Who Is Tom Brady? by James Buckley Jr. & Who HQ

Author:James Buckley, Jr. & Who HQ [Buckley, James & Who HQ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2021-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 4

Becoming a Superstar

Tom and the Patriots continued to be contenders in the NFL. In 2003, they won fourteen games. In Super Bowl XXXVIII (38), Tom once again led the team to the championship on a game-winning field goal. He also won his second Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award.

The following season, the New England Patriots won another fourteen games and the AFC championship. In Super Bowl XXXIX (39), they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. Tom and the Patriots were only the second team in NFL history to have won three Super Bowls in four seasons.

During this run of success, Tom rarely led the league in any statistics. He still did not have the strongest arm among quarterbacks. He was still slower than most as well. However, he was simply better at the most important job for a quarterback—leading his team to victory. Tom seemed to be able to always call the right play or complete the key pass that led to a score. He rarely threw interceptions (passes caught by the defense). And he inspired his teammates to do their best.

“In Tom’s case, his rating isn’t stats but wins,” said Belichick.

Those closest to Tom saw him continuing to grow as a person. About watching his son become a sports superstar, Tom Sr. said, “I see him being a lot happier and a more contented person.” But his father knew that suddenly becoming a celebrity was not easy for Tom.

Tom soon had a family as well as a team. In late 2006, Tom had broken up with his girlfriend, Bridget Moynahan. Then, he met Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen on a blind date. “I knew right away—the first time I saw him,” Gisele said. She thought he had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

Early in 2007, Bridget told Tom she was pregnant with his child. Their son Jack was born in August of that year.

In 2007, Tom had his best season yet as the Patriots made it back to the Super Bowl. He set an NFL single-season record with fifty touchdown passes. He led the league with 4,806 yards, the most ever in his career. He was also the most accurate passer, completing almost 70 percent of his passes.

The Patriots did not lose a game in the regular season, winning all sixteen games. While the Miami Dolphins had been undefeated in the 1972 season—to that point the only team since the NFL started holding an annual championship game to accomplish the feat—the season had been only fourteen games long then. In Super Bowl XLII (42), the Patriots had a chance to be the first undefeated Super Bowl winner since that Dolphins team. However, they were defeated by the New York Giants 17–14 in a huge upset.

The following season, Tom faced a new challenge. In the first quarter of the first game, he was tackled and suffered a knee injury. He underwent surgery to fix the damage, and he had to miss the entire 2008 season. The Comeback Kid had a new kind of comeback to make.

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