As a fan of an NFL team that doesn’t play in Foxborough, Mass., I’ve always had a hatred for the Patriots and especially Tom Brady, a sentiment that I’m sure is share by many. Maybe he wins too much or perhaps he seems very smug.
As a football fan in general, you have to respect the guy. Whether you like it or not, or admit it or not, you can’t have a conversation about the greatest quarterback of all time and not have him in it. Depending on the era you grew up watching or the team you root for, your opinion may be a little biased. In the 1970s, or if you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, you would probably say Terry Bradshaw. If it was the 1980s, or if you’re a San Francisco 49ers fan, your answer would most likely be Joe Montana. The 1990s would be the most debatable decade as some would say Brett Favre, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, or John Elway. But for anyone who has watched the game since the year 2000, whether they want to admit it or not, the unanimous choice, and arguably the best ever, is Tom Brady.
I was watching the NFL Top 100 players announced last night, and they added their 10 quarterbacks to the list. The list included Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Otto Graham, Sammy Baugh, John Elway, Peyton Manning, Roger Staubach, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, and of course, Tom Brady.
Love him or hate him, Brady deserves to be on that list. The six Super Bowl rings alone qualify him.
After watching that show, I have a newfound respect for the former sixth-round pick from Michigan. During his conversations with the panel, if Bill Belichick, Cris Collinsworth or Rich Eisen referred to a specific play, Brady knew what play it was and could still break it down as if it happened yesterday.
In all sincerity, he credited Belichick with teaching him that every game is one game. While the stats and all the accolades are nice, he doesn’t dwell on them or get caught up in them. One day, he’ll sit back and think about them and feel pretty good about them.
When they added Brett Favre to the table, the amount of mutual respect between the Hall of Famer and the future Hall of Famer was genuine.
After Peyton Manning was added to the wall, Brady praised the former Colts and Broncos quarterback, even after all of their playoff meetings. Brady said that, besides Belichick, Manning was the one guy who forced him to be that much closer to perfect than any other thanks to the teams’ recurring matchups.
Brady’s obvious love of football and respect for the game, its history, and other quarterbacks who came before him, during him, and after him is remarkable.
It is something I never knew or thought about Brady.
When I think of the title of greatest of all-time at the quarterback position, Brady and Joe Montana share that pedestal, because whether you want to admit it or not, Montana all but set the bar.
