Give Brady his due, but leave the field to Patrick Mahomes and all of the other talented, young quarterbacks.
There is no cause for mourning.
This is a time for joyous remembering and celebration.
Tom Brady’s decision to retire at age 45 with seven Super Bowl rings on his fingers and atop practically every important passing metric in football serves as a reminder that time has a way of catching up to everyone, even those who may have thought to have discovered the fountain of youth.
It’s an opportunity to honour Brady and recognise the following: A new generation of quarterbacks emerged in this season’s playoffs just as he departs the game. They exhibit Tom Brady’s characteristics of being youthful, cool, and collected while also providing a little bit more. They are more agile and quick on their feet than Brady was.
Additionally, for the first time ever, the Super Bowl will feature two Black starting quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts of Philadelphia and Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City. Their ages are 27 and 24, respectively.
They may be Tom Brady’s children.
Should Brady’s announcement of his retirement surprise us or maybe make us doubt it? Keep in mind that Brady also announced his retirement from the game on this day last year. He composed a touching letter and shared it on social media. A few months later, he went back to the sport that had shaped his life because he was hungry for the drama of competition.
Brady made mention of the blip in an Instagram post he made this morning. In his video, which, appropriately, he looked to have recorded while lounging on a beach, he said, “I’m retiring… for good. When I woke up this morning, I thought, “I’ll simply push record and let you guys know first, since I know the procedure was a very big deal last time.”
You only get one really emotional retirement essay, and I used up mine last year, he added.
He thanked his family, friends, teammates, and other competitors while fighting back tears. “Thanks for letting me live the life of my dreams, gentlemen. There is nothing I would alter. I cherish everyone of you, he said.
Let’s believe what he says. Gisele Bündchen, a model, and Brady’s 13-year marriage ended in divorce last year. He probably has a lot going on in his personal life. The extravagant deal, which is said to be worth at least $375 million over the next ten years, should help lessen the agony of a career change.
The time is right now.
Brady this season seems clumsy. True, he produced respectable stats and continued to rank among the league’s top passers.
However, there were games when he missed target after target, looked confused, and saw his team and himself be poleaxed by a more determined opponent as his team limped to an 8-9 record and just made it to the wild-card round of the playoffs. He was lying there at 45, hunched over a mass of defensive linemen.
As I watched, I couldn’t help but wonder: Why do they keep playing?
Why, Tom, after seven Super Bowl victories, three league MVP honours, and a legendary story: the plodding, lanky middle-round draught selection gets to the summit of football’s Mount Rushmore, sits there, and stays there forever. Why continue?
Brady and the Buccaneers suffered a disappointing season finale defeat against the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14.
But nevertheless… He defeated Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to win a Super Bowl only two years ago. Brady was expected to continue playing, and even attempt to play until he was 50, possibly for his cherished childhood team, the San Francisco 49ers.
Being on an N.F.L. squad at the age of 50 felt feasible, which is undoubtedly another indication of his ability.
What recollections he gave us. There are far too many to list them all here, but a few come to mind. On the strength of a last-second drive, Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory against the St. Louis Rams in 2002, his second season and first as a starter.
Brady, or should we have nicknamed him Tom Houdini, made an incredible escape in the 2017 Super Bowl, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 after coming back from a third-quarter deficit of 28-3.
Oh, how did he manage that? Brady drove his teams back from the brink as we posed the question with such metronomic consistency that it might have passed for a meme.
There was luck, no doubt. Any Raiders supporter will talk about the infamous Tuck Rule Game. There were indeed shenanigans. Any fan of the Indianapolis Colts will be able to tell you all there is to know about Deflategate.
However, chance and defying the law don’t really sum him up.
Brady is known for his ability to bend time, in addition to all of his victories.
Off the field, he challenged preconceived assumptions about athletic longevity by using unconventional training methods, such as resistance bands in place of weights, electrolyte-rich drinks, and extended periods of recovery sleep. He consumed how many protein- and nutrient-rich micromeals on average each day?
He was just amazing to see on the field.It was strange and ghostly to see him play with the game still up for grabs, everything on the line, and his side behind but yet within striking distance.
Even though everything was disintegrating around him, No. 12 managed to remain composed. He would emerge from the huddle toward his centre, set up his receivers, and assess the scenario while standing tall, sure, and unbelievably confident. Brady would then unleash a quick, precisely timed bolt to his receivers with a snap of his fingers. It required effort to avoid becoming numb to the inevitability because he accomplished this so often and for so long (58 game-winning drives, 46 fourth-quarter comebacks).
What a wonderful journey.
But right now, after 23 seasons, it’s time to move on.
Mahomes and all of Tom Brady’s other young offspring are prepared to take over from here.
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