I don’t like Tom Brady.
Not personally, mind you—I’ve never met the man. And while honesty may be the best policy, in this case I am well aware that my honesty will expose me as something of a hater when it comes to Tom Brady. So let’s just get that out of the way here at the start.
Why would I hate one of the most accomplished athletes in the history of team sports? Let’s start with me being a lifelong Atlanta Falcons fan, which probably explains a lot (or everything).
I was actually at Super Bowl LI, when Tom Brady pulled his greatest trick ever, leading the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime. I have managed to successfully block most memories from that night out of my mind, but the one moment I do recall clearly was running to the restroom after Tevin Coleman scored at the beginning of the third quarter to push Atlanta’s lead to 28-3. In the concourse outside you could hear Falcons fans deliriously cheering; I was reticent to get too excited. Another older man also wearing a Falcons jersey looked over at me, shrugged and said, “I guess they don’t know how this could end up.”
An hour later, with the score tied, as the two teams walked out for the overtime coin toss, my friend Dave turned to me and said, “There is no way New England is losing this coin toss.” They didn’t. And then they won the game. Because of Tom Brady.
That game became an important chapter in the book of TB12, which is by now stuffed with plenty of other chapters also celebrating Brady’s exploits. He’s won so many times that at this point it’s almost anticlimactic. Even the freakin’ Super Bowl a few days ago was boring, at least if you tuned in hoping for a competitive game. And that’s because Tom Brady is great.
I realize that there’s a difference between disliking someone yet still respecting that person, because even I can admit Tom Brady is an awesome football player. Earlier this week, the 43-year-old QB won his seventh Super Bowl, this time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he completely transformed the organization in less than a year. What Tom Brady did in Tampa is unprecedented and unbelievable, not just by any athlete, but especially by one in his mid-40s. Brady is just 7 years younger than Patrick Mahomes’ FATHER, and he’s still out here winning Super Bowls like it’s as easy as cutting the grass.
Brady’s win in this Super Bowl also had the effect of causing me to re-think the greatness of Bill Belichick. I assume many people reckoned Brady’s success in New England was at least in some part due to the system Belichick had in place. The win with Tampa doesn’t mean this isn’t true, but it at least underlines the value of Brady to that whole enterprise.
To be honest, it’s hard for me to even think of Brady as an “athlete.” I know he’s in incredible shape and he’s trying to sell people on the TB12 diet, whatever that is, but the way he plays quarterback is almost completely reliant on Brady’s intelligence. The most physical part of his game are those quarterback sneaks in short yardage situations. If Brady had had the Tampa Bay offensive line in the Super Bowl, would Tampa have been able to score 30-plus points? Doubtful. Would Brady have been able to figure out a way to win in spite of that line? You can’t definitively say no, which may be about as big a compliment as you can give him.
You can disrespect Tom Brady all you want, but the man has not left us much wiggle room, has he? At forty-plus he went to a new city and new team, and won a title. Heck, Jordan didn’t even make the playoffs with the Wizards.
So, I don’t have to like Tom Brady. I don’t have to heart his Instagram posts or root for whatever team he’s on or partake in the TB12 diet plan. But even I, a seasoned Brady hater, have to give him respect. Grudgingly, perhaps, but yeah.
Respect due.