But there's more than comic relief that draws me (or other Leaf fans and Leaf haters) to the former Washington State student that ranks of one of the biggest busts in NFL Draft History.
It's his ability to be a scapegoat, a whipping boy if you will, for the common man's own inadequacies. He made us feel better about ourselves.
When Leaf squandered his nearly unprecedented potential, he made the rest of us a little less guilty for the times we made poor decisions and demonstrated a weakness in willpower. Finding rich, sullen celebrities to jeer is medicine for the doubting middle class soul. (This is what keeps Paris Hilton in the news, our national obsession with despising her). Ryan Leaf was that guy around the turn of the century.
Today, Ryan is out of the spotlight. He's coaching small-time college football in rural Texas, and any mention of him is limited to news stories that reference infamous NFL draft busts or sports radio conservations about the posters on the wall at The Jim Rome Show.
But now, Ryan's younger brother is giving the Leaf family a chance to, well, turn over a new leaf.
Brady Leaf is competing for a starting position at Oregon. The old starter, Dennis Dixon, regressed last year after a promising sophomore year, and Brady Leaf was productive in relief of Dixon despite the team's late-season collapse.
And as far as we know, Brady Leaf is a likable guy. He hasn't berated reporters or become Rodney Harrison's mortal enemy.
And even though he shares the Ryan's surname and the first name of another well-known prima donna quarterback who thinks he should be drafted first overall,
We're rooting for this Brady. The NFL needs another Leaf, even if he's not so easy to hate.