Tom Brady: Once in a Lifetime

Tom Brady announced his retirement from American football in late January. He started his career
in 2000, when the New York Patriots selected him as the 199th overall choice, in the sixth round of the
NFL Draft.

The quarterback played more than twenty years in this major league. He embodies the first part of
the 21st century, sportively speaking. As many sportsmen, he has been here for decades, and that has
had an impact on many generations.

Some fans watched him at the beginning of his career, throwing his first touchdown pass against
San Diego, on October 14th, 2001. They saw him winning his first Super Bowl, during his first
season as starter. Some other fans began to watch NFL thanks to Tom Brady. All these people lived
so many years as Tom Brady was playing each week, from September to February.

He’s undoubtedly one of the most successful athletes of all time. And we had the chance to see him
play during so many years. In many sports, there is an all-time great, called G.O.A.T. ie. Greatest
Of All Time. During the last twenty years we witnessed some of them in most sports.

For example, Usain Bolt retired a few years ago. Now, another member of this generation is
retired. All these athletes from this generation are at least in their late thirties. Those who have seen
such legends practicing their sport aren’t going to forget them. They will remember them ’till their
death.

Every fan has begun to follow a sport thanks to a club or thanks to a player. Growing up, a child has
inevitably a favorite player. That doesn’t depend on the generation. For the older NFL fans, it has
been Joe Montana or Brett Favre. For a twenty(or thirty)-year-old fan, that icon may be Tom Brady.
And for the next generation, their favorite player will surely be Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow.
This phenomenon is visible in every sport. Each generation has its sports heroes, and these
sportsmen are unique.

Messi and Ronaldo have a different fanbase. But every fan shares the same feeling: for them, they
are the best of the last decade. Whether it’s Ronaldo or Messi, it doesn’t matter. They make their
fans dream. Like other sportsmen, they aren’t only sports legends, they are also role models.
We keep telling ourselves: “there won’t be anyone like Brady”, “there won’t be anyone like
Federer”. But the fact is that every generation is worried about the next one. Before Brady, there
was Montana. After Brady, there is Mahomes. And there will be another one like Mahomes in the
future.