Entering 19th Season in the NFL, 41-Year-Old Tom Brady Still Going Strong

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall's Flick page - Tom Brady: https://www.flickr.com/photos/denverjeffrey/6566852021/in/photolist-b1hQjz-6TGQLf-6TCNjt-6TCQrP-ihYLBr-6TGXaY-91St2X-6TDcjM-6TD38p-quibTs-6THKxb-hGKoPh-gQnQcg-96MbC5-8B3HqL-rgz3YD-qz5ZLN-hGKoHf-qvEoAs-7owYgn-fMLkYm-6TCSWz-nV7bPa-hGJxK6-7oARWy-5xv7E5-qLF6bB-biYQPX-6TCSbe-gNTTwc-gNTYva-gNSie6-6TCHwa-6TCyUV-bh4Lxt-6TDfuD-6THpgu-6TCDMV-6TGXxA-6TD1CM-6TCUtk-gnh4wB-6TD6SD-aEwQeH-6TCK44-6TGXnQ-6THdRE-6THzA5-ihZDW8-6THiE5

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New England Patriots

I have said here before, and I will say it again: I do not hate Tom Brady. Sure, there are plenty of people out there who simply cannot stand Brady in particular, and the Patriots more generally.

But I get it. Trust me, I do. A few decades ago, it was the 49ers who I felt that way about. I was not bad up to the first three Super Bowls. But it was the fourth one that really bothered me. Particularly the way they seemed almost to take it for granted that they had just won back-to-back titles, and how many members of that team held up three fingers to indicate that they would now be going for the "three peat." That seemed awfully presumptuous of me, to not merely soak in the sun of the championship that you just earned, but to almost guarantee that you would be there again the next year, and win it again. I rejoiced when they fell the next season, especially since it came against my New York Giants. But I would have been happy no matter who got to eliminate them, so long as somebody did. Over the next few years, I found myself rejoicing every time the 'Niners got knocked out, including against Dallas a couple of times early in the nineties, and then several times against the Packers in the latter half of that decade. 

In fact, to a lesser degree, I still feel that way about the 49ers, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers in basketball. Yet, that was never my feeling about the Patriots. Why? Because I am old enough to remember when the Pats were bad. Like, really, really bad. They went 1-15, losing 14 straight games, in 1990. Two seasons later, they bottomed out again with the worst record in the league at 2-14. They seemed to epitomize futility and inept play. Slowly but surely, they turned that around, beginning with the arrival of Bill Parcells. Eventually, they became a dynasty. Yet, since my earliest memories of New England were when they were bad and constantly getting embarrassed, it softened my general view of them. Even when they enjoyed success, they got embarrassed, such as when they made their first appearance in the Super Bowl, only to get crushed by the Chicago Bears in historical fashion, 46-10. It was the most lopsided outcome in the big game in history to that point, and still ranks currently as the second most lopsided Super Bowl ever.

The Patriots success during the Belichick/Brady era does not bother me too much. Sure, they have won five Super Bowls, and have been to eight overall during the last 18 years. But they have lost some heartbreaking games, including Super Bowls, during that time, which the 49ers seemed hardly to do when they were at their peak. They were leading with less than a minute to go, so close to completing a historical undefeated season, when that was taken from them by the Giants. They lost the Super Bowl rematch to those same Giants. They blew an 18-point lead to the Colts in the AFC title game. And most recently, of course, they lost in last year's Super Bowl to Philadelphia. 

That does not mean that I am necessarily pulling for the Pats to go back to the Super Bowl, or to win it. But I will not be bothered by it if they do. In fact, it will add to how impressive they have been, and on some level, I will be happy that Brady managed to do that at the age of 41 - two years and change younger than me. Or, more or less my age. He will surely be the last quarterback who is roughly my age who will be able to compete at such a high level of play like this.

Ironically, I am not such a big fan of Brady. Mind you, I do not hate him, like some people really hate him. As far as liking quarterbacks, there are plenty whom I have felt were far more likable. True, he's not Ben Roethlisberger or Michael Vick, so he has that much going for him. But he is also not Joe Montana, who was very likable. He does not have the likable qualities of Phil Simms, either. Or the class of Peyton Manning, or Eli, for that matter. Indeed, if anything, Brady sometimes does seem like he is in love with himself. 

Yet, there are a lot of players like that in sports these days. That seems to be running rampant, in fact. It sometimes feels like every somewhat big play is followed by a dance, or by celebrations that, not all that long ago, would have been reserved mostly for championship level contests, as opposed to being standard plays. Brady seems to be a product of that. 

And let's face it: anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of Donald Trump. Yes, Brady is a multi-millionaire, and so it is hardly surprising that he had a MAGA hat on display in his locker a couple of years ago, which was less than thrilling, frankly.

However, I just do not want to jump on the hate Brady bandwagon, mostly because I respect what he has done, and probably because I no longer feel as passionate about sports, with the need to hate other teams or players, unless they do something truly worth hating them for (again, like Roethlisberger and Vick). And on some level, it is actually a bit refreshing, and somehow eerily nostalgic, to see a player more or less my age still on top of his game, and enjoying success on the very highest levels. He is perhaps the GOAT, but even if he is not, he has done remarkably well for himself, and deserves to be recognized and honored for it. Not sure when he will finally decide to call it quits, but until then, you have to hand it to the man, and his relentless drive for greatness. 

At 41 and going strong, Tom Brady awaits a 19th season by MIKE SHALIN, Associated Press, September 7, 2018:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/at-41-and-going-strong-tom-brady-awaits-a-19th-season/ar-BBN1bEc?ocid=ientp