The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sure looked like a motivated bunch last Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium.
Tom Brady might have had something to do with it.
The Buccaneers not only dethroned the Chiefs as champions of the NFL, they thoroughly dismantled Patrick Mahomes and Co. Thanks to a stout defensive effort and a sharp offensive game plan, Tampa Bay faced little resistance in Super Bowl LV en route to its second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Not long after the Bucs claimed football's highest honor, it was reported Tom Brady gave a pregame speech prior to Super Bowl LV, one that was described as "the epic of epics." Leonard Fournette effectively confirmed that report Thursday during an appearance on ESPN's "First Take."
"He gave us a speech before the game about honor," Fournette said. "I ain't going to go into details about it, but it was deep, you know? I'd never felt that deep -- my feelings toward the word 'honor' until he put it in a sentence that made everybody open their eyes and realize that we were going to win this game."
A pregame speech wasn't the only way Brady instilled confidence in his team leading up to the final contest of the 2020 season. The future Hall of Famer quarterback also texted teammates, "We will win," every night throughout Super Bowl week. All told, it comes as no surprise Brady said, "I think we knew this was going to happen tonight, didn't we?" as he hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the seventh time in his remarkable career.
To the victor goes the spoils, and the Bucs certainly enjoyed themselves Wednesday when they held a championship boat parade in Tampa Bay. And judging by videos and photos that came out of the event, Brady might have enjoyed the festivities more than any other member of the Super Bowl LV champs.
