Tom Brady is retired. It’s official. Twenty-two seasons, 14 conference championship appearances, 10 Super Bowl appearances, seven Super Bowl titles and five Super Bowl MVP awards are among his countless accolades.
However, one of the greatest things a player can do is shake off the haters. Tom did that better than many before him. Once you have a label in a professional sport, that is tagged to you for life.
Tom was over-rated, remember? He was a system quarterback. He was a cheater. There weren’t a lot of fans of Tom outside of Massachusetts unless they were Patriots fans.
I was one of those haters: The tuck rule, Spygate, deflated footballs. People cheered against the Patriots, but Tom shook free. Maybe it was just guilt by association with Bill Belichick and a fresh start in Tampa was necessary to do it. But Brady did. Tom was more open, funny even. And the play on the field at 42, 43, and 44 was unreal.
He was a champion for the old guy. He became an even bigger star. And yes, he even made a fan out of me — although it was still a fumble.