The G.O.A.T. has finally called it a career…probably. Tom Brady has officially announced his second retirement in a short, poignant social media on the 1-year anniversary of his first retirement, ending the very best career in NFL history.
There’s nothing that has not already been said about the living legend Tom Brady that I can add.
He’s simply the greatest quarterback of all-time and forged the greatest era in NFL history with his Patriots dynasty and his years in Tampa Bay by annually, historically, and unprecedently competing for the Super Bowl EVERY SEASON in a time that saw the most disparity amongst NFL rosters ever.
Whether he was up against Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson, Kurt Warner, Patrick Mahomes, Philip Rivers, Donovan McNabb, and all the rest of great QBs in the 23 years he played in the NFL, he always came out on top in the end.
His 7 Super Bowl wins, 3 NFL MVP awards, 6 All-Pro Team selections, 5 Super Bowl MVP awards, 15 Pro Bowl selections, 89,214 passing yards, 649 passing TDs, 7,753 passes completed, and selections on the 2000’s and 2010’s (and possibly 2020’s when the decade is over) Hall of Fame All-Decade teams proves it.
The man is a literal god of the game and should probably be the first player to ever have the 5-year Hall of Fame wait time removed. He’s the only player deserving of such an honor.
Obviously, I have a special affinity toward the heroic TB12 as I’m a homegrown Patriots fan, and I was just born at the start of the dynasty in New England. So, I’ve literally grown-up watching Tom Brady lead the Patriots to AFC East title wins, nail-biting AFC Championship victories, and 6 Super Bowl wins and 10 appearances year after year for the past twenty years, which is a big reason as to why he is my favorite football player of all time.
Most likely, I wouldn’t be such a huge sports fan if it wasn’t for Tom Brady and the Patriots forming my formative sports fandom with so many Super Bowl successes. I mean, I certainly wouldn’t love football as much if I was a Jets fans. That’s for sure.
Nevertheless, even though he left the Patriots in a less than satisfactory way (which is putting it lightly), I’ve still supported the guy during his time in Tampa Bay. And I was actively cheering for his Bucs the season he won the Super Bowl victory over the Chiefs like he was still a member of the Pats.
Okay, I know I’m not doing Tom Brady the justice he deserves with this article, but how can mere words compliment the accomplishments and iconic status of the very best football player ever?
Truthfully, they can’t as the emotions, feelings, joy, excitement, and happiness that he brought to millions of fans around the world that will forever be with them cannot be quantified in his 80+ thousands passing yards, thousands of completions, dozens of All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods, and even the Super Bowl trophies themselves.
Those feelings of happiness after watching a Sunday afternoon smackdown of the Dolphins, Jets, Bills, and all the rest of the league are invaluable and are worth more than all seven of his Super Bowl rings combined,
So, in closing, I’ll just say thank you, Tom Brady. The joy I experienced of watching you step every Sunday (and a few Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) onto Gillette Stadium, and Foxboro Stadium before that, and giving your all will always be engrained in my memory for the rest of time.
Enjoy retirement, Tom, you of all people deserve it most of all.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Wikimedia Creative Commons License/Author: Jeffrey Beall) (Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
