Tom Brady may not have finished his career with the New England Patriots, but he has always felt like a member of the Patriots organization.
That never changed when he was winning his seventh Super Bowl and teaming with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and those feelings still remain to this very day, even in retirement.
Brady is set to be honored at the Patriots’ season opener in Foxboro against the Philadelphia Eagles. The event already has the highest ticket prices out of any game in the upcoming 2023 regular season, according to Vivid Seats. So it’s clearly set up as the most anticipated NFL game of the year.
Brady is coming back home to New England, and this time, he won’t be on the other side of the field in another team’s jersey.
“From the moment that I stepped foot in Foxboro, I’ve cherished that opportunity, and I’ve always felt like I’ve been a member of that organization,” Brady told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap, via NESN’s Zack Cox. “…Obviously, I want to go back there and see the fans. I want to see my teammates. I went back there one time; it was in an opposing uniform, which was a different type of welcoming, although people were very polite, and I had a great experience.
“But I’ll be able to go back there in a different frame of mind and a less competitive frame of mind. And I’m always pulling for the Patriots. It’s been a great organization. I’ve got so many friends there still. My kids were born in Boston. I have so many incredible memories of my time there, and it’s a great gesture by the organization.”
The greatest honor, as far as the fans are concerned, would be seeing Brady sign a one-day contract to retire with the Patriots. Maybe that’s in the cards somewhere down the line, but of course, we have to crawl before we can walk when it comes to this Patriots reunion.
Just seeing Brady on the New England sideline hugging it out with coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft will be more than enough of a feel-good moment to tug at the heartstrings and finally set things right in the football world.
Brady as a Patriot is the way it all started, and it’s the way it should have ended.