Tom Brady makes another Super Bowl appearance. With a twist this time.
The 43-year-old quarterback will participate in this year’s Super Bowl as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This makes it all special and an all-time great sports story along.
Go ahead and say it’s hyperbole if you want. It does not take away the uniqueness of all this. For the greatest quarterback of all time to keep doing this at his age with a new team is hard to do. Sure, Brady is not the quarterback he used to be, but that’s okay. He still gets it done, and he played a role in the Buccaneers’ 31-26 NFC Title Game victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Buccanneers do not go to the Super Bowl and win three straight playoff road games without Brady. There should be no argument about that. Remember this was a franchise that had one winning record in the last nine seasons prior to his arrival. This says about his impact on the game and on the Bucs.
Who wasn’t in awe when he threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller with 1 second left until halftime? I thought he was nuts to do it, but that’s why he’s the greatest quarterback of all time for him to believe he can pull a play like that. Sure the Packers defense played lazy on Miller in the end by having one player behind him, but no quarterback can make a play like that, which is why Twitter went ablaze and people at bars and in their living rooms were wowed.
If one can’t appreciate Brady for what he is doing now, it’s that person’s problem, not him. Even his critics have to grow to appreciate him, especially now that he does not play for the hatred Patriots.
I find myself rooting for him to win this postseason because of the story itself. As writers and even fans, we all love a great sports story. This is as good as it gets. We may never see a quarterback like him. Brady’s Super Bowl counterpart Patrick Mahomes may come close to Brady, but there’s no guarantee he can match 10 Super Bowl appearances, 14 conference championship game appearances and six Super Bowl championships that the greatest quarterback of all time has accomplished. Who knows if the Chiefs quarterback plays until he is 43? What if he is a career-ending injury?
I always respected Brady, but the Patriots fans made it so hard for me to root for him back then. I made it a point to root for him this season because I wanted to appreciate him while he is still at his game. This is as fun as it gets.
No one should have been surprised what Brady did in winning three playoff games on the road. It’s always hard to bet against him. He just finds a way to win. He knows how to win. He has been there, done that. Nothing fazes him in a tough spot. If anything, he embraces this and appreciates it even more knowing how hard it is to perform like this at his age. It may have come too easy back then to the point he took it for granted when he first started out his career.
For all we know, this Super Bowl appearance could be the last game of Brady’s fantastic career. He hasn’t given the vibe he is ready to retire. But there is something about finishing a career on top by beating Mahomes and the Chiefs, isn’t it? Not many athletes get happy endings like John Elway and Ray Bourque experienced. This has to be on Brady’s mind.
Now that Brady proved that he can win without future Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick, is there anything for him to prove? Unless he wants to do this at 50 years old. If he wants to play until he is 50, he’s crazy, but more power to him if he actually wants to do this.
No one knows if he can do this again. Father Time is undefeated for a reason. Does Brady really want to go out as Willie Mays did with the Mets or Joe Namath with the Los Angeles Rams?
We are not suggesting Brady should retire. If he feels he can play well as next season, he should go for it. Only he knows what he will do and how his body feels.
It’s why people appreciate what Brady is doing right now. This year makes it easy to root for him.
His age, his durability and his new team make his 10th Super Bowl appearance this much special.
