Tom Brady has long been motivated by proving people wrong.
Such was obvious during his 20 seasons in New England, where he led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles after being selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. And such was obvious last season in Tampa Bay, where he guided the Buccaneers to a championship in his first year with the organization.
Thus, it was unsurprising to hear Brady mention his doubters in an interview with Michael Strahan that aired Wednesday on "Good Morning America." The naysayers truly are Brady's driving force.
Shannon Sharpe evidently has a problem with this, however. Because while Brady has reached unprecedented heights, thanks largely to the inspiration the quarterback derives from those who question his greatness, he's not the first athlete to ever be doubted.
"The problem that I have with Tom Brady is that he tries to make every experience that he has unique to Tom: 'I'm the only guy that's ever been doubted.' What professional athlete, regardless of the sport, do you think hasn't been doubted," Sharpe said Wednesday on FS1's "Undisputed."
All in all, this feels like a weird argument to make. Sure, most professional athletes probably have been doubted at one point or another. But going from a fringe quarterback prospect to the greatest of all time is a path that involves more than just a handful of haters. Brady's rise from the 199th overall pick in 2000 to a seven-time Super Bowl champion is on a whole different level.
Yet Sharpe can't help but question the chip that seemingly still sits on Brady's shoulder, if only because others have shouldered their own chips throughout history.
"Tom thinks that he's the only one that's been doubted," Sharpe argued. "So he wants to copyright 'doubt.' Just like he wanted to be 'Tom Terrific.' He had forgotten that there was somebody 20 years before he was born who was named 'Tom Terrific.' He wants to make everything unique to him.
"But let me tell you something else, Tom Brady, there are a lot of people that eat avocados and eat avocado ice cream, too, and every place you go to is asking, 'Would you like avocado toast?' ... Every professional athlete has been doubted. Name a professional athlete that has not been doubted. Find me one. Find one that has never been doubted."
Maybe Sharpe is exactly the type of doubter Brady was talking about. After all, this isn't the first time Sharpe has had a "problem" with Brady.
