Tom Brady bursts out of the tunnel again, just like he did two decades before bursting out of New England to continue his legacy in Tampa Bay.
Fight with him on the field Celebrate sideline rush — and departing Bon Jovi’s “Who Said You Can’t Go Home” — Brady returned to New England on Sunday to be honored by the team he quarterbacked to become the greatest dynasty in the NFL’s Super Bowl era.
Staring at the six championship banners he helped hang, Brady thanked adoring fans for “another day in this stadium that I will never forget.”
“Twenty-three years ago, no one would have imagined that this journey would lead us to where we are today,” said Brady, a little-known sixth-round draft pick who went on to win three NFL MVP awards and five Super Bowls. Bowl MVP award while leading New England to 17 division titles in 19 seasons.
“We take us on different journeys throughout our lives. They take us to different places. They bring different people into our lives,” said Brady, who played with Tampa Bay before announcing his retirement last winter. the last three seasons. “But one thing I know for sure and will never change is that I am a lifelong patriot.”
With the Patriots’ six Super Bowl trophies behind him, Brady took to the stage at halftime of the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles to thank fans – many of whom were wearing Plastic ponchos over their Brady jerseys.
“We’ve made countless memories in this stadium, celebrating wins against great teams in Foxborough weather like today,” he said. “I think we showed America what teamwork is. “We proved that believing in each other, believing in fighting for this community, believing in fighting for a common mission, we were able to hold up six banners and celebrate them. “
Brady, the No. 199 pick in the 2000 draft, inherited the starting job in his second season when former No. 1 pick Drew Bledsoe was injured and led the Patriots to that year’s Super Bowl title. He won five more championships over the next two decades, including three more AFC titles.
But his relationship with coach Bill Belichick soured, with the two arguing behind the scenes over who should get credit for the team’s success. Brady left for Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2020 and led the Buccaneers to the NFL championship that season, an unprecedented seventh title for Brady.
The Patriots lost to the Eagles 25-20 in the season opener on Sunday and have not won a playoff game since Brady’s departure.
“A lot of memories were made with Tom and he meant a lot to me. “He taught me a lot about this league and I owe a lot of my success to him,” said Brady, who joined Brady and the Patriots in 2015 “Taught me a lot about the game, a lot about what it’s like to be a champion,” said center David Andrews, the team’s two-time Super Bowl champion. So I will always be grateful for that. “
Brady, who retired after last season, is the holder of dozens of NFL regular-season and playoff records, including most wins, passing yards and passing touchdowns.
“When Tom left, Patriots fans didn’t get a chance to properly thank him,” said owner Robert Kraft, who announced he would waive the four-year waiting period and induct Brady into the team in a ceremony next summer. of the Hall of Fame. The match will be held in a 65,000-seat stadium to accommodate the expected large crowds.
“I want to give them that opportunity,” Kraft said. “Unfortunately, the halftime ceremony did not provide enough time to honor Tommy in the way he deserved.”
Brady made his debut atop the stadium’s new beacon on Sunday, ringing the bell to the cheers of rain-soaked fans to mark the start of the festivities. But things really started at halftime, when a new video board showed highlights of Brady’s career, starting with a comeback from a 28-3 deficit in the 2017 Super Bowl.
Despite the rain, some fans sought shelter at halftime when Brady emerged from the home tunnel, unzipped his jacket to reveal a blue Patriots jersey, and sprinted to the sideline. He finished in front of a sign labeled “Brady’s Corner,” a cheering area later relabeled “Mac’s Attack Corner” for successor Mac Jones.
He hugged the kids wearing Brady’s No. 12 jersey and Kraft, thanking fans for supporting him throughout his career.
“The beat was a little longer today than it used to be. I wasn’t in good shape for the game,” Brady said. “But it’s impossible for me to come to this stadium … and not be exhausted, like I have been for 20 years.”