Tom Brady did his best to keep emotions in check heading into the Week 4 matchup against the New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium.
It was a monumental moment for a legendary quarterback who spent two decades and won six Super Bowls with the team. The nostalgia, familiar faces and emotions involved were inevitable throughout the week prior and especially on Sunday night. The Buccaneers pulled away with a thrilling 19-17 victory, but Mac Jones put up a fight for rookie going against Brady.
On Brady’s Sirius XM Let’s Go! podcast, he dove into his favorite part of the night.
“If there’s one thing I take from [Sunday] night, I had some questions about what was my experience going to be like. I got to see some people after the game that I just love so much. The best part of the night was having the game over and seeing them,” he said, transcribed by WEEI. “And understanding that no matter how we compete, my relationship with those people transcends wins and losses. And yeah we want to win, absolutely. I think the process of trying to win is what’s most important. Winning and losing is icing on the cake, and for the winner. What you have to do as an athlete is you have to put as much as you can into it.
“… The hugs, the handshakes, the congratulatory messages, all the different things that I heard really in the end to me is what continues to motivate me and inspire me.”
One thing he didn’t enjoy was playing against his former teammates.
“Let me just say, it’s nothing I prefer to do,” he said. “It’s not as enjoyable as some people would think. I look over and I think about Matt Slater out there, and I look at Kyle Van Noy, and Dont’a Hightower, and Devin McCourty, and I look at David Andrews, and Shaq Mason. Just some amazing people that I’ve gone to war with. The reality is, sports, sometimes you go different places and now you’re on the other side of it and on the other sideline. You want those guys to do so well because you know how important it is to them. You know how much it means to them.”
It’s finally time for both teams to get past the anticipation and move forward with the rest of their seasons ahead.
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