Tom Brady.Photo: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty
He gave New England football fans 20 years that included six Super Bowl wins, nine AFC Championship titles, and 17 divisional titles, and on Sunday night, during one of the most eagerly anticipated primetime matchups in NFL history,Tom Bradyreturned to his old stamping grounds, this time wearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey and besting his former team 19-17.
While members of “Patriots Nation” in attendance at the nearly 70,000-seat Gillette Stadium mostly cheered for Brady — including when he took to the field pre-game, when he was greeted with chants of “Brady, Brady, Brady” — the 44-year-old star quarterback was largely booed when his team took possession of the ball five minutes into the first quarter.
Celebrating his 95th birthday with family and friends in a stadium parking lot before Sunday night’s game, George F. Bush of Turner Falls, Massachusetts, told PEOPLE that he hoped Patriots fans would cheer for Brady.
“He’s won so many Super Bowls for us and he’s the best quarterback of all time,” said Bush, a season ticket holder for 51 years who assured he “remembers well” when the Patriots were not a winning NFL franchise.
“If they boo, then they can’t be real Patriots fans,” he maintained.
When Brady arrived with his teammates at a Providence, Rhode Island, hotel Saturday night, dozens of Patriots fans were gathered outside to show their support and cheer for him. Looking relaxed and happy, Brady smiled and waved to his fans.
Brady’s wife, supermodel Gisele B¨ündchen, arrived in New England ahead of her husband to attend their nephew’s christening on Saturday afternoon. She was spotted — with her and Brady’s children in tow — at Novara restaurant in Milton, Massachusetts.
Novara co-owner Vance Welch says that Bündchen was “very gracious and friendly to staff.”
“She let people take selfies with her and couldn’t have been any nicer,” Welch says. “She was excited about the game and was in a good mood.”
“She looked beautiful,” he adds.
In addition to attending the family event, Bundchen spent time at the Boston Public Garden, posting on her Instagram Story a picture of two swans in the garden’s pond and writing “So good to be back.”
The environmental activist also posted video footage of the game and a photo with her kids at the stadium. All were wearing number 12 Brady Tampa Bay jerseys.
Gisele Bundchen/Instagram
Brady also posted video footage on Instagram of his playing days with the Patriots and wrote “Good to be back.”
At a post-game press conference, Brady said it was “emotional” being back in Massachusetts.
“[I] had a few emotional moments this week thinking about all the people that have really meant so much to me in my life that are a part of this community and I’m just very grateful for an amazing time here,” he said. “Like I said, my football journey took me somewhere else … I’m really enjoying that and [it’s] great to get a win.”
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Brady only needed 68 yards heading into Sunday’s game to pass the legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback’s record of 80,358 yards. Credit for that achievement needs to be shared, Brady said.
“I just think it’s an amazing statistic in that so many people can share in it with me. The quarterback doesn’t throw and catch. The quarterback can just throw,” he said. “So I hope that everybody who caught passes for me over the years just had a little smile on their face tonight just knowing that they contributed to … a very cool record.”
Bradyapparently met with his former coachBill Belichick while in town, with the pair chatting privately in the Buccaneers locker room after the game, ESPN reported.
source: people.com
