Throughout the past two decades, there have always been three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and Tom Brady in the playoffs.
My admiration for Tom Brady has only grown in my last nine years of watching football. When I was first introduced to the NFL by my uncle, he would rave about the New England Patriots, but I paid little to no mind. In my eyes, the NFL was just a bunch of sweaty, large men hitting each other for no reason. However, as I continued to watch the NFL and eventually play football, I saw the NFL for what it truly is. NFL football is an art. It is an under-appreciated beauty by the masses as athletes sculpt and shape their minds, bodies and souls so that they can contribute to something they love. There has been one athlete who has done that to an extent that no one else has, and that is the quarterback of the New England Patriots: Thomas Edward Patrick Brady.
Tom Brady has almost redefined the word “leader.” He is a master a what he does. I admire Tom Brady immensely because I see the kind of leader I want to be in him. The way he pushes his teammates to always go above and beyond, how he pushes himself mentally, physically and emotionally and how he pushes his fans to keep cheering no matter what the outcome is incredible.
It is also important to note that Tom Brady is the ultimate underdog. He was drafted as the 199th overall pick by the Patriots in the year 2000, and to make things even harder for him, he was a skinny, unathletic 20-something year-old who was extremely slow compared to other refined athletes at the time. The only thing Brady needed was a shot, and when he got that shot, he took it and ran with it.
In 2001 against the New York Jets, previous quarterback Drew Bledsoe had just been injured on the sideline, and it was time for Brady to step in. He stepped in bigger than anyone could ever imagine or expect. He has now won six Super Bowls and four Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards. As of Super Bowl LII, The New England Patriots now have the same amount of Super Bowl wins as the Pittsburgh Steelers. To add, the amount of records owned by Brady himself is nothing short of spectacular. He has the record for most playoff wins with 30, Super Bowl touchdown passes with 18, Super Bowl passing yards with 2,838 and the list continues.
I also must acknowledge that Tom Brady isn’t perfect, although his statistics could argue that he is pretty close. He has been accused of cheating in the Deflategate scandal of 2014 as the New England Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts. Whether the scandal is true or not is still under investigation, but that should not take away from all the great things Tom Brady has done and the leader he is. We all make mistakes, but those mistakes should not define who we are.
I admire Tom Brady to the highest extent because he always puts his teammates first. His furiously competitive nature leads him to maintaining peak performance at an age (41) that no other person at his position has been able to withstand, so he can be there to support and lead his team.
Tom Brady is, in my opinion, the most complete quarterback to ever play in the NFL. He works extremely hard every day in his career to improve himself and those around him — he’s durable, consistent and overall a great leader.
Perry Worthey, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be contacted at PWorthey21@wooster.edu.