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Have you ever had an awesome weekend that you wish would never end
That’s the way I felt when now-former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady pretty much officially but didn’t say the word, “retired” from the National Football League.
Tom Brady, pictured with football broadcast analyst, Charles Davis, won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.
For 22 years, football fans have witnessed a spectacular career that had only one way to go after Brady was selected 199th in the 2000 NFL Draft. Ten Super Bowl appearances -Check. Seven Super Bowl rings -Check. Five Super Bowl MVP awards -Check. And that’s only a sliver of his records. I believe we call that a success.
The only thing that comes close to my sports retirement-related bummed-outtedness was Brett Favre’s (the first one) because I watched him create miracles on the field at Southern Mississippi, then have a boatload of fun in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Every generation has their sports favorites but consider that people born after 2000 have never known an NFL season without Brady in the league. That means kids were born, took their first steps, went on first dates, and maybe had kids of their own during that time. If you hitched on to Brady’s bandwagon at the start of the century, you did all right. If you only jumped on board after he went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (I’m talking to you, nephew J), you did ok, too.
Well into his career I learned that my degree of separation from Brady was closer than I knew, so congratulations to his team that helped guide the GOAT from Ann Arbor, Mich., to what will be a dynamic trip to Canton, Ohio in five years.
Brady proved to other athletes that you don’t have to be the best in your draft class to reach the top of a mountain and brand your name into the side of it. A 133-25 home record, 243-73-0 overall, and a CVS receipt of best-ofs show that if you work hard, and practice with passion and persistence, there’s little that can stop you from meeting some, if not all of your goals. And win. Winning a bunch along the way helps, too.
Brady grew up on the football field before our eyes. We’ve also watched while he’s tested off-the-field waters, and I have a feeling some of those will grow into special side hustles. But it looks like the special 22-year weekend has ended. Go enjoy a burger and beer, Tom. You earned it.
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