Growing Up with Brady—
Most girls grew up with Barbies, some looked up to Hannah Montana, and others obsessed over Taylor Swift. Hailing from a small town in the outskirts of Boston I grew up with a 6 foot 4, 225-pound, brown-haired, quarterback named Tom Brady.
I was fortunate to grow up in Massachusetts when Brady was in his prime with the New England Patriots. From the years of 2004 to 2018, Tom Brady appeared seven times in the Superbowl, winning four of those games. Also being tall, dark, muscular, and handsome didn’t hurt his fame.
Some people ask me “why?” After he has retired and is coming back, why am I still such a loyal fan? Sometimes my answer is “well he’s the greatest” or “he’s outperformed everyone”, but mostly I’m a fan because he is a hero.
Being in a small town there were always a few “hometown heroes” and Brady was one of mine. He brought countless trophies to Boston, gave us an opportunity to celebrate through the rough winters, and hold on when change rocked our state with bombings. When I was in school there were “spirit days” where we would wear Patriots jerseys along with more boys named “Brady” than I can count. He made every single person, even in the most rural areas, feel like they were winning in life just like him.
I was fortunate to have a lot of memories growing up with watching Patriots games, participating in tailgates, and being in the Patriots stadium multiple times. However, my favorite memory comes from when the Patriots came back to win against the Atlanta Falcons in 2017. Let me explain a little more… it was looking grim as the Patriots entered half-time. Down by a few touchdowns, fans were leaving Superbowl parties early, and morale was low in Boston. Until Brady (and the rest of the team, but mostly Brady) came back to score 31 points in the last two quarters and into overtime. It was a miracle.
The next day at school everyone was sporting something with the Patriots logo and for 48 hours after that event, everyone in the greater tri-state area swore their allegiance to Brady. No matter the losses, increasing age, and even the trading of teams Tom Brady turned 300 8th graders into eternal followers, your girl being one of them.
It is hard to talk about Brady without explaining his impact on me. He made me proud to be from Boston and inspired me to root for more sports in Boston which ended up leading me to my love of baseball. So, did I cry when he retired? Absolutely— I don’t think there was a dry eye in Boston or Tampa. I have never seen such heartfelt messages from men ever in my life.
But that is Brady, and that is his magic. He took his achievements straight into your home and brought that champion spirit with it. I will say that I do not agree with all his actions in public life, but it is so hard to discredit everything that he has achieved in football.
Overall, am I happy he’s coming back? Yes. Am I in love with him? Hmmm…there might be a high likelihood. But Brady is more than winning percentages, he made a young girl fall in love with her city and sports. I am forever grateful that no matter what happens, I will always remember growing up with Brady.