Number 199

Number 199

Hopefully this will be the last time I have to post this. Because Tom Fucking Brady said today that he has now retired “for good”. A whole year to the day after he originally “officially” retired. And then 40 days later changed his mind. One losing season (his first ever) and a divorce later, and here we are. Posting this again for real this time, Tommy baby.

Tom Brady retired from football today. Not that anyone was shocked by the “official” announcement, as we all surmised it on Saturday.

To think we knew Tom when he was nothing but a wet-behind-the-ears 24-year-old with a beat-up blue pickup truck who couldn’t dance his way around a Duck boat.

Thanks for the heart-wrenching and often heart-stopping moments, the many championships and the memories. Even if Tom doesn’t care to remember or acknowledge New England in his retirement speech, New England will always remember and acknowledge him.

Although he went from a humble QB who had to quickly learn his way around the NFL field to a cocky, sometimes selfish QB who thought nothing was good enough and felt he could let his teammates know it if he didn’t like what they did, nobody can argue that Tom will go down in history as the best QB of all time.

I will always remember the day my husband told me that Drew Bledsoe had been taken out of the game the day before and was replaced by Tom Brady. I wasn’t really following them at that point and I asked, “Who’s Tom Brady?” and my husband replied, “He’s nothing special”. At that time he really wasn’t. Special isn’t something you are; it’s something you become. And “special” is what Tom Brady eventually became.

It’s sad that Tom forgot where he came from. He forgot draft day when team after team passed him by. When he threw things in anger because he hadn’t been selected yet. When he moped along the sidewalks of San Mateo because he hadn’t been selected yet. He forgot that the Patriots selected him at 199. He forgot he got his true chance through nothing but pure fucking luck. It’s sad that in the end he didn’t remember how he got to where he truly is. But fame can often do that to a person.

Yes, I understand the speculation of why Brady left out mentioning the team he led for 20 years and the fans who adored him for the same amount of time is because he plans to sign a one-day contract and retire as a Patriot. Whether that actually happens still needs to be seen. It still doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t even mention New England fans in his good-bye speech.

One thing Tom Brady forgot in his retirement speech was to remember that to have an ending, you need a beginning. And the 20 years he spent in New England was one hell of a long, beautiful beginning, especially for someone who only mentioned the franchise and fans he has played with for the past 24 months in his retirement speech, as if they were the team he had captained for 20 years. I feel bad for Tampa fans. They only got to experience two years of greatness, mostly on the downside. We got to experience 20 great years, mostly on the upside.

I will always be a Patriots fan. Nothing will ever change that. And although I lost respect for Tom with how he divorced himself from New England, and has acted like those 20 years never existed, I know nothing can erase what he brought to a down-and-out, never-going-anywhere franchise. For that I, and many fans, will forever be grateful.

I wish Tom Brady the best of luck in all his future endeavors and happiness always with his family.

Thanks for the memories. It’s been a hell of a ride.

Number 199

Number 199

Hopefully this will be the last time I have to post this. Because Tom Fucking Brady said today that he has now retired “for good”. A whole year to the day after he originally “officially” retired. And then 40 days later changed his mind. One losing season (his first ever) and a divorce later, and here we are. Posting this again for real this time, Tommy baby.

Tom Brady retired from football today. Not that anyone was shocked by the “official” announcement, as we all surmised it on Saturday.

To think we knew Tom when he was nothing but a wet-behind-the-ears 24-year-old with a beat-up blue pickup truck who couldn’t dance his way around a Duck boat.

Thanks for the heart-wrenching and often heart-stopping moments, the many championships and the memories. Even if Tom doesn’t care to remember or acknowledge New England in his retirement speech, New England will always remember and acknowledge him.

Although he went from a humble QB who had to quickly learn his way around the NFL field to a cocky, sometimes selfish QB who thought nothing was good enough and felt he could let his teammates know it if he didn’t like what they did, nobody can argue that Tom will go down in history as the best QB of all time.

I will always remember the day my husband told me that Drew Bledsoe had been taken out of the game the day before and was replaced by Tom Brady. I wasn’t really following them at that point and I asked, “Who’s Tom Brady?” and my husband replied, “He’s nothing special”. At that time he really wasn’t. Special isn’t something you are; it’s something you become. And “special” is what Tom Brady eventually became.

It’s sad that Tom forgot where he came from. He forgot draft day when team after team passed him by. When he threw things in anger because he hadn’t been selected yet. When he moped along the sidewalks of San Mateo because he hadn’t been selected yet. He forgot that the Patriots selected him at 199. He forgot he got his true chance through nothing but pure fucking luck. It’s sad that in the end he didn’t remember how he got to where he truly is. But fame can often do that to a person.

Yes, I understand the speculation of why Brady left out mentioning the team he led for 20 years and the fans who adored him for the same amount of time is because he plans to sign a one-day contract and retire as a Patriot. Whether that actually happens still needs to be seen. It still doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t even mention New England fans in his good-bye speech.

One thing Tom Brady forgot in his retirement speech was to remember that to have an ending, you need a beginning. And the 20 years he spent in New England was one hell of a long, beautiful beginning, especially for someone who only mentioned the franchise and fans he has played with for the past 24 months in his retirement speech, as if they were the team he had captained for 20 years. I feel bad for Tampa fans. They only got to experience two years of greatness, mostly on the downside. We got to experience 20 great years, mostly on the upside.

I will always be a Patriots fan. Nothing will ever change that. And although I lost respect for Tom with how he divorced himself from New England, and has acted like those 20 years never existed, I know nothing can erase what he brought to a down-and-out, never-going-anywhere franchise. For that I, and many fans, will forever be grateful.

I wish Tom Brady the best of luck in all his future endeavors and happiness always with his family.

Thanks for the memories. It’s been a hell of a ride.

Gone….But Never Forgotten

Gone….But Never Forgotten

There’s a lot I could say about Tom Brady departing The New England Patriots football team after twenty years.

I have so many emotions right now I cannot process it.  I feel angry.  I feel sad.  I feel betrayed.  I don’t feel happy.  Maybe I will eventually.  I don’t know.  I guess  if Tom is happy, then we should all be happy, right?  But do we know if Tom is really happy? At this point do we really care?

Losing Tom is like having a family member die.  Or, maybe to not be so extreme, having a child grow up and leave home.

An analogy I thought of today:  having a twenty year old car and knowing it’s time to get a new car.  The car you had was great.  You loved it.  It was your baby.  It wasn’t a racehorse.  It wasn’t a Porsche.  It was just a very good car.  It got you where you needed to go.  And it had a very good “driver”.  And usually a very good team of “mechanics” that took great care of that car.  We drove that car for twenty years.  But now it’s kind of lost its luster.  It’s breaking down more often, not giving you what you used to get out of it.  And, as odd as it sounds, the car knows it.  And now that old jalopy is headed to the junkyard.  Wherever that may be.

I think as the years progressed there is one thing Tom forgot.  Especially last season.  He plays for a TEAM.  Not for himself.  That’s what always made him and the people around him so great.  It’s what separates The Patriots from the rest of the teams in the NFL.  Because, until last year, nobody ever thought of just themselves on the field.  Tom, of all people, should know that it takes a TEAM to win.

There is no denying that Tom Brady will always be the GOAT.  Like most Patriots fans I am grateful for what Tom Brady gave us.  They were twenty fantastic, often heart-stopping years.  The memories will be cherished forever.  We watched Tom grow up.  We watched him evolve from a twenty-four-year old nobody into greatness.

No matter what the future brings for Tom Brady, New England will never forget what he brought to us.

Best of luck, Tom.

“If you don’t believe in yourself, why is anyone else going to believe in you?”-Tom Brady

“If you don’t believe in yourself, why is anyone else going to believe in you?”-Tom Brady

To all the New England Patriots haters, keep this in mind.  There are 31 other teams Tom Brady could’ve ended up on that would now be the most hated team in football.  Imagine, you could all be hating the Jets.  Or the Browns.  Or even the Rams.  Kansas City, anyone?  Then again, even a QB as great as THE GOAT can only be as good as what he’s surrounded with.  What if the tables had been turned and any of the other 31 NFL quarterbacks were THE GOAT instead of Tom Brady?  Imagine, you could all be hating Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger or Drew Brees.  Patrick Mahomes or Jared Goff anyone?  Oh wait.  Those two haven’t played long enough to be THE GOAT.

When five rounds had passed and he had yet to be selected in the NFL draft, Tom Brady was pissed.  Rightfully so.  He knew he had something to offer some team.  At that time it may not have been much.  But he knew someday it would be the world.  The Patriots almost passed him up.  Thanks to Dick Rehbein, a Patriots assistant coach at the time who convinced Bill Belichick to draft Brady, that changed everything.

It only took one person to believe.  One person to believe in Tom Brady.  Dick was that person.  And here we are today.  Getting ready for another Super Bowl.

There will never be another GOAT.  Not in our lifetime, anyway.  I don’t know, maybe one hundred years from now when they’re playing football on Mars some kid will be lighting it up, take his team to twenty Super Bowls, win every game and play until he’s ninety.  Who knows?

Someday what we know as this Patriots team with Tom Brady at the helm will be no more.  THE GOAT will retire, Bill will follow suit.  Some quarterback will have some extremely big shoes to fill.  We all know this.  It’s a part of life.  Until that time, we sit back and enjoy the ride.  May greatness reign.