Tom Brady was 24 years old when he played in his first Super Bowl and helped the Patriots beat the Rams. Now seventeen years later, Brady has come full circle and will try to beat the Rams again in the big game.
What's different? A lot, especially for the Rams.
They were led by Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce and were the Greatest Show on Turf. Now they have the hottest young coach, Sean McVay, a 33-year-old wunderkind who has NFL teams searching for clones of him.
The Patriots are still led by Bill Belichick and, of course, Brady. The two are in their record ninth Super Bowl together.
Brady, 41, said not much has changed for him as he tries to become the first player to win six Super Bowls. Maybe only his desire to win is greater because one of these years it will be the last time he's in position to win the Super Bowl.
"I don't take anything for granted," Brady told reporters in New England following Saturday's practice. "I really don't. I enjoy it. To get to this point is really exceptional. I'm proud of the guys for making the commitment. Certainly not easy.
"I think everyone at this point you're tired, you're worn down, at the same time you have one of the great opportunities in your life. This is a memory you'll have forever. I really hope we can go out and take advantage of it."
Brady has created many memories in his illustrious career, and hopes to add one more Sunday in Atlanta.
The Patriots are playing in their third straight Super Bowl and fourth in five years. But this year might have been one of their toughest roads, literally.
The previous five times the Patriots reached the Super Bowl they played the AFC Championship game at home in Gillette Stadium. Last Sunday, they had to beat the NFL's No. 1 offense and the likely league MVP Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium in front of some of the NFL's loudest fans last Sunday.
Brady played masterfully throughout, and particularly on the championship-winning drive in overtime. He converted three third-and-10 situations before Rex Burkhead ran it in for the deciding touchdown.
"He's the GOAT," Patriots defensive back Jason McCourty said. "You've seen him do it so many times that sometimes you take it for granted and you just assume. For us, you're just sitting on the bench just watching one third-and-10 conversion, another third-and-10 conversion. For us, it's just exciting. You're like somebody sitting at home rooting for your favorite team."
Not that the Patriots needed any extra motivation, but they felt they were overlooked all season. There were reports that Brady wasn't right and Father Time was finally hitting him. Many predicted they wouldn't get past the Chargers in the Divisional Round and certainly not the Chiefs, where it was made out to be a potential passing of the torch from Brady to Mahomes.
"Inside the NFL" aired video of wide receiver Julian Edelman, one of Brady's favorite targets, screaming, "You're too old" at Brady after he threw a touchdown pass against the Chiefs. Brady just sat nodding.
Edelman will try to come up with something he can use in the Super Bowl to get a little more out of Brady.
"It's like you black out during the game so what you say is what you say," Edelman said. "It just comes to mind. So hopefully we'll be able to do some more motivating this weekend, do some good stuff."
Brady's main motivation is winning. It's what's driven him to keep his body right and still play dominant football at 41. His teammates believe as long Brady has the ball, they have a chance.
"The guy is just so precise with everything," tight end Rob Gronkowski said. "Just the way he is out on the field, the way he prepares, the way he goes into these games. You know every single time you're going to get the best out of him no matter what the situations are and that's what's so great about playing with him.
"It makes football the best it can possibly be because you know you've got a guy that knows basically every situation and he's going to put us in the best situations every single time he steps out on the field to put us with a chance to win, every game we play."
