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Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had to say during his Hall of Fame induction acceptance speech on Wednesday night:
“Thank you, guys. Thank you.”
“All right, everyone, sit down.”
“Patriot Nation, it feels good to be home. This evening marks a monumental moment in my life. It’s a celebration of 20 years here in New England, playing for the Patriots, playing for you, the greatest fans in the NFL.”
“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and a deep sense of honor. So let me say thank you for all that you’ve done to help me, to help us achieve our lifelong dreams. You guys are amazing. What other fans in the world would spend hours on Route One every Sunday to get to a stadium in the middle of the woods? We’ve even got four guys who went to jail for me sitting right here as RKK’s special guests.”
“I miss this place, and I miss you. I didn’t even encourage you guys to get lubeed up tonight, but you guys have shown out like you always do, and I love it. Tonight’s a celebration of everyone who’s ever cared about this organization. Everyone who has worked, cheered, sacrificed for it, past, present, and future. I promise this isn’t like the last time I was on stage with RKK and Coach Belichick and Jules and Gronk and Randy in LA a month ago. Those were the hardest hits I’ve ever taken in my life. But there are nobody here who’s taken any hits tonight. I have so much love and respect for you all.”
“If you spend time in this organization, you are blessed. We’re blessed because we learn so many things that most people never have the opportunity to learn, that nothing of significance in life is accomplished as an individual. Nobody individually hangs those six banners up there. The team does. Here in New England, it’s always about we, and us, not me or mine. Relationships are built on shared experiences, and the most meaningful thing in my life, are my relationships. I truly wish I had more time. I wish I had more time to give you all.”
“So, how do I sum up two decades in New England in one short speech? The answer is simple. You can’t. It’s hard for me to properly express my gratitude and my appreciation for how my time here has added to my life. There are too many lessons learned, too many stories to be told, too many incredible moments and achievements we all experienced together. It would take me 30 days to get through it all, not 30 minutes.”
“There are so many people to thank, and I apologize in advance if I leave anybody out. So, with that being said, thank you to my mom and dad, my rock, my foundation. Your love and your commitment to your family is unmatched. To my sisters and me, you are everything. I’ll never be able to thank you as much as you deserve. Sometimes it takes someone to believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself. Yourself. And along with so many other things, that’s what you gave me.
“My sisters, Maureen, Julie, Nancy, people ask me where I get my mental toughness. I was the fourth-best athlete in my own house growing up. I had no choice. My sisters would always stick up for me when the older boys in the neighborhood, Paul and Bobby, you’re sitting right down there, you did tell me, ‘Go long. Yeah, go. Keep going, Tommy. Keep going all the way down the street. Take a left. Yeah, go that way.’ Then they would say, ‘Game over. Let’s go home.’ And I would be standing down there like ‘they finally included me.’ But you toughened me up in so many ways and my sisters there stood up for me every single step of the way. I love you guys so much.”
“To my kids, Jack, Benny, Vivi, your dad loves you more than anything in this world. Your smiles outshine the morning sun. And where I live now, that’s a pretty brilliant sun. There’s no greater joy than watching the three of you grow and teach me things on your way to becoming incredible young adults. To the communities in San Mateo and Ann Arbor, the countless teammates, neighbors, coaches, teachers that formed me into the man that I am today. Thank you. You always believed in me.”
“Don Yee. Steve Dubin, my agents. Two men who took a hot-headed six-round pick out of college from Michigan and helped them navigate the whirlwind that would be the next 23 years. I’m sorry for taking all those team-friendly deals along the way, fellows. To my friends, Kevin, Brady, Pat Kratus, Michael Bronner, Ben Rawitz, and countless others. You guys have been through thick and thin with me, whether it was a difficult conversation or a wild flight home from the derby. You’ve been there every step of the way. To Alex Guerrero, my brother from another mother, our commitment to each other is unmatched. Thank you for being who you are, a selfless, dedicated goat. Just so everyone here knows, without AG, this moneymaker right here (gestures to his right throwing arm), this thing would have lost its touch a long time ago.”
“To RKK and the entire Kraft family, Myra, Jonathan, Danny, Josh, David, and Dana. In the year 2000, I was drafted as an immature 23-year-old kid. And 20 years later, I left New England as a much older 42-year-old immature kid. But in that time, I was taken in by a family who loved me as a son and embraced my family as one of their own. RKK, look around. You fostered a culture of excellence and integrity that has impacted an entire region. I love you.”
“To Coach Belichick. Thank you for your tireless commitment to develop and push me to be my very best. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t you. It was us. Our hard work, our love of the game, and the way we worked for one another, that’s what it was all about. Let me make this crystal clear. There is no coach in the world I would rather play for than Bill Belichick. To the countless coaches, every single one of you, the assistants sitting here tonight that are not here tonight, the personnel executives and scouts, including Scott Pioli, Charlie, Josh, and Billy, to name a few.
We spent so many hours in the hallways of this stadium, so many early morning meetings and late night conversations. I know I’ll go down as your least demanding, most even keeled player you ever coached. I hope you enjoyed the time while it lasted. To the people of the New England Patriots organization working behind the scenes to make everything perfect so we could just go out and play. The support staff, the health and medical teams, the business operations, the video department, the IT, the nutrition, the strength and conditioning, the scouting, the football ops, the equipment staff, media and community relations, the kitchen staff, the people who cleaned our locker rooms. The list is endless, and every single one of your jobs was as important as ours was on the field.”
“To my teammates, 20 years’ worth, I wish I could mention all of you by name, but I’d be here all night. Please know the incredible impact you had on me by pushing me and us to play like champions every single day. Every stitch and every thread of this beautiful red jacket is woven together by the experiences and adversities we endured. Every single one of you made my life better.”
“If you thought you learned a lot from me, the reality was I learned way more from you. We fought together, we bled together, we cried together, we celebrated and won together. And I would go to battle with any one of you guys because I know what you’re all about. In particular, I want to say something to all the offensive linemen. I made your job hard. Your mission was to protect me. As Dante would always say, ‘Brady, you couldn’t run out of sight in two days. Three days.’ You guys were the backbone of this team. Your toughness and your tireless effort to protect me allowed me to perform my best. Thank you. ”
“And to all the quarterbacks I played with, we grinded together, we challenged each other, we competed, and most of the time, I kicked your ass. But I could point to every single one of you and tell you something that I learned by watching you. I love you guys more than you’ll ever know. Also, Julian [Edelman] paid me $10,000 to mention him by name, so there you go, Jules. And to the fans. Am I proud of our championships? Yes. Am I proud of our winning and records over the years?”
“Yes. But what I am proudest of are the people whose lives we impacted here and across the country. They might have cheered for us or against us. Some may not have liked us, but they certainly ended up respecting us.”
“Sometimes when I ask myself, why me? The answer is that I’m the messenger here to tell the world just how amazing the Patriots fans really are. Thank you. Thank you for 20 years of passion, loyalty, and fire. 20 years, 17 division titles, six Super Bowls. How did we do it? What can we learn? And how can we apply those things going forward? The foundation of a successful team, a family, or business is asking what you can do to support the mission. The Patriots embodied that. Everyone was committed to winning. Everyone was selfless. Everyone was always asking, ‘What can I do to help the team win?’ As the great John Wooden said, ‘Happiness begins where selfishness ends.’ I get asked a lot if my kids play football. My response is that I’ll support them in any of their dreams. Whatever makes them happy makes me happy. I would encourage everyone to play football for the simple reason that it is hard.”
“It’s hard when you’re young to wake up in the offseason at 6 AM to go train and workout, knowing that all your friends are sleeping in and eating pancakes. It’s hard when you’re on your way to practice, weighed down with all your gear, and it’s 90 degrees out, and all the other kids are at the pool or at the beach, and your body is already completely exhausted from workouts and two-a-days. It’s hard to throw, catch, block, and tackle, and hit kids when they’re way bigger and way more developed than you, only to go home that night, bruised and battered and strained, but knowing you have to show up again the next day for just the chance to try again.”
“But understand this, Life is hard. No matter who you are, there are bumps and hits and bruises along the way. And my advice is to prepare yourself because football lessons teach us that success and achievement come from overcoming adversity, and that team accomplishment far exceeds anyone’s individual goals. To be successful at anything, the truth is you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t. Consistent, determined, and willing to work for it. No shortcuts.”
“If you look at all my teammates here tonight, it would be impossible to find better examples of men who embody that work ethic, integrity, purpose, determination, and discipline that it takes to be a champion in life. We led by example. Nothing in life of significance is ever accomplished alone. That’s the Patriot way. Here in New England, we were the first team ever to take the field in the Super Bowl, not as individuals, but as a single unit. That’s us. We did that, and we were the best in the world, and history will never forget that. It is the honor of my life to take my place among these other Patriot Hall of Famers and to be officially enshrined into the winning legacy of this amazing organization.”
“You humble me. You make me proud, and I am eternally grateful.”
“I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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What a man!!!! Don’t think we’ll ever see another like him. I wish young people today will read or hear his speech and learn from his wisdom. Why? Because life is hard,
but his road map is right-on. I’m thrilled we’ll still be able to see and hear Tom Brady on Fox during the football season!
Inspiring, heartfelt, and motivating speech, especially the “Hard Work” segment!