The Super Bowl 50 crowd at Levi’s Stadium didn’t exactly greet New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady with a warm welcome.
In fact, the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers fans in attendance booed the four-time Super Bowl champion when his name was called during Sunday’s pregame festivities. And that doesn’t even include the debate back in New England over whether or not the three-time Super Bowl MVP should travel to Santa Clara, California, at all.
But Brady did travel, and he did take part in the pregame ceremony, which honored previous Super Bowl MVPs. And regardless of how the fans reacted, Brady felt it was important to be there and represent the Patriots.
“It’s hard to really put into words,” Brady told Jim Gray on Westwood One Radio before the game, via WEEI.com. “I think more so it is a feeling that you get. It’s pretty tough to describe because I think for me I think about where I started and growing up 26 miles away from here in San Mateo and just realizing the journey of what it all means to get to this point.
“It’s really a celebration of the great teams that I have been apart of and for me I am really proud to represent all those teams that won these great championships. They are hard to win. Any number of guys could have won this award. Any number of years that we’ve won it. I stand up here representing all those other guys too.”
Brady also commented on what it would be like to watch Peyton Manning win another Super Bowl.
“I think there is always mixed emotions when you have people that you have competed with and competed against for so long,” Brady said. “In so many ways you have a mutual respect and admiration for one another. In other ways you’re very competitive about who wins and who loses.
“At the same time, if he wins I think it’s an incredible thing for him to be able to accomplish and I would be very happy for him as a friend. I would also be very jealous that he won a Super Bowl. There’s a lot of conflict internally. At the same time, you have to have appreciation because it’s so hard to do and I think I am a person that has always had great appreciation for the players who play the game and sacrifice so much, give up so much of their bodies and their families and their time commitments to play this sport that America loves.”
Manning did end up hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for perhaps the final time thanks to the Denver Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
And Brady was there to see it. But he was there to honor the four Super Bowl-winning teams he played for, and nothing was going to change that.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
