When the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI, Tom Brady got to watch it all go down in a way that’s frankly not very familiar to him — on the television. Brady’s quite used to actually playing in the Super Bowl and winning them, not merely watching it from outside the stadium with the rest of us civilians. So when the NFL icon's phone reminded him that Sunday was, in fact, Super Bowl Sunday, he had a pretty funny reaction.
Tom Brady, one of the greatest professional athletes of all time, announced his retirement earlier this month after 22 seasons. During that time, he led his respective teams to a whopping ten Super Bowls, winning seven of them. While his Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl last year, the Bucs’ season — and Brady’s career — ended in the Divisional Round this time around, as they fell to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Rams. It seems Brady did not wholly appreciate the reminder his phone gave him about the game's existence on Sunday, and he shared his instantly classic reaction via Instagram Stories:
I’m not sure where Tom Brady watched Super Bowl LVI (or even if he actually watched it), but certainly the man widely considered to be the NFL GOAT (except by Scottie Pippen) wouldn’t be satisfied with any view other than the exclusive one the quarterbacks have from the field. For someone so accustomed to playing in the Super Bowl, any year he doesn't end up making it would certainly be a disappointment. Add to that the emotional turmoil of having just retired — with the end of his career coming without the opportunity to hoist another Lombardi trophy — and, man, I might have skipped the game altogether if I was in his shoes.
What remains to be seen is how much that ending bothers Tom Brady — if that’s a conclusion he and wife Gisele Bundchen can live with minus any longing feelings, or if he will join the ranks of great athletes who later come out of retirement, for better or worse, after their initial announcement. Brett Favre did it, Michael Jordan did it in the NBA, and Daniel Bard did it in the MLB (among many other examples). Hell, Brady even pulled longtime teammate Rob Gronkowski out of retirement so they could reunite in Tampa Bay after Brady left the New England Patriots, and that worked out well for the tight end.
The Buccaneers are reportedly leaving the door open for Tom Brady to change his mind, CBS Sports reported, and even Brady said, “Never say never,” regarding a possible comeback. Which I'm sure is the kind of sentiment that would have a lot of defensive coaches and players sharing Brady's phone response: Shit.
The sting of this season ending with Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp named the Super Bowl MVP — an honor Tom Brady has received five times — needs time to wear off before any real speculation about the longevity of Brady’s retirement should begin, but suffice it to say, he might want to take that reminder off of his phone for Super Bowl LVII
If you need to relive other moments from the game, take a look at Super Bowl LVI’s 15 best commercials, as well as our big takeaways from the halftime show.
