I must admit I have a range of emotions about Tom Brady.
First of all, let's face it, he's an amazing athlete. I don't think anyone doubts that.
Also, he appears to be a respectful citizen, good dad, and nice husband.
And, he's handsome, strong, agile, and attractive in many ways.
Tom Brady has a lot going for him.
On the other hand, from my own personal experience, I've always been a bit skeptical about football players. This skeptism was born out of the privilege that football players held in communities I belonged to throughout my life--they always seemed to get extra privilege, attention, and fanfare, sometimes leaving the rest of us in the dust. Once as a head resident assistant of my dorm in college, I couldn't get the football players to stop partying when I had to close up. It was me against a slew of big, partying guys. I got so angry that I pulled the spicket out of the keg with such energy that it bounded against my tooth and broke my tooth. They chuckled and moved along. I was left with a broken tooth. Another time in that same position, I had to deal with them throwing furniture out the fourth floor windows. That didn't endear me to football players. Yet, as a mom, I ended up with two football-playing and -loving sons. I saw another side of football then. They loved the games, camaraderie, and competition. And, yes they enjoyed some of that privilege football players enjoyed during my school years, and as a mom, I was happy about that too. So you see I have a mixed experience related to football in general.
And, as a teacher, my students mostly revered Brady. I used that reverence as well as Brady's steadfast commitment to his workouts, respect, family life, and overall discipline as a model for students' studies--it worked, when Brady was the example, the students heard me, tried harder, and gained greater success. I even used his example on the playground when the kids were playing sports, I'd say, "What would Brady do?" and they would generally respond by acting with good sportsmanship and teamwork. We brought the students to Gillette Stadium too for their workshops on teamwork and STEAM (science, tech, engineering, art, and math) problem solving. At Gillette, we toured the museum and watched a great film about the Patriots history. That too was inspirational building both team and commitment to hard work and success amongst students.
Then, Brady left the Patriots and New England. He broke a lot of hearts. For me, I could easily understand how his Brookline home and the New England environment may have been somewhat difficult for his family life, and as a long term veteran teacher in one school system, I too recently made a change and look forward to working somewhere else later on. To always be in the same place with the same people has some advantages, but change has some great advantages too. Just because almost everyone in New England revered Brady, doesn't mean he had to stay.
And politcally speaking, I really wished Brady came out against what I believe to be Trump terror. I wished he used his power to speak out against Trump's evident support for White supremacy, bigotry, racism, religious prejudice, disrespect, hate, and the support of violence over using peaceful, lawful ways to make change. Yet, Brady did support a number of local causes that promoted the common good, and didnt' spend a lot of time supporting the Trump team either.
So, in summary, how do I feel about Tom Brady? In all, I think he's done a good job being a superstar--for the most part, he's acted with strong family values, good discipline, respect, and humility. He remains a postive role model for so many. Like all of us, he's not perfect, and it must be difficult to be the superhuman that many see him to be. I wish him and all the players well during the Superbowl contest--may the best team win. Onward.