They have the long hair, mustaches and trucker hats you’d expect from alternative country rockers. So what are they doing in the lede to a football story.
Their names are Joshua Quimby and Avry Truex.
You may know them from such hits as “Long Green Cigarette,” “Oh Codeine,” or “Fugazis and Daisies.” Or, like most of America, you may not know them at all.
Their latest impromptu hit, however, is taking New England by storm.
After an extended country guitar riff from Quimby—and, if you’ve watched Hee Haw or been in a bar where the risk of a fight breaking out was non-zero, you know just how it sounds—Truex squeals out the lyrics. “He comes from Carolina was pick number three. Threw so many dimes, they put one on his jersey.” Then they both hit the chorus as Quimby tries to keep from breaking.
“In Maye,” they sing, hitting a falsetto, “we believe.”
The Patriots spoiled their fans with decades of success with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Somehow, however, Drake Maye’s second NFL season is inspiring the region to write anthems for him.
From 3-14 to 14-3, kings of the AFC. We believe.
The UNC product has spearheaded a worst-to-first turnaround for the Pats, who dethrone the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East and won their opening-round playoff game—Maye’s postseason debut—last week.
Heading into the game, Maye sounded like the level-headed team leader that took UNC to the 2022 ACC Championship Game and rewrote the Tar Heel record book. Instead of worrying about his performance or how to control his nerves, he gave his veteran teammates a little helpful advice.
“I think the natural thing is to get a little more amped,” he said. “I guess that’s just natural, as a human, for a big game. Just trust what you’ve been doing. I told these guys at the end of the season, before the playoffs came, to put some extra work in, to stay after practice. Some guys have been running extra routes and little things like that that can go a long way, but don’t do anything out of the ordinary. That’s the biggest thing. Trust what you’ve been doing. Trust the preparation you’ve been doing all season. Trust your coaches and your teammates around you, and just go out there and have fun. It’s playoff football, so you’ve got to bring your best, and everybody knows that.”
He’s a bat out of hell in the NFL.
After starting 12 games as a rookie, Maye turned in a sophomore season that has him in the top two for MVP consideration—a virtual toss up with Rams veteran quarterback Matt Stafford. Maye threw for 4,393 yards and 31 touchdowns, leading the NFL in completion percentage, yards per attempt and quarterback rating. He put a stamp on his MVP campaign in the regular season finale, completing 19 of 21 passes against the Jets for five touchdowns and a near-perfect 157 passer rating.
Come one come all down to Foxborough. See him sling that ball into the end zone.
Maye hasn’t grown accustomed to his newfound fame. He hasn’t even heard Quimby and Truex’s viral song.
“I have not,” he admitted. “I think somebody told me about (it), may have been (a teammate), but I haven’t heard that. Who knows? It’s probably something. I don’t know if it’s good or bad.”
He completed 17 of 29 passes for 258 yards, a touchdown and an interception to beat the Chargers in the Wild Card Weekend game. Despite leading New England to its first home playoff win since 2018, Maye wasn’t happy with his performance and vowed to improve as the Patriots moved on.
“You come to the stadium with that finality feel. It’s win or go home, or win and advance,” he said. “That’s kind of the feeling you get. That’s kind of the biggest thing I felt out there. From there, the teams are going to be good. They had a great defense, a great quarterback. We were the better team tonight. We made plays when we needed to. … Probably need to throw, fire it in there a little more. From there, high-pressure throws. Critical plays, I just have to make them. I like my chances of making ’em. I’m not going to think too much about it, move on to next week.”
The best damn thing since 2019. MVP of the whole damn league.
Quimby and Truex finish with a country flourish (again, you know exactly how it sounds). Quimby looks at the camera and says, “I love you, Drake Maye.” Truex adds, “We love you. Go kill it out there.”
We believe.
