The G.O.A.T.? Try Greatest Of All Sports. Brady lays claim to No. 1 U.S. athlete ever
Compared to the Earth’s nearly nine million other species, goats aren’t overly impressive animals.
Bad measureables, to put in football terms.
Goats are not particularly big — usually around 160 pounds and five feet long — or fast. A moderately fit human could beat one in a foot race.
Herbivores who live off the land, goats are low on nature’s food chain, and would be easy prey if not for their horns.
But what they lack in athletic process, they make up for in wits.
They’re at least as smart as dogs, researchers believe, and way brighter than many of their barnyard friends.
They innately know there’s strength in numbers, can problem-solve better than most of Washington.
And one more fun goat fact: They’re hard to get rid of. Some goats can make it two decades before shuffling off to the big pen in the sky.
So it’s settled then: Tom Brady — an afterthought coming out of college because of his good but not transcendent arm talent and well below average speed — is a goat.
And if he wins Super Bowl ring No. 7 Sunday, he’ll be the G.O.A.T. — not just in football history, but perhaps all of American sports.
Should Brady capture another title — which would break the record he already owns for most by a starting quarterback — it’ll be time to stop comparing him to the Elways and Montanas and time to start comparing him to the Alis and Jordans.
He’ll arguably be not just the greatest football player of all time, but the greatest American men’s athlete — period.
And in reality, Brady is already on that list, if not atop it.
A seventh title would give him one more than Michael Jordan, the NBA star and marketing icon widely viewed as American sports’ all-time best.
“Michael is one of my sports idols,” Brady said this week, ahead of his record 10th Super Bowl appearance. “I think he’s pretty incredible. For me, it’s about being a part of a lot of great teams. To have the opportunity to play in this game means a lot to me. It’s a lot of commitment and sacrifice by a lot of guys. Obviously, we are one game away from the ultimate goal in this sport.
“I’ve been a part of that ultimate goal six other times,” he continued. “They’re all different. They’ve all meant something a little bit different to me. They’ve all been very unique in their own way. It [would] just be cool to accomplish it this time.”
Cool? Sure.
But also historic.
It would be the most championships by a U.S.-born star in a team sport in the last half-century. You’d need to go all the way back to Bill Russell’s ridiculous run (11 NBA titles) in the 1950s and ‘60s for more.
But six (and seven, should he win Sunday) NFL championships in the modern era is more impressive than what Russell accomplished. The NFL has free agency; NBA rules ensured Russell never played a season without Bob Cousy, K.C. Jones or John Havlicek — Hall of Famers, each.
Plus, the NBA never had more than 14 teams in any of Russell’s 13 seasons. Brady has always had to compete with at least 30 other teams since entering the league in 1999.
“We keep comparing [Brady] to the Jordans and all of these guys,” said Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, who is now an analyst for NFL Network. “For me, he’s already there. Those are sports that have individual, isolated success. Jordan gets the ball from the rim and takes it to the other, shoots, does it all by himself. He has that ability, in that sport you can control more because you have more individual, isolated success. In golf, baseball, all of that stuff. You can’t have individual, isolated success in football. I don’t care how great you are, it doesn’t matter unless you get everyone around you to play great.
“We keep saying, ‘Does Tom now deserve to be with those guys?’” Irvin continued. “Tom deserves to be on top of all of that, because of how hard it is to win in this sport, as opposed to those other sports.”
Muhammad Ali — the heavyweight class’ only three-time lineal champion — might be more beloved, but Brady has a better body of work. Babe Ruth — a seven-time champion and 12-time league home run champ — might have a better resume, but he played before desegregation.
And yes, you can argue that Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Michael Phelps were more decorated. But as Irvin suggested, here’s what sets Jordan and Brady apart: Their ability to elevate their teammates.
Woods is 13-21-3 all-time in Ryder Cup matches and the Americans have beaten the Europeans just once in his eight appearances.
Brady, meanwhile, has never once missed the playoffs in a season he’s finished healthy since taking over for Drew Bledsoe in 2000. By beating the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, he would become the first starting quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl as both an AFC and NFC representative, and only the second to win it with two different teams. (Peyton Manning was the first.)
“The great quarterbacks all have it,” Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said. “They have the ability to will themselves on other people to make sure everybody has bought into the cause, and the cause is a ring. Putting a championship in your trophy case. Tom brings that attitude every single day and it permeates throughout the entire locker room.”
What’s more, Brady has the complete resume. With his regular season body of work, he’d be a first-ballot Hall of Famer even if he never won a single Lombardi Trophy.
He’s a three-time NFL MVP, a three-time first-team All-Pro, a 14-time Pro Bowler and ranks first all-time in passing touchdowns (581) and second in passing yards (79,204), trailing only Drew Brees, who’s expected to retire this offseason. Brady will own most every team and individual record for a quarterback whenever he does call it quits.
That won’t be this offseason, win or lose. Brady turns 44 in August but is open to playing at least three more seasons.
“Tom still has a lot left in him,” Arians said. “For him to come to another ball club and do what he’s done is absolutely remarkable.”
Added Brady: “I think it’s going to be hard to walk away whenever I decide to walk away because it’s been a huge part of my life for a long time. I love thinking about it. Football, to me, is much more than just a sport. There’s the physical element, there’s the mental approach — how you’re going to get the job done — and there’s the emotional part. All of those things I’ve found ways to evolve at different times so that I could maximize my potential.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 11:47 AM.
