One of the most defining moments in Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady's career was when he led the New England Patriots to an unlikely comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51. Although the Patriots' odds for victory in the game were at one point slim to none, it seems Brady had an optimistic feeling about the situation.
Brady said during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM Radio that it was initially difficult to look at the silver lining of falling behind by such a wide margin in the Super Bowl:
“We were down 28-3 against Atlanta in Super Bowl 51. You can look at that situation and basically quit and say, you know, ‘[Expletive] it. We have no shot of winning,’ or you can say, ‘This is going to be an amazing comeback,'”
Brady added that the change in the Patriots' though process helped pay huge dividends.
“When we come back from this, this is going to be the defining moment in life, or a defining moment in a professional career. I think when you shift your mind and think that way, it becomes very empowering as opposed to very discouraging. So anytime we’re down in a game, I think, ‘Man, if we come back and win this game, we’re the hero,’ rather than, ‘Oh, [expletive], we’re screwed. We have no shot.'”
Brady's comments are indicative of the championship-level mentality that he had already cultivated heading into his team's matchup with the Falcons. The onus was now on him to share that wealth of knowledge and optimism with his teammates win order to help rally them through a tough situation.
Fortunately, Brady's words of encouragement did not fall on deaf ears, as the Patriots mounted the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history to secure the game's only overtime win. What could have been another disappointing loss on the big stage morphed into the most triumphant moment of many players' careers.
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