During the Patriots-Steelers AFC Championship game, some fans at Gillette Stadium had signs depicting caricatures of goats. They were references to Tom Brady as the GOAT — short for “greatest of all time.”
But deep in the heart of Texas, there is something startling in Cowboys country. There is a sign in front of a county courthouse that has a big red heart on it and says “Brady.”
As in Brady, Texas.
It is the closest town to the exact geographical center of Texas, and it is famous for one other thing.
Goat.
The talk about this Brady and this goat actually started in 1974, three years before the Patriots quarterback was even born.
The World Championship Barbeque Goat Cook-Off started as a fund-raiser in Brady. Last Labor Day weekend, 206 teams competed for the big prize; 6,000 goat lovers attend every year, more than the town’s population.
If you call the Chamber of Commerce and ask about “Brady” and “GOAT,” nobody thinks you are talking about the greatest quarterback of all time.
“No this is actually goat, real goat,” says the operator. “World championship goat.”
“Once upon a time, we were one of the largest goat-producing counties in the United States,” explains Erin Corbell, president of the Brady/McCulloch County Chamber of Commerce, “so that’s how we got tied into the cook-off involving goat.
“Goat is an acquired taste. When it’s done well, it’s really, really, good. But when it’s bad, it’s really bad.”
The city of Brady (named after Brady Creek) hosts the Super Bowl of goat grilling. The huge bronze trophy and the bragging rights are coveted more than the $1,250 first prize money.
Alphonse Dotson, a former Oakland Raiders defensive tackle, has been a judge for the last several years. He thinks Tom Brady might like it.
“It might surprise him in a nice way,” says Dotson. “It’s not like beef and it’s not like lamb, for sure. It has its own taste. They barbecue it, they smother it, and cook it in all kinds of recipes. If you taste it, you’ll want to take some home.”
But when asked if Brady is the GOAT, Dotson points out that the greatest of all time is more a coaching thing.
“I would probably give the accolades to [Bill] Belichick first, then the offensive linemen, then Brady and go from there,” he says. “Brady has become a coach on the field. He is a very intelligent QB — as long as Brady has intelligent receivers that follow his instructions.
“Brady throws to a point, and his receivers have to run to that point. They can’t change the route. Very few have figured that out, to disrupt the receiver’s pattern.”
He wants Brady to judge the contest at some point. But wouldn’t Brady get booed in Brady?
“You know what? He wouldn’t,” says Dotson. “You’d be surprised.”
The mayor of Brady says Brady likes Brady.
Sort of.
“Of course it’s Cowboys [territory], but the Cowboys are not in the game,” says Mayor Anthony Groves. “So we’re past that stage now; we’re looking at Tom Brady vs. the Falcons.”
Groves is a 30-year Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and the Gulf War. Although the colonel grew up in an Atlanta suburb, he’s rooting for Brady and the Patriots.
And he doesn’t feel that Brady cheated in Deflategate.
“I don’t think anybody cares about that,” says the mayor. “I think quite possibly they looked to get on the low edge of the margin they were allowed and there was a miscalculation. But that’s long ago.”
He says Brady is welcome in Brady anytime. The GOAT eating goat would be quite the event, he says.
Folks come from all over in trailers and RVs to Texas Hill Country, which is 230 miles southwest of Dallas.
“They have awards like people who make the best biscuit or have the best campsite,” says the mayor. “There’s a congeniality award to the people who are the friendliest and nicest to everybody. They cook all kinds of things and serve them for free.”
Last year, the Good Ol Boys Too of Ballinger, Texas, won first place in the cook-off. Reached by phone, Brendan Weatherman of the Good Ol Boys is asked if he feels a kinship because both he and Tom Brady have won championships.
“Oh my God,” he says. “Sure.”
Like Brady, Weatherman refused to quit.
“We’ve been cooking for almost 20 years, since we were in high school, and our parents had their turns before us,” he says. “It’s been a tradition here in the heart of Texas. Finally the stars aligned.”
He says that either Peyton Manning or Brady is his GOAT. However, he prefers college football, specifically Texas Tech, which gave the Patriots Wes Welker and Danny Amendola.
“We are very proud of Wes and Danny’s NFL accomplishments,” he says.
He also says Brady has fans in Brady.
“I’m sure there are plenty of people with some town pride and definitely that would have a symbolic attachment,” he says. “I know plenty of kids who are very big Patriot fans that wear his jersey to school.”
Unlike Belichick and Brady, he is willing to share his secrets of success.
“This year, we did a mustard base, a wet mustard rub, which helps the seasoning stick to it better, some salt, pepper, and garlic, nothing really special,” he says. “It’s how you cook it more than anything else.”
For the Super Bowl, there’s no goat on the menu, but Weatherman will grill something that might be hotter than even Brady. The menu includes dove sizzlers, a Texas hunter’s delicacy of mourning or white dove, with oozing cream cheese, wrapped in bacon and a jalapeno pepper.
Stan Grossfeld can be reached at stanley.grossfeld@globe.com