Twenty years ago at Foxboro Stadium, Tom Brady started to build his legacy. In 2001, against the Jets in Week 2, Brady, who was a second-year quarterback, replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe, and he would not give the job back.
Brady would lead the Patriots to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVI. Ultimately, Brady would win five more Super Bowls with the Patriots.
Last season, in his first season in Tampa Bay, Brady added another Super Bowl at age 43, and after two weeks, Brady continues to play at a high level. He has a league-leading nine passing touchdowns, including five against the Falcons last Sunday, which is why he won the FedEx Air Player of the Week for the second straight week on Wednesday. Brady is tied for the second-most passing touchdowns through two games in NFL history.
On Wednesday, Brady did a little reminiscing, and according to the former sixth-round pick, he could have never imagined his career would turn out the way it did.
“I don’t think anyone thinks 20 years ago where their life would be,” Brady said. “I certainly don’t think in my wildest dreams I could’ve imagined what’s happened. I am just very appreciative and grateful for all of the different things that have happened over time. Really, it’s just about the support system of people. My teammates over 20 years, my coaches, my family, my friends – I just have great memories.”
On Sunday, Brady returns to his home state of California as the Buccaneers(2-0) travel to Los Angeles to battle the Rams(2-0) in a big early-season game in the NFC. These are one of those games that could determine home-field advantage.
Brady, who is from San Mateo, California, expects many of his family members to be in attendance on Sunday.
“I have a lot of family from there(Los Angeles),” he said. “My sister lives down there, and my niece goes to school at U.C.L.A., so I have a lot of family and friends coming to this game. It’s pretty cool. I’ve never played in L.A.; it’s the first time I’ve ever played there. It’s pretty amazing to have never had the opportunity in all of my years of sports to kind of be on the field there, but I’ve done a lot of practice out there and done a lot of workouts out there. And I obviously know a lot of people there, so it should be a great atmosphere. I’ve heard great things about the stadium.”
At age 44, who knows how much football Brady has left, but it’s clear, for now, he’s still got it, and Tampa Bay will need him to at his best if they want to return to SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl LVI in February.
