By: Eilis O’Neil | Social Media Manager
I knew this day would come, but I was not expecting it for another season or hopefully two. January 29, 2022, was a dark day for New England Patriot fans as Tom Brady officially came out with his retirement announcement, following news sources making the announcement earlier in the week.
Initially, when Brady was traded to Tampa, he thanked Patriots Nation like there was no tomorrow, but as a career closer he only followed up quoting a tweet from the Patriots. Sure, I have had moments where I was disappointed in a game that was awful, but this was a whole new level of disappointment. While he did end his career in Tampa, I truly do not believe a nine-slide Instagram post, solely thanking the fans, coaches, and team of the Buccaneers, without mention of the Patriots is a little obscure.
Coming close to 21 years of life, I have gone through it all with Tom Brady being in the NFL. Reading his retirement post, I was a little disappointed that it was surrounding the Buccaneers. Do not get me wrong, it was a gesture and a thank you that had to be said regardless, but what about all of New England and his 20 years spent through the Patriots organization?
Reflecting back after a few weeks, I have cooled down since the announcement and post, but it still plucks at my fragile heart strings. Retirement and being traded just come with any professional sports team. I could honestly compare this to any heartbreak, potentially even worse. Everything heals within time and there will be many great quarterbacks and players to rise in the future.
Regardless, Tom Brady is truly the greatest of all time as he ended his remarkable career of seven Super Bowl wins and many records within the NFL. Of course, I am absolutely heartbroken since I associate football with Tom Brady. We even named our family cat Tom Brady back in 2003; does this mean we need a name change?
It has been an absolute privilege watching Brady on and off the field. Through the highs and lows, along with many haters and wars like DeflateGate and Spygate, it has truly been amazing to watch Tom Brady develop as a football player throughout the years. As an end of an era comes to a halt, thank you TB12 for everything.
“They hate us cause they ain’t us.” – Dave Portnoy
Cover Image by Brook Ward on Flickr is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
