Last April, I sat down to write my fifth piece for The Turf. It had been less than a month since Tom Brady chose to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I shared a few things I wanted to happen, and others I didn’t want to happen, related to Brady and the Patriots in the 2020 season.
Many of these wishes were not in support of Tom Brady. And many did not go my way.
As a man of honor, it is only right to revisit what I wrote to see how far off I was. It feels like a fitting punishment for even spending one second hoping Brady would not get to double-digit Super Bowl appearances.
Let’s see what we got:
WHAT I DID NOT WANT TO HAPPEN
- Brady to look like a fool on the field
Ok, not a bad start. Brady clearly came through for me here as he threw for 4,633 yards, 40 touchdowns and a 66% completion percentage.
- Brady to win the MVP
Obviously, he could still be taking home one MVP award this season, but I meant the regular season version and that will not be happening.
- The Buccaneers to be in the Super Bowl
Oh cool, the wheels just fell off for me.
I actually thought this one was the easiest one to come through. What a dope.
- To see a single social media post from Brady celebrating his new teammates/coach/city/fans
I was able to do this and will continue to do so.
- The Patriots to miss the playoffs in 2020
Oh boy, this one didn’t work out too well for me either.
And while I don’t think the Patriots would be in the Super Bowl if Brady had stayed, they would have made the playoffs.
WHAT I DID WANT TO HAPPEN
- Brady to play two seasons for the Buccaneers
Jury is still out on this one, but Brady also just said this:
- Brady to play in the Pro Bowl
Well, we certainly didn’t need to worry about this one!
- Being able to stop acting like the TB12 method isn’t a little weird
I definitely did this, and frequently! So this wasn’t a total wash.
- The Patriots have a better 2020 season than the Buccaneers
I mean how are we defining better here?
I know, I know. This one wasn’t even close, and if you don’t think I’m terrified about the 2021 game between these teams then you have not been paying attention.
- Brady to regret his decision
Feels safe to call this one a loss. Kinda serves me right for actually admitting this too.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE SUPER BOWL
I did not enjoy this NFL season. That was clear, right? Just want to make sure we’re on the same page.
Each week I wanted my favorite athlete of all-time to lose because I thought it would show he made the wrong decision. This is not fair, and Brady did not owe it to me (or any New England fan) to finish his career as a Patriot.
He wanted to be shown the love, and that’s just not the way things were gonna go at this point at Patriot Place. I still wish they could have made it work, but again I recognize if Brady stayed he would not be playing this Sunday.
Back in the original piece, I wrote the only way I might root for Brady the Buc in a Super Bowl is if he was looking to stop Mahomes and the Chiefs from winning a 2nd (or maybe even a 3rd) Super Bowl in a row.
Well…
I didn’t want Brady to get a non-Patriots ring, but I can’t have this Chiefs team get two, and definitely not two in a row.
Also, Brady pushing his Super Bowl wins lead back to six over Mahomes (vs. dropping it to four) should silence any talk of Tom losing GOAT status for at least a few years.
So I’m back, Tom. If you’ll have me.
LFG!
