How Tom Brady showed us fairytales do exist
As all good fairytales start with ‘Once upon a time’, you might not believe it but that time is much closer than you think. You’re living it right now. And the main character of this fairytale is Bucs quarterback Tom Brady.
While some may argue fairytales don’t exist in sports or at all and the ugly truth is out there in front of us, especially when we’re reminded of the tragic accident one year ago of our beloved Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady proofed most of us wrong. Again.
The six-time Super Bowl winner, the greatest and most successful quarterback of all time, did the unthinkable by reaching the Super Bowl for the 10th time in his career! However, to make it even more special he didn’t do it with New England Patriots like in the past twenty years, but with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Somehow Tom Brady always had to prove himself more than others. Some said his success was mainly because of coach Belichick. And while Peyton Manning has always been the crowds favorite, Drew Brees threw for more yards and TD’s. And Brady definitely doesn’t have the running ability that some of current quarterbacks have (we all remember him sort-of-sprinting at the NFL combine). But Brady has something none of these quarterbacks have: six Super Bowl rings!
So, when Brady left the Patriots in March 2020 after the Patriots were defeated by the Tennessee Titans in the wildcard game, it seemed like we’d seen the last of his greatness on the field. But shortly after he signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Who? Yes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team with a 22-year long playoff drought. The second-longest streak among all NFL teams. Why would such a successful quarterback go and play in the bottom of the league? We all know the weather is why the elderly move to Florida but for Brady another good reason was to show you, me and everyone else that he truly is the greatest quarterback of all time and leave all criticism behind, for once and for all.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers only had two positive records in the last eleven seasons before Brady arrived. In 2015 the Bucs drafted first-round pick and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston expecting to turn it all around. In his second year he did manage to give the Bucs a winning season after six years, but in the following seasons he managed to create more turnovers than TD’s.
So, it was time for a change.
According to Joe Montana Brady left the Patriots since he felt his offensive input was often ignored. Even though QB’s are behind the wheel most of the time, Brady had the need to have more influence on the way his team played. So just a month after signing with the Bucs, he began to use his influence and calls his buddy TE Rob Gronkowksi out of retirement. Together they went off to seek greatness again.
The season started with a loss and of course they needed to get used to each other, but the Bucs won six out of the next seven games. Halfway the season they signed persona non grata Antonio Brown, which gave Brady another great asset downfield. Head coach Bruce Ariens recently unfolded he led Brady coach, so he could do what thought was best for the team. However, in November after a two-game losing streak it seemed like the run for the playoffs and thus history was over. But that’s one of the aspect what makes Brady great: just when you think you knocked him out, he gets up after nine seconds and makes the best out of it. Just like he did since the end of November when they lost against, it now seems their Super Bowl opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs record is 7–0 ever since.
One could argue that he was lucky with the opponent (the 7–9 Washington Football Team)in the Wild Card game and that he didn’t play his best game in the NFC Championship against Green Bay. But to knock-out the league’s MVP Aaron Rodgers with fabulous plays on 3rd downs and a TD-bomb just before the half is one hell of a job. Seeing him throw like that you wouldn’t think he’s forty-three-and-a-half years old! Did I not mention that before?
Scenario writers could not have come up with a better plot for this fairytale to end. It can turn out in a truly astonishing finish of this unbelievable story by winning against the new kid on the block, Patrick Mahomes. Rising start Patrick Mahomes won Super Bowl LIV last year for the first time and was left out of the Super Bowl the year before by, who else, Tom Brady and his Patriots. And if someone could finish the fairytale as it should be, with a happy ending, it’s Tom Brady. And knowing he could get the score up 7 to 1 instead of 6-2 in Super Bowl victories against Mahomes, he’ll probably make it happen. That’s just something the Greatest of All Time does.
