Nice find. I have never heard that about Brady. Always assumed that he was a bit of a loner / family man. So refreshing to hear that he makes an effort to be a great teammate to EVERYONE on the team.
Greatest of all time!
No offense, but I have absolutely no clue where you would get that impression from. I mean his original scouting report even mentioned his leadership and intangibles, it was one of his big pluses.
I've been rooting for Tom since he was at Michigan, and if you look back on his time there, he was the same type of leader, and nobody ever had a bad word to say about him.
College teammate Jay Feely even talked about how they'd make him wake up early to make pancakes for them. Cooking breakfast for the fricken kicker! Are you kidding me???
Feely also mentioned he was always good with the ladies, which certainly doesn't imply loner status, but I don't have his college stats to back this up. Certainly, he's done well for himself...
There was a time he would split games with Drew Henson, and you could see the entire team pulling behind Brady more than the golden boy Henson. It's not that they didn't try for Drew, but somehow Brady got everyone to elevate their effort. And even after Tom was named the starter, there were days the press would crowd around back-up Henson and starter Brady would go largely ignored. Or days the press would ask Brady when he thought Henson would replace him. But he handled it all professionally, and his teammates loved him for it. He never lashed out about it, he never publicly held it against Drew, there was never any visible awkwardness between them.
It's carried on throughout his NFL career, and it extends even beyond the locker room. Remember, a lot of his earlier endorsements would involve teammates like the
Visa commercials with his OL protecting him, and the
Sirius commercial with his wide receivers. He's always been about the team.
There's a ton of stuff if you look closely, about the prank wars he's been involved in to all of the teammates' functions he attends to the stories of him freaking out over losing games of backgammon and breaking boards (I think Branch mentioned those). It's not just at the NFL level; he sent a text message to his old high school coach before a playoff game for him to read to the kids, kids he had never met or had any connection to. It's just part of who he is. It's not an act, he just genuinely connects with people and cares.
Maybe a lot of people don't see all of it because it's part of the Patriot Way. He's not doing it for show, he's not doing it for the media so they can write about what a great guy he is. He doesn't give a **** what they think. His time at Michigan taught him the press and fan adulation are fleeting and doesn't matter. He'd rather have the respect of his teammates than the media or fans.
I had no idea he would become what he has. I only started following the Patriots because he was drafted, and hoped to see my fav college player play a few more games before he got cut and ended up selling insurance. But even back then, he had that "IT" factor, a way of connecting with people, a true leader. The Aikman anecdote is cool, but should not be a surprise to anyone by now.
