Retired Brady returns to hero’s welcome in New England

Tom Brady made one more run out of the tunnel, just like he did for two decades before dashing out of New England to continue his legend in Tampa Bay.

Staring at the six championship banners he helped hang — with no mention of the one he won for the Buccaneers — Brady thanked the adoring fans for “another day in this stadium that I will never forget.

“Nobody 23 years ago would imagine that this journey would bring us here today,” said Brady, an unheralded, sixth-round draft pick who went on to win three NFL MVP awards and five Super Bowl MVPs while leading New England to 17 division titles over 19 seasons. “All our lives take us on different journeys. They take us to different places.”

“They bring different people into our lives,” said Brady, who played his last seasons in Tampa Bay before announcing his retirement. “But one thing I am sure of and that will never change is that I am a Patriot for life.”

With the Patriots’ six Super Bowl trophies behind him, Brady took the stage set up on the field at halftime of the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and thanked the fans who remained in their seats during a downpour — many of them wearing plastic ponchos over their Brady jerseys.

“We had a lot of countless memories in this stadium, celebrating wins against great teams in Foxborough weather like today,” he said. “I think we proved to America what teamwork was all about.”

“We proved that believing in each other, believing in playing for this community and believing in playing for a common mission, we were able to put out six of those banners and celebrate them.”

The No. 199 pick in the 2000 draft, Brady inherited the starting job in his second season when former No. 1 overall pick Drew Bledsoe was injured and led the Patriots to a Super Bowl championship that year. He won five more titles over the next two decades with three more AFC championships.

But his relationship with coach Bill Belichick soured as the two fought behind the scenes over who deserved credit for the team’s success.

Brady left for Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2020 and led the Buccaneers to an NFL title that season — an unprecedented seventh for Brady.

The Patriots are 25-27, losing 25-20 in their season opener to the Eagles on Sunday, and have not won a playoff game since Brady left. “Got a lot of memories with Tom and he means a lot to me. Taught me a lot about this league and I credit a lot of my success to him,” said centre David Andrews

David Andrews won two Super Bowls after joining Brady and the Patriots in 2015. “Taught me a lot about the game, a lot about what it looks like to be a champion. So I’ll always appreciate that.”