NFL playoffs lead to Maye family merriment
With Drake Maye headed to the Super Bowl, his parents and three brothers will be cheering him on, as usual.
Editor’s Note: This column has been updated to reflect that the New England Patriots, led by former Tar Heel quarterback Drake Maye, will meet the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8. If the Patriots win, Carolina will be the sixth university to produce a U.S. president and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
Where you find one Maye, you’re likely to find the rest of them. That’s true even when they’re spread all over the world. Former Tar Heel quarterback Drake Maye leads the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots. Cole pitched for the 2017 NCAA champion University of Florida Gators baseball team. UNC basketball legend Luke is playing in Japan, and former Tar Heel hoopster Beau Maye is the head coach at Hough High in North Carolina
“My parents come to every game, so they’re always here,” Drake said after the playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers. “And my three brothers are here, which is pretty cool. It’s just special sharing these moments with them and going home and probably playing ping-pong until 1:30 a.m. or something. Having them in the house is cool, three of my best friends. And obviously Ann Michael, so I can’t forget about her.”
Ann Michael Maye, Drake’s wife and the newest New England celebrity, has captivated Patriots fans with her Christmas baking ideas and Southern charm. Her newfound fans probably don’t realize she has some lesser-known talents.
“The first day home last June, Drake was getting married in less than two weeks,” Luke says. “And he and Ann Michael were out at our high school with Cole, Beau and I playing home run derby on the softball field.”
But while Ann Michael’s social media clout has exploded, the Maye boys have continued to be the same goofballs they were growing up outside of Charlotte. Long considered Tar Heel royalty, they’ve simply exported that sense of family to the Boston area.
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Parents Mark and Aimee Maye, as Drake mentioned, are always at his games, just as they have been for each of the boys for their entire lives. Mark, a former UNC quarterback, is even serving as Beau’s assistant with Hough. When Luke played for the Tar Heels, it was commonplace for Mark and Drake to make the two-hour drive each way just to rebound for him for a couple hours. They’d get some work in at the Smith Center, grab some dinner and then drive home.
Every game that every member of the family plays is important. When Luke made his debut for the Kobe Storks in Japan and averaged 24 points and 13.5 rebounds in his first two games, Drake immediately fired off a text recommending some work on his free throws (67%).
The athletic credentials of the Maye boys are not in doubt. But those expected ping-pong games after the win over the Chargers actually turned into some late-night bumper pool—with an unexpected winner.
“At bumper pool, my dad is elite,” Beau says with a laugh. “That’s one of those sports he played a lot growing up with my granddad. His athleticism might be fleeting, but he can still whoop up on us at that. And he hung in there with us until 2:15. He always says being able to have times like that is why you have a bunch of kids.”
And if the Patriots should complete a storybook season with a world championship? You already know what the celebration will be.
“We’re blessed to get to watch Drake play in all these big games,” Beau says. “What’s really cool is that we’re still doing the same old stuff. He plays those games in front of millions, and we go back to the house, and it’s right back to when we were 9 or 10 years old, hanging out. That’s the stuff that doesn’t change.”
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