Tom Brady Says With A Wink: 'I Found My Conviction'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Much was made this offseason about Tom Brady's closing comments to his Facebook docuseries, "Tom Vs. Time." Brady ended that six-episode series by sitting on his couch and saying, "It's a big commitment. I'm sitting here, laying here, three days after the year, getting my Achilles worked on, and my thumb. And you go, 'What are we doing this for?' You know. 'What are we doing this for? Who are we doing this for? Why are we doing this?' You've gotta have answers for those questions, and they have to be with a lot of conviction. You know, when you lose your conviction then you probably should be doing something else."
Those comments, combined with Brady's uncharacteristic decision to skip all voluntary offseason workouts and practice, have led to rampant speculation about Brady's wavering commitment to football. But in an interview with Religion of Sports, Brady gave a nod to those previous comments while explaining how committed he is to playing football in 2018.
"Getting out on the practice field with [teammates and coaches] and getting our timing right, tinkering with new ideas and plays, figuring out the chemistry with the new guys, going at it with the defense -- all of it -- is what drives me," Brady said. "I mean, I love it. I guess that you could say I found my conviction [winking emoji]. It's football season -- LET'S GO!!!!"
That answer came in response to a question about what Brady's favorite television show is at the moment.
"Football is my entertainment. There's nothing I love more, which is why I'm still playing," Brady said. "Knowing that my coaches, teammates, and I are aligned on our goals -- which is to get better every day and go deep into the season again -- is what excites me the most."
Brady was also asked which veteran players helped guide him through his first NFL training camp back in 2000. He named players like Drew Bledsoe, Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson, Willie McGinest, Ty Law, Troy Brown and Bruce Armstrong. He also used the question as an opportunity to detail his work relationship with head coach Bill Belichick.
"And Bill -- I mean, I've been lucky enough to play for the best coach in the history of the game," Brady said. "Obviously, our relationship has changed over the years, but even back then he was demanding and precise and expected a lot from all of his players. That was clear from the very start."
Religion of Sports is a media venture co-founded by Michael Strahan, Brady and Gotham Chopra, the latter two of whom teamed up to produce "Tom Vs. Time." So everything in this "exclusive interview" should be considered to be carefully constructed messages which Brady wants to get out to the public. After Saturday's meeting with the media ended in a fashion that Brady didn't seem to prefer, the timing of Monday's interview may not be coincidental.
