NFL legend Tom Brady throws Expos fans into what ifs

Montreal Expos superfan Perry Giannis is seen with his baseball memorabilia. (CTV News)

"What if" scenarios have played out in the minds of Montreal Expos fans ever since the team they affectionately called "Nos amours" left for Washington, D.C., nearly two decades ago.

And this week, many applauded when NFL superstar Tom Brady gave them more to dream about when he posted an ad online featuring him in an alternate scenario as a retired catcher for the home team rather than a football quarterback.

"The whole thing was kind of cool because it is a bittersweet memory," says superfan Perry Giannis. "Not only what could have been with Brady as an Expos player, but what could have been if we still had a team."

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In the ad for Topps, an American trading cards company, Brady's exploits as a catcher and batter are on full display in a Montreal brasserie.

"You know why Tom Brady won seven rings?" asks the bartender. "It was because of his hitting, 649 home runs, what a power hitter," answers a patron.

"Without him, they would have moved us out of Montreal," says another, who turns out to be one of Brady's "would have been" or "could have been" teammates – Expos greats Larry Walker, Vladimir Guerrero and Pedro Martinez all have a cameo in the spoof.

The scenario is not entirely far-fetched.

Brady was a multi-sport athlete at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif., and was drafted by the Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft.

"It is funny that he was a low draft pick in the NFL, just like he was a low draft choice in baseball," Giannis says. "I could blow it off and say he wouldn't have amounted to much, but a lot of people thought he wouldn't amount to much in football, so it is an interesting question. Maybe he would have been an awesome baseball player."

And just maybe he could have saved the team Giannis has cheered on for so long. He says the Expos have long been a part of Montreal's DNA, giving fans memories they embrace to this day.

Giannis founded Expos Fest, a fundraiser for the Montreal Children's Hospital in memory of his niece, Catherine "Kat" Demes, who passed away on July 22, 2015, when she was only five years old.

Expos Fest events bring former players back to the city, and the childhood cancer fundraisers have amassed almost $2 million so far. Another event is planned for April, featuring the most important reunion of Expos' players in 30 years.

Giannis says the players love returning to the city and that fans come out in droves to trade memories of the Expos glorious, and not so glorious, seasons. This time, they might be trading the Brady baseball cards too.

"Our history is so deep," says Giannis, surrounded by some of his 200 game-used baseball jerseys and 400 game-used bats.

He is among those who still hope the Expos may one day come back to this city. To others, that is a dream, much like the sequence in the ad featuring Brady.

At the end of the video, Brady's alarm rings loudly waking him up at 12:12, a nod to the number on the football jersey Brady wore for 23 NFL seasons.

It was all a dream… right?! @Topps @MLB @michaelrubin pic.twitter.com/iYoj3gCmUX

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) December 12, 2023