SI

Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Julian Edelman Got a Tour of Atlanta From a Stranger Who Didn’t Recognize Him

'I ended up walking with this guy for 30 minutes who didn’t know who I was,' Edelman said. 

Dan Gartland

Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

People in Atlanta must be friendly

While he rode in a cab from the airport, USA Today writer Nate Davis thought he might have spotted Julian Edelman walking down the street in Atlanta at night. But it was dark, and it can be tough to identify an average-looking guy like Edelman without the No. 11 on his back. 

“I did go on a little adventure,” Edelman told USA Today a few days later. 

“I just went on a walk. I was like a block away from where MLK was born, and I just wanted to kinda see it. No one was really in for the Super Bowl yet. … It was cool to see the little restaurants and joints—soulful looking stuff—it just seemed cool, and I wanted to go check it out.”

Edelman added that he ended up getting a 30-minute walking tour from a total stranger who had no idea that he was on the Patriots. 

Edelman isn’t the most recognizable player on the Patriots. He isn’t nearly as famous as Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski. At 5'10", 198 pounds, he doesn’t have the imposing physique of a guy like Dont’a Hightower (6'3", 260) that screams “NFL player.” He also plays a sport where everyone wears helmets all the time, so probably only the most serious football fans in Atlanta would have recognized him. 

Edelman said he’s only been to Atlanta for games (this year’s Super Bowl and a 2013 game against the Falcons) but he’d like to explore the city some more. If the city is the kind of place where someone will take a half-hour to show a stranger around, then Edelman should definitely go back some time. 

This guy got fired

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In case you missed it yesterday, the man responsible for the “known cheater” graphic featured in Tuesday’s Hot Clicks, got fired from his job at Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA. 

His name is Michael Telek and he spoke to Deadspin about getting canned for making a silly joke. He says he heard from a supervisor less than 10 minutes after the graphic aired. Telek says he’s planning to attend a job fair at a casino on Saturday, and place a bet on the Patriots while he’s there. 

Awkward...

That’s Olympic gold medalist Kendall Coyne-Schofield, who took part in the NHL fastest skater competition at All-Star Weekend, making her commentary debut on NBCSN. She obviously knows hockey and yet Pierre McGuire is treating her like she won a kid broadcaster contest. 

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Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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