Tom Brady Officially Retires

 

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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Well, it has happened. Tom Brady, who most feel has earned the right to be considered the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) has called it a career by announcing his retirement from the NFL.

My own feelings on the matter are a bit paradoxical. It is strange, in some ways, because a lot of people cannot stand him, finding him arrogant, or a prima donna, or whatever. I always found those kinds of things and the loathing that people feel for him to be a bit exaggerated. Yet, he did strike me at times as being a bit pompous and full of himself, although ironically, there are other times when he seemed actually quite humble, all things considered. 

For a little while, when it seemed that one of Tom Brady's teams was preparing for a Super Bowl almost ever single year - remember that he has been the starting quarterback for five of the last seven Super Bowls, and won four of those - I kept posting blog entries exploring the age old question as to whether he or Joe Montana should rightly be considered the GOAT. It became obvious to me after a while - probably around the time that Brady orchestrated that amazing comeback against the Falcons in the Super Bowl to win it - that there really was not much of an actual debate anymore. It actually kind of hurt a little to admit it, because even though I am not a Tom Brady hater by any stretch, I will readily admit to liking Montana a lot more than Brady. This might seem a bit strange, since I cannot stand the 49ers. Yet, I always liked Montana, as well as Jerry Rice, who I still think is easily, hands down, the GOAT in terms of wide receivers. Also, Bill Walsh, who seemed almost sagely, at least by football standards. On the other hand, I never disliked any of Brady's team. I had pulled for the New England Patriots when younger, and when their results were almost pathetic at times. Ditto with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And also, admittedly, a part of why I was almost happy for Brady is that he is the last major athlete to enjoy this success while being more or less my age (he is less than three years younger than me). 

Yet, the numbers do not lie. I may prefer Montana, and he was undeniably great, but the numbers simply spoke for themselves. Montana won four Super Bowls, and he was simply perfect in them. Dazzling. No interceptions. Never lost one. He was named Super Bowl MVP three times, and he won some memorable games in very dramatic fashion. Indeed, I think that he was the GOAT.

But that was then, and this is now. Tom Brady is the GOAT. Montana was the starting quarterback for seven conference championship games during his career with two teams, winning four of them. Brady was the starting quarterback for a staggering 13 conference championship games, winning 10 of them, doubling his next closest competitor, John Elway (who reached the Super Bowl five times, and won twice). Montana was named the Super Bowl MVP three times in his four wins. Brady was named the Super Bowl MVP five times in his seven wins. Brady enjoyed unparalleled success in his stint with two teams, and holds just about every major quarterback record in the books. He started 316 of 318 games, although it should be noted here that he missed some games, including four because he was banned, and almost the entire 2008 season because of a serious leg injury. Brady holds the record for the most regular season and postseason wins by any quarterback, and it is not even close. He won three NFL MVP awards, which is tied for second with Brett Favre (Peyton Manning holds the record with five). Brady holds the record for most Pro Bowl selections, most pass attempts, most completions, most passing yards, and most touchdowns. Given all of what this paragraph alone just mentions, the debate about who is the GOAT has been over for some time now. In truth, it was over a long time ago. Again, for me, I stopped engaging in the debate once Brady led his team from 28-3 down in the second half of Super Bowl LI and orchestrated one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in any game, Super Bowl or not. 

So today, I honor Tom Brady. Whether or not people find him likeable, he was a constant presence in the NFL for over two decades now. I remember his first season as a starter, back in 2001. I actually attended two of his games for the Patriots, one of which turned out to be a Super Bowl preview in New England against the Rams. The other was the Jets game at the Meadowlands. He secured his starting position as the year went on, even though the Patriots had their star quarterback already in Drew Bledsoe. Brady proved to be so good, that he essentially just took it from Bledsoe. 

All of that was quite a while ago. He made it big then, and was known to the football world. Once he earned another Super Bowl ring with Belichick and the Pats, he became quite well known in the sports world, one of the biggest stars. A year later, when he won his third, he began to warrant consideration as one of the all-time greats. That was only in his fourth year as an NFL starting quarterback, and he was still pretty young. Since then, he became so huge, that you do not even have to be a sports fan to know who he is. His reputation precedes him, and he is a household name.

That both comes with the territory and is a result of being the GOAT, which Tom Brady undeniably is. It is hard to imagine anyone ever matching what he did, or even coming close, let alone surpassing him. Then again, the same could have been said before, and along came Tom Brady. So time will tell.

Tom Brady Retires With All The Records by Josh Hermsmeyer, Feb. 1, 2022:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/tom-brady-retires-with-all-the-records/