I am watching the Super Bowl LMNOP or LSMFT or whatever year it is. Actually, the upper right hand of the TV shows LIV. So, it is the 54th Super Bowl.
I am watching but it doesn’t seem the same, sitting here just the two of us. In previous years, we have had people over and a lavish buffet. Today, we do have a simple dinner to eat at half-time. I am debating whether to augment the dinner by microwaving a bag of popcorn, cutting up some veggies, or peeling an orange after dinner. I might even have a beer or something harder.
What a difference a year makes.
I am enjoying the game. With five minutes left in the first half, the Buccaneers are leading the Chiefs 14 – 3. Mahomes has the Chiefs on the move.
Who am I for?
I am for Tom Brady. Rather, I am for the Buccaneers because Brady is their quarterback. They would not be in this game if it weren’t for Brady. He is a legend that is still playing. His record of Super Bowl appearances and wins will not easily be broken. As of today, Brady is starting in his 10th Super Bowl. John Elway is 2nd with 5. If he wins tonight, he will have 7 wins. If he loses, he will stay at 6. Who is in second place? It is tie between Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw who have 4 wins each. Brady is very special. People often refer to him as the GOAT: Greatest Of All Time. It is hard to argue with that given his accomplishments.
At half-time, the Buccaneers scored in closing seconds to lead 21-6.
I am a little guilty of how I viewed Brady when he was at the University of Michigan. He was quarterback there 1996 – 1999. He was back-up to Bob Griese his first two years. He was a starter in his junior and senior year going 10-3 and the 10-2. 1998 was the year after we won the National Championship. Brady, as the starter, lost the first two games of the 1998 season to Notre Dame and Syracuse. Both teams were ranked. Those two losses soured me to Brady who went on to win 10 of the remaining 11 games losing, unforgivably, to Ohio State.
The next year, everyone wanted a highly touted Drew Henson to start. He was supposed to be unbelievable and the quarterback to win every game he would start or something like that. Therefore, in my mind, Henson should be starting. Coach Carr platooned them. I was not happy. But it was Brady that emerged as the starter and showed the kind of “comeback kid” skills he became known for in the pros. But I never warmed up to him. And, to think, I pretend to know something about football. That’s a laugh.
Brady engineered a comeback to beat Notre Dame and to beat Alabama in the Orange Bowl in overtime. They beat Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. In the middle of the season, they lost back-to-back games to a ranked Michigan State team and to unranked Illinois. I still couldn’t or didn’t see how special he was.
I was not alone. Brady was drafted by the New England Patroits in the 6th round. He was the 199th draftee. In his second season, the starting QB Drew Bledsoe got injured in the second game of the season. Brady came in but lost the game. He started and one every game of the season and compiled a 10-3 record doing so. They made the playoffs and ran the table to win his first Super Bowl. I, along with all Michigan and New England fans, realized how good Brady was and became his fan.
At the end of the 3rd Quarter the score is Tampa Bay 31 and Kansas City 9.
Is this his last game, win or lose? He is 43 years old though he barely looks it and certainly doesn’t play like that. His commitment to peak fitness, health, and incredible preparation is nonpareil, so who knows. Certainly, not me.
With an interception in the endzone with 1:33 left in the game, the Buccaneers sealed the victory with a final score of 31-9. The announcer just referred to the town as Tampa Brady.
He is indeed the greatest of all time.
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