Tom Brady announced – for the second time in as many years – his retirement from the NFL last week.
I can’t say I was ever a big Tom Brady fan. Yeah, I know he played collegiately down the road from where I live, but geography does not always elicit allegiance.
What amazes about Brady, however, is the longevity of his career. His first season was 2000 and it got me thinking:
- In September 2000, Bill Clinton was still the U.S. President.
- By the end of his first season, we had the George W. Bush vs. Al Gore Presidential race and the whole hanging chad episode.
- Brady’s career spanned five different presidential administrations.
- The Patriots visit to metropolitan New York and their 20-19 loss to the New York Jets – on September 11, 2000 – meant that the Twin Towers were still standing sentry over lower Manhattan.
- Brady attempted just three pass attempts that first season. That’s six less than some other rookie named Michael Bishop who never appeared in an NFL game again after that season.
- Our son is now able to drink legally and has never known an NFL without Tom Brady.
- In reviewing his rookie season, the New England Patriots played the Cleveland Browns whose starting quarterback was Doug Pederson who currently coaches Jacksonville Jaguars and coached the Philadelphia Eagles to its win Super Bowl LII – five seasons ago!
- The Patriots also played the Kansas City Chiefs in 2000. A QB on the Chiefs roster was 44-year-old Warren Moon. Yes, Warren Moon is now 66 and eligible by April for full Social Security retirement benefits!
- Twenty-three years from now, it will be 2046 and I will have long been eligible for full Social Security!
- When the Patriots and Brady took the field for that first game in 2000, my father was the same age as me today.
Longevity is one of those statistics that’s always fascinated me. Perhaps, as much as anything, it’s why – though still not a Brady fan – I have a certain appreciation for what he was able to accomplish and for the littany of players who’ve come and gone during his time in the NFL.