Tompa Bay.
All the way.
To the Super Bowl.
And in Tampa, no less.
Can you believe it?
Can you conceive it?
Are you kidding me?
How in the name of Ponce de Leon does this even happen?
Five centuries after the Spanish explorer landed in Florida fruitlessly searching for the Fountain of Youth, Tom Brady has miraculously found it.
At a time when most 43-year-old multi-millionaire quarterbacks would be retired in Tampa Bay soaking up the suds and sun on Clearwater Beach, Brady has come to Tampa Bay — and in one historic, euphoric season — led the beleaguered, bedraggled Buccaneers into the Super Bowl.
And Brady and the Bucs did it in the most unlikely way imaginable — by winning three consecutive road games in the playoffs, including Sunday’s 31-26 victory over the No. 1-seeded Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. Brady and the Bucs dispensed of the great Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints last week. They dispensed of the great Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday. And in Super Bowl 55 in two weeks, they will take on the great Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
“We’re coming home and we’re coming home to win,” ecstatic Bucs coach Bruce Arians screamed during the jubilant postgame celebration.
Amazingly, the Bucs will become the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in their own stadium while Brady will become the oldest player at any position to play in the Super Bowl. By virtue of his record six Super Bowl championships, he was already the GOAT — Greatest of All Time — but what he has done to resurrect the Bucs has made him the greatest GOAT in the history of American team sports.
Not just because of his age, but because of the circumstances surrounding his arrival after 20 seasons with the New England Patriots. He landed in Tampa in the middle of a pandemic when offseason workouts were canceled, training camp was shortened and preseason games were eliminated. Only Brady could come into a situation like this and somehow, someway find a way to learn a new scheme, get accustomed to a new coaching staff and develop chemistry and camaraderie with new teammates.
“It’s been a great journey thus far,” Brady said after Sunday’s game. “We put the work in and a lot of guys embraced everything. I just love coming to work every day with this group of guys. … We have another big game coming, but we’re going to enjoy this one for a little bit.”
As they should. The Buccaneers hadn’t made the playoffs in 13 seasons and hadn’t actually won a playoff game in two decades — until Brady gambled on the Bucs and the Bucs gambled on Brady.
After last season, Arians and Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht decided to jettison former quarterback Jameis Winston, a No. 1 overall draft pick out of Florida State, and make a run at Brady. There were some critics who believed Brady was getting too old and his arm was getting too weak.
Obviously wanting to prove he could win a Super Bowl without being under the controlling hand of iconic New England coach Bill Belichick, Brady shocked everyone when he left the dynastic Patriots for the downtrodden Bucs.
The results have been astounding. Brady has flourished in Arians’ system, evidenced by the fact that he’s thrown for 47 touchdowns this season (the most he’s had since 2007 when he led the Patriots to an undefeated regular season) and compiled the third-most passing yards in the league during the regular season.
Arians took an obvious shot at Belichick a few days ago in a conversation about Brady with NBC’s Peter King.
“I allow him to be himself,” Arians said of Brady. “New England didn’t allow him to coach. I allow him to coach. I just sit back sometimes and watch.”
Even more impressive than Brady’s on-the-field excellence is the way he has elevated and motivated the Bucs into believing they are champions. Offensively, defensively, in the coaching staff and in the front office, Brady has made Tampa Bay’s entire organization have faith in itself. It’s like nobody associated with the franchise wants to disappoint Brady and they all want to live up to his unprecedented standards.
“This [NFC Championship] trophy,” Arians said, holding up the hardware, “is because of the belief Tom gave everybody in this organization that this could be done. It only took one man.”
Brady has certainly made a difference on Tampa Bay’s offense, but he has even improved the defense. He threw three touchdown passes Sunday, but he also threw three interceptions. It didn’t matter because Tampa Bay’s defense wasn’t about to let him down. Just as it did a week ago against Brees, the Bucs’ defense hounded and harassed Rodgers all game long. They sacked Rodgers five times (three from Shaq Barrett and two from Jason Pierre-Paul), nickelback Sean Murphy-Bunting picked off his third pass in as many playoff games, and linebacker Devin White finished with 15 tackles — the most ever for a Bucs player in a postseason game.
“It doesn’t matter how many picks Tom throws, the defense has his back,” Pierre-Paul said. “We never budged; we never flinched at all.”
This is the power and persona of Brady. He can turn a stupor bowl franchise into a Super Bowl franchise. He can even transform normal, everyday people who had no interest in football into rabid Buccaneers fans.
I got an email before the game Sunday from a loyal Sentinel reader, 71-year-old Margot Cooper, who wrote: “I just turned on the TV to watch a pro football game — a total first for a non-football-watching female. My husband is SHOCKED! I’m so excited about watching Tom Brady.”
And then after the game, she eagerly emailed again.
“That was so exciting,” she wrote. “First time I’ve watched a whole NFL game, and I was shouting and cheering the entire game. All of the sudden, I became a FAN of football. I’m going to have a hard time going to sleep tonight.”
No worries, Margot.
Sleep well and sweet dreams about your new team.
Tompa Bay.
All the way.
To the Super Bowl.
