When the clock of Raymond James Stadium marked that there were barely twenty seconds left to play and the triumph of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the Kansas City Chiefs It was already a fact, the eyes of all the fans present in the stadium – and of those who followed the game on television – began to look for him. And they found him with a big smile on his face, hugging his teammates and receiving congratulations from his rivals. He, Tom Brady, was the great protagonist of Super Bowl LV, in which he won his seventh NFL title and also won his fifth MVP trophy. Everything at 43 years old. He, the American football super hero who continues to beat him over time and on Sunday wrote a new chapter in a legendary career, which places him among the best athletes of all time.
Many may argue that, since American football is a sport that is practiced only in the United States, what the Californian quarterback achieved cannot be compared to what Muhammad Ali did at the time on a ring, Michael Jordan with the Bulls jersey of the NBA, Michael Schumacher aboard a Formula 1 car or with the achievements of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic with a tennis racket, to name just a few of the athletes who tend to sneak into the discussion about who he is The best in history.
They may have some reason. But the numbers and the statistics of Brady’s career are impressive nonetheless and make it clear that the American is different, a chosen one, one of those athletes who transcend his discipline.
Brady is the second player in history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams, Photo Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports
Federer himself, who knows something about defying the passage of time, highlighted in a message he posted on Instagram: “What an inspiring achievement, Tom. Age is just a number.”
His career statistics are a reflection of Brady’s longevity. The Californian is the first player in history to win three Super Bowls in three different decades.
The first was achieved in 2001, when in his first season as a starter in the NFL he led New England Patriots to prevail in Super Bowl XXXVI. With that team he later conquered the titles in 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018; and he also played the finals in 2007, 2011 and 2017. And he became a star.
Consolidated as one of the best players in the history of the NFL, last March he opted for a change. He left the comfort of New England and moved to Florida, to put on the jersey of the Bucs, who hadn’t made the playoffs in 13 years and had won just one championship, in 2002.
His unexpected and questioned move was seen by many specialists as an early retirement. Few – to say nothing – expected him to play a Super Bowl again. But Brady took advantage of his talent, the power and precision of his arm and the experience accumulated in 21 years of career to transform the modest Florida team into the new champion.
With Sunday’s triumph, the Californian added his seventh trophy Lombardi wins. Now he is not only the player who achieved it the most times; it has more titles than any of the 32 franchises in the league. The Patriots, whom he led to six trophies, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the same number of championships, they are the most winners.
Brady also became the second player to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. The first was Peyton Manning, which he won in 2006 with Indianapolis and in 2015 with Denver.
He also got his fifth Finals MVP award, which he had previously won in 2002, 2004, 2015 and 2017. Thus he left behind LeBron James (who was the Most Valuable Player in the NBA Finals four times) and was just one of Jordan’s record mark, in that statistic that compares the most popular disciplines in his country.
With the power and precision of his arm and his experience, Brady led the Bucs to the title. Photo Patrick Smith / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
And at 43 years and 188 days, he was the first athlete over 40 years to receive this recognition in any of the four major leagues of American sports: the NFL, the NBA, the NHL (ice hockey) or the Major League. Baseball.
An impressive race wherever you look at it. And that football was not his first sport – he got to be drafted by the baseball team Montreal Expos, at that time a member of the MLB- and that when he wanted to try his luck in the NFL, his physique and his low leg speed did not attract the attention of the teams and he was only chosen in the 199th position of the 2000 Draft.
But he was patient and when, after a season on the Patriots bench, in 2001 a serious injury to Drew Bledsoe He brought him closer to ownership, he did not miss the opportunity. The rest is history.
Brady played 48 percent of the Super Bowls that have been held since coming to the NFL. Photo Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
On Sunday, the Californian played his 10th Super Bowl – he has played almost half (48 percent) of those that were held since his arrival in the league -, he once again demonstrated his longevity and confirmed that, despite the passage of time , is still the best quarterback in the NFL and one of the great dominators of his discipline. All this without counting that it is a powerful magnet for advertising. Because of what he does on the court. And for being considered the ideal American, successful and familiar – he is married to the super model Gisele Bündchen, with whom they have two children, as well as an older one he had with the actress Bridget Moynahan.
Brady celebrates with his family after winning his seventh ring. Photo: EFE
Tireless, stainless and insatiable, minutes after shouting champion I was already thinking about the future. And when they asked him if he would return next season to look for his eighth trophy and expand his legend, he did not hesitate and assured: “I will be back.”
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