http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/catching-lloyd-brady?page=0,0
Catching up with Lloyd Brady
By Everett Cook, Daily Sports Editor
Published September 9, 2013
David Kazmierski is a pretty normal Michigan graduate. Two years after graduating, he’s about halfway through his MBA at University of Michigan-Flint (which allows him to keep his season football tickets as well). He’s also a freshman football coach at his alma mater, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central.
Normal, except that Kazmierski has strangers come up to him almost everywhere he goes to ask for a picture, not because of anything he necessarily did, but because of an Internet thread on a popular fan blog three years ago.
A MGoBlog.com user noticed that Kazmierski looks a lot like a cross between former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady and a character from the movie “Dumb and Dumber” named Lloyd Christmas.
And thus, Lloyd Brady was born, spawning an unlikely rise to Internet fame, the effects of which Kazmierski is still feeling today.
Monday, the Daily caught up with Kazmierski.
The Michigan Daily: How’s the coaching going?
David Kazmierski: I coached most of last year as well, helping out with basketball and softball. I enjoy it, giving back to my school and teaching kids what I know. I’m the offensive coordinator.
TMD: Did the ability to get season tickets play into your graduate school decision at all?
DK: It played a little bit in thinking about it, but I always wanted to keep pursuing having my name on a Michigan degree. That’s a big deal for me. But getting season tickets is definitely a perk (laughs).
TMD: It’s interesting to me that you go from you know, you, to this whole other character that spawned out of just your appearance and nothing that you necessarily did.
DK: I was just going to the game, having a good time and enjoying myself. It’s hard to explain. I still get recognized most places I go. I was walking around campus on Sunday, and some kid just walked up to me and said, “Hey Lloyd Brady, how’s it going?” The funniest one from this weekend was that the attendant at the top of the stairs at the Notre Dame game said that I looked a lot like Lloyd Brady. I told him, “Well, I am.” First time I heard that one before.
TMD: It’s funny that he said you looked like Lloyd Brady because—
DK: I know. Lloyd Brady isn’t an actual person.
TMD: Is it every day that people are recognizing you, or is it only in Ann Arbor? How often does this happen?
DK: When I was coaching freshman football, I was also substitute teaching last year. I had most of these kids in class, and a couple of them knew the story. That was right around football season, so I was a big promoter of the University and taught most of the kids about Lloyd Brady and my school. That was an extra subject I taught, Michigan football.
TMD: Did any of them try and call you Lloyd?
DK: Yes. That did not end up well for them. Mr. Brady, that slips out sometimes. A couple of them went out and bought my T-shirt from Underground Printing.
TMD: Did they wear them to class?
DK: No, they can’t because it’s a private school and they have to wear uniforms, but one of the kids brought it out at football practice the other day.
TMD: To be fair, saying Mr. Brady is easier than saying Mr. Kazmierski
DK: It’s a long one. Most people, I’m OK with them calling me that. It’s a little shorter, and I’ll respond to it. When I get introduced to people, it’s like, “This is David, Kaz, or Lloyd.” Not everyone calls me by my real name. I don’t know how to introduce myself to most people.
TMD: How long did it take you to embrace this almost persona?
DK: At first, I felt like they were using my image in a really negative way, and I said, “I don’t want that to be me. I don’t want people to associate my face with a negative connotation. But then, Brian Cook (founder of MGoBlog) put me on the front of MGoBlog and said that we aren’t making fun of you. We are comparing you to Tom Brady, which is not a bad thing. It’s a great thing. Basically, I took it on from there.
They contacted me on the side and wanted to do a personal interview with me, started making Lloyd Brady T-shirts, and I said, “Well, alright, that sounds good to me.” I enjoyed being positively associated with Michigan and people coming up to me and talking about Michigan athletics. That’s what I grew up on.
After that, people started to associate me with all the good things that have happened to Michigan. It really ended up flipping the role of what I thought this was going to be. When people see me on TV, they don’t really tell me anymore. They’re used to it.
TMD: You graduated two years ago. How much longer do you think this will be a thing?
DK: It just kind of happens randomly. With the Central (Michigan) game, I took a picture with someone. It’s a lot less than what it was when I was an undergrad, but it still happens more than I expected it to happen two years out. I don’t know how much longer it will last, but I definitely will have some stories to tell.
TMD: Big question: are you glad this happened to you? Was this a good thing?
DK: Yes. I’m very happy it happened. It gave me something that will really help me remember college. When people ask what it was like to be a student at the University of Michigan, I have a specific story to tell everyone. I bring it up in job interviews, and all the people I get interviewed by all say that it’s incredible. It’s hilarious and a great conversation piece. It just gave me something to talk about forever.
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Tue Sep 10, 2013 2:00 am