No one is ever going to feel sorry for Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. He had a near-perfect 23-year run as an NFL quarterback, set every meaningful record, made hundreds of millions of dollars, married a supermodel, and won seven Super Bowls.
That’s several lifetimes of achievements in 45 years on the planet. But the one thing that will stick with Brady as he heads into retirement are his three Super Bowl losses.
While with the New England Patriots, Brady lost the big one three times — twice to the New York Giants and once to the Philadelphia Eagles.
According to his father, Tom Brady Sr., those losses still sting.
In an interview with Mike Greenberg of ESPN last week, the elder Brady recounted how great the last 23 years have been for him and his family but then dropped this bomb.
“Obviously to win the Super Bowls. And boy, they’re great. I think I am a little bit like an ex-athlete in that I also remember three losses very vividly. That doesn’t go away,” he said. “You kind of take… you take for granted the victories but the losses are the things that hurt Tom Brady.”
The first Super Bowl loss had to be the hardest to swallow. The Patriots were 18-0 and were facing the Giants, a wild-card team who got hot at the right time. You all know how that one worked out.
The Giants won, 17-14, thanks to a miracle catch by wide receiver David Tyree thwarting New England’s chance to finish the season with an unblemished record. Four years later, the Giants beat him again, 21-17.
Then, six seasons after that, Philadelphia knocked the Pats off with a trick play called the “Philly Special.” The final was 41-33.
All three losses were winnable games. Anyone can see why someone as competitive as Brady would commiserate over what could have been.
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