Tom Brady Calls It Quits: From A Little Boy’s Eyes
I still remember the day when Tom Brady beat the Chargers in 2007. The Chargers were 14–2, and the NFL’s number one seed. But Brady strolled into Qualcomm, kept it close, and beat us in the closing seconds, ending our season. I went home crying in my father’s arms. I was ten years old.
I grew up hating Tom Brady. “All this guy does is win… and I’m sick of it!” I used to say to friends every single day. When SpyGate, and later DeflateGate, arrived the whole nation added a new line to that quotation: “… and he cheats!”
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to distance myself from the factions. I began to look at who Brady was, an underdog, a hyper-competitive football genius, and a father.
People judge with their eyes.
“He’s a handsome pig! Bridgit Moynahan, Giselle! He wins all of the time! Fuck him!”
Isn’t life much more simple when we make judgements based on our emotions?
The truth is: Brady is kind of a goofball. He’s quirky; he watches South Park. He’s not huddled up at some elitist club laughing at all of the poor football players that shall face his wrath. He closes his eyes and works harder than his competitors. Contrary to what many people seem to think, he’s a human being like anyone else!
On February 1st, 2022, Brady retired. He played his last game a couple of Sundays ago, and almost nobody mentioned how it could have been his last: football’s greatest icon could be finally finished. For years, we speculated about when this would happen… and then we suddenly seemed to forget about it?
Brady owns almost every important QB record, many of which are truly unbreakable. Yes, Patrick Mahomes, I said unbreakable. But I’m not here to talk about Brady’s stats, accolades or accomplishments.
Brady’s legacy, for me, is defined by a person who stretched the boundary of what’s possible. And in the heat of these moments in your life, staying positive in a society that is increasingly negative–facing scrutiny everywhere you turn. You can’t even close your eyes anymore without your haters having a front row seat in your head. Yet, all he did was continue to win.
Tom Brady carried on.
Tom,
From a little boy whom you made cry in his father’s arms on that day in 2007, and one that swore he’d never root for you in his life, you have become more of an inspiration than I would’ve ever imagined.
I kept watching. Season after season. You shifted from a villain to an icon before my very eyes. I couldn’t believe it.
Eventually, the dust settled, and I no longer had an answer for the angel on my shoulder: “Why do you hate him again?”
Like you, I carried on. Even if I refused to wear a Chargers jersey for the next year, I did my best to smile the next day at school.
When all of the anger, hatred, and unproductive jealousy wears off, let me be the first person to say.
We will miss you TB12!
