Tom Brady dropped the final episode of Tom vs. Time on Monday, the fascinating six-part documentary that gave a rare look behind the curtain of all things TB12. The finale dealt with the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss, with a special focus on Brady’s thumb injury that had us all holding our breath leading up to the AFC Championship game.
If there was one takeaway from this series for me it was how cool it was to see Brady reacting to wins and losses just like we the fans do. Certainly, there was a humanizing element to the series like seeing Brady at home with his kids, how impossibly dedicated he is to training and even a supermodel like Gisele just at home cooking a meal in her kitchen or supporting her husband’s unquenchable desire to win football games was also a highlight.
But most all we just get so used to seeing the even-keeled reaction of the players after games, toeing the line to the press, not showing their excitement or heartbreak. Here we got a glimpse of how they really are just like us. From telling Gronk how lucky they were to win the AFC Championship without him, to Gronk being amazed at how good Danny Amendola is in the playoffs, to the crushing disappointment of losing a Super Bowl. Many of those conversations feel ripped right from my own discussions with fellow fans.
It’s strange that it can be easy to think winning and losing matters more to the fans but this was a nice reminder that the players care every bit as much and more even if they don’t wear it on their sleeves to the press. I wish there was an easier way for players and fans to bond over this because when you look back at Brady’s career we’ve been right there with him every step of the way. His ups and downs have been our ups and downs and that’s what really makes sports great.
The biggest visual from the final episode was finally getting a look at Brady’s hand injury, which I’ll decline to embed a tweet of just in case you’re eating while reading this, but it was significant. Throw in Alex Guerrero and his acupuncture needles and the thing was a big mess. I’ve always said that Brady’s Super Bowl losses would eventually be more to his credit than a detriment, and after seeing that injury and then knowing how well Brady played in his final two games, 2017 might be the most impressive Super Bowl-losing season of Brady’s career.
The series concluded with a not-so-subtle reminder that Brady is closing in on the end. It would be hard to ignore this quote from his wife as well…
Thoughts on this Giselle line at the end of the final episode of “Tom vs Time” –
“These last few years have been very challenging for him in so many ways….He tells me I love it so much and I just want to go to work and feel appreciated and have fun.”#Patriots #WBZ #NFL
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) March 13, 2018
That doesn’t exactly squelch all the chatter of internal drama this past season. That’s the kind of thing you say to your wife when you’re venting about your job and that Brady left it in this final cut says a lot. Still, NFL football is a high stakes, high stress game with many moving parts, egos and money involved. As much as we want Kraft-Belichick-Brady to be BFFs that just not how it works. I have no doubt the trio can suck it up for the last few seasons, but any illusion of it being happy fun time is over.
And really, did we ever think it was all happy fun time? Every interaction I’ve ever seen between Belichick and Kraft going back to 2009’s A Football Life was stilted and awkward. Brady and Belichick have a clear football respect for each other, but one’s the coach and the other is a player and no accomplishments can change that core dynamic. Same with the owner and the coach. Big decisions have to be made, not everyone will agree, but as the saying goes “winning solves everything” and that’s what the Patriots have continued to do no matter how annoyed everyone gets with each other.
Ultimately we know the Patriots are Brady Ride or Die until the end. I’ve always believed that the end likely won’t be pretty or easy. As much as we all want him to squeeze every last bit out of himself and retire after winning a sixth or seventh Super Bowl it’s hard to see it playing out that perfectly.
Now the Patriots are in reset mode, and the final look at Super Bowl 52 in Tom vs. Time was a nice way to put 2017 to bed once and for all. Clearly, everyone needs to move on from a turbulent and injury-filled season, and now with the start of free agency we can start getting excited about 2018.
Hopefully, Brady continues to expand his direct access to fans with things like this series. Ever since he got on Instagram it’s opened a window into Brady’s life that has been fascinating at every turn and cuts out the media middlemen who have to put their spin on everything.