Dear Tom Brady

Dear Tom Brady

Dear Tom,

I know we haven’t talked in a long time. Yes, it’s been about 20 years since we both spoke to each other. Back then, you were a rookie quarterback just drafted by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. I was a producer at the local sports radio station in town. We only spoke for less than a minute before we taped an interview but you were very gracious and kind.

Now, 20 years, six Super Bowl Championships and countless memories later, we now find ourselves in unchartered waters as for the first time in your professional career and first time for me as a fan, you are no longer the starting quarterback of the New England Patriots. So many emotions and thoughts have been felt in the past year since we’ve known that you could become a free agent and the constant back-and-forth of will you stay or go has played out. Yet now, we have a conclusion.

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Tom Brady is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. TB in TB.

I’ll be honest, it’s going to take some getting used to. But, as all things, it will become the new normal. Of course, in this current day of coronavirus and the pandemic sweeping our Country, it’s hard to know what that new normal really is on any given day. With that, I hope you and your family are safe, happy and healthy.

I, for one, made peace with the fact that you may leave months ago. So, when you announced your decision earlier this week. It did not come as a shock. No, it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it may. Maybe it was just the fact that deep down, I honestly felt that you were going to leave and I was okay with you making the decision that is best for yourself and your family, not only professionally but personally as well. As a family man with two young daughters and an amazing wife, I completely respect your choice. 

Now, back to the football.

As has been documented over the past 20 years, there have been things that haven’t gone as smoothly as your dominance to become the greatest quarterback, if not player, of all-time. The contracts, the relationships, the fights to have weapons, trainers and friends remain a part of the routine, I’m sure that hasn’t been easy. Yet, through it all, you’ve always maintained an air of excellence. No matter what, winning has always mattered.

That’s one of the things that I’ve truly admired about you Tom. The work ethic, the higher ground and the drive to be number one each and every day, week and season. That’s never been doubted. It’s why the “Patriot Way,” whether it’s a myth or not, has tried to be imitated but never duplicated around the NFL.

Even when the league tried to bring you down with the DeflateGate non-sense, all you and the Patriots did was rise above and win another Super Bowl Championship.

Will any of us outside of yourself and head coach Bill Belichick truly understand the relationship between the two. I’m sure at times it wasn’t easy to be “the guy” leading the most dominant franchise in the National Football League over the past two decades. Belichick, as documented by so many, is one of the, if not THE, most demanding coach in the league. I’m sure at times you just wanted to say to Bill: “Hey, Bill, cut me some slack, I AM the greatest of all time! I’ve won you 6 Super Bowl Championships.” But you didn’t. You took the criticism and moved forward. That must have been difficult at times.

Leaving Mr. Kraft is probably a different thing. As he’s said, you’re like a son to him. That relationship is something that you will surely treasure even now that he’s not your owner.

So, now it’s on to Tampa. There, you’ll have amazing weapons with wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, two of the best young receivers in the game. At tight end, you have OJ Howard and Cameron Brate. Plus, there’s an above average defense and a head coach who likes to have fun in Bruce Arians. Maybe at the end of the day, that’s what you need. To have a little more fun day-to-day with a new cast might be the thing that invigorates you as you look to play until you are 45 years-old, something you’ve always said that you’ve wanted to accomplish.

New team. New teammates. New coaches. New city. New fans. New routines. New adventures. It’s all ahead for you, TB12. I wish you nothing but success with the Bucs.

Now, how about that contract? Two-years, $50 million guaranteed with the possibility of another $9 million in incentives! Plus, they can’t trade you. Security and dollars. Respect. That’s a great way to star a relationship, right my friend?! Well done, Tom (and Don Yee!).

In the time you’ve been a Patriots QB, I’ve gotten married, had two daughters and moved on from my career in sports radio. My children only know the most successful quarterback in history as THEIR quarterback. Yes, they are sad but they too will move on and admire you from afar. It’s what this digital age has brought us – the ability to be all together yet socially distant at the same time.

So, Tom, this is not goodbye, but merely a thank you. Thank you for all the memories and good times you’ve provided to this and many other Patriots fans around New England and the World. Thank you for all the good things you did in the Community here in New England. Thank you for simply being the G.O.A.T.

Be well my football friend. We’ll be watching from a far. Maybe our paths will cross again in Tampa where you could make history again – becoming the first team to host the Super Bowl.

Now, that would be terrific.

Sincerely yours,

 

John Crowe
Patriots & Tom Brady fan