It’s Not That Time Yet

Tom Brady gives very little during interviews. He is the Bill Belichick of quarterbacks. He can talk without really saying anything that should appear between quote marks.

But as Super Bowl LII nears – and roughly 16 years since Brady won his first one – he does actually respond to one question much like an actual human.

“Why does everyone want me to retire so bad?” the New England Patriots star wondered on Wednesday in the face of the millionth question about why a 40-year-old would continue on (and on and on) in a younger man’s game.

He has often spoken about hoping to play into his mid-40s, unheard of at most positions in football (or in any sport). He says he’s having fun and living the dream, so why stop?

“I know I’m a little bit older than most of the guys, but I’m really enjoying it. Obviously, I enjoy the experience of playing in this game. This has been obviously a dream come true many times over,” he said.

Over the last nine seasons, he has missed only four games – and those were for the ill-conceived Deflategate scandal. His team has not won fewer than 10 games in any of those seasons. Over the past two seasons he has thrown 60 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Over the past three – 96 and 17. These numbers are simply unimaginable, but there they are.

Yeah, he’s got some nutty ideas about health and diet, but they seem to work for him. He continues to excel in his preparation for his games, in being able to bring the Patriots from behind, in picking defenses apart. You want to play sports writer for a minute? Here is the start of the first sentence of your first story on a Patriots game: Tom Brady threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns…

True, people hate the Patriots for their perceived (and sometimes penalized) dirty tricks, be it Deflategate or improper videotaping of opponents’ signals or even how they worked behind the scenes to get Belichick away from his intended position as the New York Jets coach. They sometimes seem to make their own rules.

Don’t take it out on Brady. He’s the best there’s been, and there won’t be another like him for a long, long time.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman