A Patriots Fan’s Goodbye to Tom Brady

This was the least likely outcome on everybody’s mind. After Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got tossed out of the playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round. Nobody could imagine Brady retiring after that. Not after coming back the last off-season. But it was obvious this season took a toll on the greatest quarterback to ever play.

Not only was 2022 football-wise a down year, but he also reportedly lost 15 pounds, and he went through a divorce. You could see the physical and emotional stress on the 45-year-old. This retirement announcement comes at the proper time. Maybe a season too late. But either way, Brady, sitting on the sand, looking out into the waters outside his Florida home, announced that he wouldn’t be coming back. Keeping it short and sweet, not drawing it out, and avoiding the big emotional essay, as he “used it up” last year.

Truly grateful on this day. Thank you ????????❤️ pic.twitter.com/j2s2sezvSS

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2023

As a Patriots fan, feelings towards the seven-time Super Bowl champion have become complex. We wanted to see him do well, but hated to see him do it outside of the navy blue uniforms he dawned for two decades in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Representing the football team we had come to know and love. I’m only 20 years old. Brady began his career and won his first Super Bowl before I was even alive. All I’ve known growing up in New England, and following the team and Brady so intensely, was the Patriots’ success and hard work turning into consistent AFC Championship appearances and Super Bowl titles. I was 12 when he won Super Bowl XLIX. Breaking a 10-year drought. To think that he would play almost another 10 years and win three more championships afterward was unfathomable, never mind doing it in another uniform.

Overall, anybody who holds resentment against Tom Brady for leaving isn’t really a fan. Brady put this franchise on the map. They were a mediocre-to-bad team from their creation to 1960, until the first title in 2001-02. Since then, the Patriots are to be taken seriously. Thanks to the prowess of Bill Belichick sure. Or the diplomatic character of Robert Kraft. Guys like Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski certainly help. But Brady put this franchise in the upper echelon. And Patriots fans cannot take that for granted. He made everybody better.

Farewell, Tom Brady

So how do we say goodbye? Brady has a big broadcasting deal with Fox Sports that will probably kick in next season if he’s still into it. He’ll be inducted into the Patriots hall of fame in the next few years, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028. But we know that Brady’s happy place is on the field. In pads, wearing a jersey, and ripping a football.

My recommendation? Keep loving the sport. Wear your navy, red, or white Tom Brady jerseys to Gillette when you go to the games. Maybe drop the occasional “BRAY-DEE” chant in Foxboro if he comes by. But most importantly, carry on the tradition of being the die-hard, dedicated fanbase you were while he was here. Because that’s what Brady loved most about this area. Playing for us and delivering more than we ever could have dreamed of.

Thanks for the memories, Tom Brady. Football will never be the same without you. You are the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. Enjoy retirement. We’ll see you in Foxboro real soon, getting fitted for that shiny red jacket outside of Patriot Place.

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