.

Yet a surreal moment has arrived. Yesterday, Brady announced he is retiring. “For good,” this time. An entire generation of fans only knows football with Brady in it. The joy and heartache he supplied an entire nation these last 23 years is unparalleled. God speed, Tom. Please drink a beer and relax for once.

Now, some good news as this NFL season reaches its apex.

Go Long is flying to Phoenix. I’ll be on site all week and would absolutely love to bring you along for the ride. Feel free to subscribe right here to get everything. We’re extending our playoff special, too. Choose the annual rate and I’ll send you a signed copy of “The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Save Football.”

Current subscribers: If you gift an annual membership or renew yours, same deal. Just email me at golongtd@gmail.com to confirm and “Blood and Guts” will head your way.

Expect unique Super Bowl coverage through a longform lens. I’ll be posting a feature each day… and I think you’ll love what’s brewing. The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are fascinating in their own right — with so many personalities on both rosters — but we’re also going to tackle big-picture issues that Bills and Packers and Giants and Bengals and followers of all teams will enjoy.

As always, all stories will be posted at GoLongTD.com and delivered to your email inbox.

The podcast feed will include a ton of interview shorts, in addition to our regular stream of episodes. You can always download the show at Apple or Spotify.

And we’ve got a new feature for our VIP subscribers. If you’re a VIP, I want you to have the ability to ask a player anything you’d like. Email me your question at golongtd@gmail.com. I’ll be at every media availability for both teams, and will do what I can to get an answer.

Click Here to become a VIP

Upgrading to this option gets you the signed “Blood and Guts,” a new Go Long hoodie and full Zoom Happy Hour access with players around the NFL. (Be on the lookout for a Happy Hour guest during Super Bowl Week!) As for those hoodies? By popular demand, we’re currently printing black hoodies with the single Carolina blue logo. I know our first batch of hoodies way back featured a screen-printed logo that peeled off in the wash. No more, my friends. We’ve upgraded in this department with merch now printed at Positive Approach in downtown Buffalo.

Would love it if you considered becoming a VIP. A first look:

I cannot thank everyone enough for your amazing patronage all season long. There will be no offseason around here, either. A subscription will take you right through our trip to the NFL Combine, free agency and the NFL Draft, where Hall-of-Famer Bob McGinn will provide his 39th annual draft series. (Here’s the 38th.)

The goal here is to lift up the curtain on this league via humanizing player profiles and penetrating deep dives on teams. You make our reporting possible.

Off to Phoenix we go.

Miss any of our Friday Features this season?

• 'The Villains:' How true disrespect created a monster in Cincinnati

• 'He’s been building for this his entire life:' Isaiah Hodgins is here to stay

• 'We’re not scared of anything:' Yes, it was always the Jags

• D.J. Reader will never break

• Is Daniel Jones the future?

• Taiwan Jones is the Buffalo Bills' heartbeat, Part I: “Survival of the fittest”

• Taiwan Jones is the Buffalo Bills' heartbeat, Part II: “Our mission”

• “Kill or be killed:” Inside the mad world of Matthew Judon

• 'Somebody’s hit you in the mouth:' HOF'er Kurt Warner dissects Tua's counterpunch

• Tua Time, Part I: Belief

• Tua Time, Part II: The Takeover

• Deja vu: How Joe Burrow can return to his Super Bowl moment

• Demario Davis has spoken to God

• “I got my swagger back:” Cam Dantzler’s turnaround

• What's next for the NFL Tight End? That's up to Kyle Pitts...

• Inside the Jacksonville Jaguars' plan to elevate Trevor Lawrence to superstardom

• 'I’m a unique dude:' How Foye Oluokun became the face of the resurgent Jags defense

• The Detroit Lions Must Break You, Part I: Life and death

• The Detroit Lions Must Break You, Part II: Bringing the pain

• 'I want to be the best corner to have ever played in this era'

• How this became a Josh Allen World

• Will Za’Darius Smith get revenge?

• T.J. Watt is the best player in football. (And he supplies the secret why.)

• It's a new day for the Minnesota Vikings, Part I: Culture Shock

• It's a new day for the Minnesota Vikings, Part II: Why Kirk Cousins 'n co. can think… Super Bowl?

• 'Chido' is the cure for a Super Bowl hangover

• Kenny Clark speaks out: ‘The best me is The Best’

• Murder, cockroaches, belief: How Rachaad White bet on himself

• The Beautiful Mind of Chase Edmonds

• Kayvon Thibodeaux can save the day