The Burrows’ biggest concern these days is finding out how they’ll fit Mike into a checked suitcase for their travel. Mike is a three-foot-tall plush Bengal tiger who hangs out on the bonnet of the family’s rental car during pregame tailgate parties. He’s become something of a talisman for Robin and Jimmy, the quarterback’s parents, who have given Cincinnati its first playoff victory in three decades and ended the NFL’s longest conference championship drought.
To put it another way, life is now very wonderful. While there will always be pregame nerves—both agree that the hustle and bustle of the tailgate do little to alleviate the anxiety—the majority of them dissipate once they enter the stadium and get a seat.
They haven’t seen or spoken to Joe in over 24 hours, so it takes that visual to corroborate. Mom and dad have been sending him pregame text messages for years, and they joke that they’re still waiting for responses (in college, when Jimmy encouraged him to practice throwing into the wind, Joe just remarked to him after the game, “I know, Dad,” confirming he was at least reading the texts).
He shuts himself away in a place where only the game is important. During home games, this means they arrive at Joe’s house only after confirming that he has left for the stadium. Soon after, Burrow tweeted that the NFL wouldn’t be able to get rid of him so quickly.