The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

rwells@tribunemedia.net

MY admiration and respect for Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr is often scoffed at and mimicked by many that know me well, but I am grateful that after a demanding NFL regular season, hard-hitting post-season and, finally, an exhilarating Super Bowl comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, I am not the only one singing and writing about his immense talents and successes.

As the dust continues to settle on what was arguably the greatest day in New England Patriots history, we are now beginning to get a clearer picture of what has been driving Brady for much of the last two seasons.

Heading into the Super Bowl, the world was aware of Tom Brady and the team’s quest to stick it to the league in response to the ‘Deflategate’ scandal, but as time ticked closer to kick-off, all the cards were on the table as the world learned that Brady’s mother, Galynn, has been battling some form of cancer for much of the last year.

In the most subtle way possible, Tom, in a post made to Facebook and Instagram, literally laid out the words he has lived by during these trying times.

“If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

‘Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And - which is more - you’ll be a Man, my son!”

Brady posted, in its entirety, Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “If—”.

So in addition to a four-game suspension to start the year this past season, the scrutiny and ire of the entire league, Brady carried with him, virtually in silence, the burden of potentially losing his mother. Not a word to the press. Not an inclination that something off the field could be wrong.

Week in and week out, since returning in week five against the Cleveland Browns, Tom Brady dedicated all of himself to leading his team to what would eventually be its ninth Super Bowl appearance and fifth title.

No super-fan, no analyst, no pundit, no coach - frankly, not even some players - could sum this entire situation up like this. For us who know the pain of losing a parent or having something extremely serious ail them to the point that you could lose them, this situation and Tom’s resolve throughout it is the stuff of legend.

As the story goes, down 28-3 with a little over a quarter left to play in Super Bowl 51, Brady mustered up the heroics and resolve we have grown to expect from him. Four drives later, the score stood at 28 all - the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history was complete and an astonishing overtime period was on the horizon.

From his 25-yard-line, Brady to White on outlet pass, Brady to Amendola on a quick out, Brady to Hogan on a comeback, Brady to Edelman over the middle, Brady back to White on another outlet; to unsuccessful lobs to Martellus Bennett and sweep toss play to the right by White for the touchdown - 75-yards later, the Patriots stood as world champions.

Impressive.

And if his career totals weren’t impressive enough, his resolve and tenacity, his steadfastness and firmness, his determination over the course of the season and this playoff run should certainly end the debate on whether Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time.

Oh yes, before I forget. We are now on to next season. #TheBlitzForSix is underway.