Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl again—this time to face the Los Angeles Rams. This will be the ninth time in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. However, despite their impressive run, the Patriots will be the underdogs in the Super Bowl this year. The feeling of being underdogs began back when when Brady was still in college.
Before joining the New England Patriots, Tom Brady was told he would never make it in football. According to SI, Brady once told a college friend he worried he’d fail in his NFL endeavors and end up in the insurance business.
While at the University of Michigan, Brady even interned for two summers at the Merrill Lynch office in Ann Arbor before his junior and senior seasons. His boss there, Oliver Owens, took a liking to the Wolverines quarterback and tried to convince him to stick with finance.
When Owens told Brady he had a future in the business, Brady looked down, rubbed his hands, then said he wanted to give this football thing a try. Owens, who couldn’t see him as a future Hall of Famer, told Brady, “you’re a dime a dozen. You’re a clipboard holder, man. You have to start a career. I’ll write you a nice referral.” Brady turned him down, and the rest is history.
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Feeling like underdogs has also been a prevalent theme for the Patriots as a team. Belichick even said he wanted his players to feel like underdogs, to think nobody outside their locker room believed in them, according to SI. For almost 20 years now he’s been persuading his guys they’re not as good as people say they are, all while steamrolling through season after season.
“Even when it wasn’t true, it worked,” said Deion Branch, a receiver for Belichick over seven seasons. “That was his strategy.”
And it seems to have been a winning formula. The Patriots won five Super Bowls and a record 10 conference championship games, with a coach who had 290 career victories. No active coach has come close.
The incredible run for both coach and quarterback started all the way back in 2001, when they also faced the Rams. Brady took over for an injured Drew Beldsoe during the second game of the regular season where he led the Patriots to an 11-3 record in 14 starts and then led the team to three consecutive playoff victories to capture the Patriot’s first Super Bowl title, reported CBS Sports.
What makes this year’s Super Bowl game impressive is Brady’s age: Many people expected him to be retired at this point. At 41, he’s far older than the average NFL athlete and to play the way he does and still have the sort of victories he does is truly a marvel, reported LifeZette.
The Sunday, Jan. 20 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which went into overtime, ended with the Patriots beating the Chiefs 37-31.
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen couldn’t contain her joy for husband Brady.
On her Instagram story, Bundchen’s video showed her watching the game on TV and celebrating an early touchdown, yelling, “Let’s go!”
She was also watching as Brady gave her a shout-out during a post game interview.
A reporter asked Brady, “What’s it mean after all that to head back to the Super Bowl?”
Brady ignored the question and responded with a shoutout to his wife: “I first want to say ‘hi’ to my wife. I love you so much.”
“Love you, baby,” she responded to the TV.
Bundchen recently made peace with her husband’s love for football. After the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2017, Brady disclosed that she wanted him to retire, according to Us Magazine. But by Oct. 2018, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel had changed her mind. “[I’ve] never seen someone love something as much as he loves football, and it makes me happy,” she said on Good Morning America according to Us Magazine.
After the Patriot’s victory, President Donald Trump also congratulated the team via Tweeter. “Congratulations to Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the entire New England Patriots team on a great game and season. Will be a fantastic Super Bowl!”
Congratulations to Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the entire New England Patriots team on a great game and season. Will be a fantastic Super Bowl!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2019
Trump has been supportive of the Patriots in the past and enjoys friendships with CEO of the Patriots Kraft, Belichick, and Brady, reported LifeZette. All three have refused to be critical of the president at a time when many other athletes have made public statements against President Donald Trump or knelt during the national anthem to make political statements.
