I am only 21 years old. So as far as I have known football, I have known Tom Brady. And being a Patriots fan it meant even more. I have vague memories of the 2004 Super Bowl against the Eagles. I sadly remember the 2007 and 2011 super bowl losses. But then I remember the wins against the Seahawks, Falcons, and Rams. My entire football life was centered around Tom Brady.

He was much more impactful than just a quarterback. When you’re in like middle school, and even high school. Everyone is in the same boat more or less. But during football season, I knew I had a small advantage over everyone. Because every Sunday while most peoples teams struggled to be consistently good, my team and my QB was the definition of consistent success. Tom Brady is the goat of all goats. He proves that hard work beats talent. Is Aaron Rodgers, Pat Mahomes, and many other guys more talented than Brady? 100%. But none of them win like him. All he does is win. Winning is everything. And Super Bowl win 7 with Tampa proved that. The notion that it was all Bill is gone. Brady left, to a totally new team, and won a Super Bowl.

For some reason there was an idea that Patriot fans like myself were upset seeing Brady go out and dominate last year. I feel like that is the dumbest shit ever. This was not a bad breakup or anything. He gave me some of the happiest moments of my life for 20 years. The Pats didn’t want to sign a 43 year old QB. It made sense. Seeing Brady go out and win brought me joy that could have only been topped by the Pats winning. Don’t get that twisted. Patriot fans are Patriots fans. I love Brady more than life itself. But if that super bowl was Bucs vs Pats, it’s Pats all the way. But alas it wasn’t the Patriots, so I wanted Brady to go out there and kill it.

The issue this week however is that Brady returns the New England on Sunday Night Football. Seeing all the videos and tributes are killing me. He is missed so much more than it can be explained. I like Mac Jones, I’m sure he will be good, but he isn’t Tom Brady. There will never be another Tom Brady. On top of all that, this guy is gonna break the passing record this week! He only needs 68 yards and obviously that’ll happen.

All this nonsense can’t make me but think of the “what if’s”. Obviously Brady still has it. He’s having as strong of a start to the season as he’s ever had. Somehow, at 44 years old, he is still looking as good, if not better than he did at 24 or 34. So what if the Pats got him to stay? They bring in some receivers around him, maybe Gronk comes out of retirement, maybe Edelman doesn’t retire. MAYBE the Pats and Brady win their 7th ring together. I try not to focus on the what if’s in life because it does no good. We will never know those answers, so there is no sense in stressing about them.

So maybe I’ll just try to stay off social media this week, because I am one more emotional tribute video away from a full scale breakdown. But come Sunday night, my ass will be in the couch, and my eyes will be glued to the TV. It will be weird rooting against Tom Brady for the first time ever. It’ll be weird seeing him in Gillette, but not in the blue home jerseys. Weird doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’ll be uncomfortable, unsettling, upsetting, enraging, and much more. I hope the Pats win, being 2-2 is a big difference from 1-3. But regardless of the outcome, I’m not gonna like this.

Shares:

Drop a Reply