Tom Brady admits he didn’t fully appreciate the Super Bowl early in his career
Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls, six with his first team New England Patriots and one final one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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The Denver Broncos handed Tom Brady his first-ever postseason loss in 2005 AFC Divisional Round. (Image via The Boston Globe/BBC)
Tom Brady‘s legacy as one of the greatest players in NFL history was largely defined by his uncanny ability to win. Over his career that spanned more than two decades, Brady reached an unprecedented 10 Super Bowls, winning seven times.
Though no player has been better at reaching the Super Bowl, Brady did not grasp the full gravity of winning the Big Game until later in his career. When Brady originally became the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback, he led the team to three Super Bowl wins in four years. He won three titles before losing a single playoff game, the first taste of defeat coming against the Denver Broncos in the 2005 AFC Divisional Game.
The unprecedented wins without understanding what it means to lose led him to not fully grasp what the game meant to his career until later on. Speaking on The Herd, Brady addressed that he underestimated the power of the ultimate showdown.
I literally went wire-to-wire for two weeks. I just realized how important these games were. For me, what I realized early in my career about Super Bowls was ‘man, we won my first year. What’s the big deal? … Now I’m in the Super Bowl, we won. We didn’t have a great season in 2002, we won in 2003. What’s the big deal? We won in 2004, what’s the big deal?‘
Tom Brady said
"When you lose this game, it's on your resume forever. A loss in the Super Bowl matters more than any loss you're ever going to be a part of."
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 7, 2025
— @TomBrady to @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/vbB6hfv3l7
After the Patriots won the Super Bowl to cap the 2004 season, they saw a 10-year title drought before taking home their next Lombardi Trophy. During that drought, they lost two Super Bowls to the New York Giants.
Then you go to 2007 and you lose, and then you go to 2011 and you get to the Super Bowl after having a great team in 2010 and we lose. It was just like, ‘Wow. This is way harder.’ We went 10 years between winning. And then I went, these Super Bowl moments that I get a chance to partake in, I’m gonna exhaust every bit of energy I have.
Tom Brady added
Brady added that the Super Bowl is particularly important because everyone will remind him of those losses.
Tom Brady changed his mindset after realizing the gravity of the game
Tom Brady, once, he truly realized the gravity of the Super Bowl, took on an intense level of preparation before each game. In his final Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, Brady said that he knew the Chiefs’ defense better than they did.
He took note of what each player’s every body movement signified, which allowed him to anticipate their defensive plays before they unfolded. This unparalleled attention to detail, which Brady refers to as his superpower, is a key reason why he won a record seven Super Bowls, including his final one in Super Bowl LV against Kansas City. His ability to analyze and predict defensive strategies set him apart from his peers.
Brady’s preparation extended beyond film study; he ingrained himself in the psychology of the game, understanding opponents at a granular level. This obsessive commitment to perfection ensured that when he stepped onto the biggest stage.
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Mohammed Bazim
(478 Articles Published)