As everyone likely knows by this point, Tom Brady did a lengthy sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey for her SuperSoul Sunday show.
The wide-ranging interview, which included Jim Gray listening off-camera for some reason, covered a lot of topics and provided soundbites most knowledgeable Patriots fans know by now (apparently Oprah is the last person on Earth to know Brady was drafted 199th and had a rough scouting report).
There were a couple of meaningful quotes, but the most intriguing was when Oprah asked, "Is there something going on with you and Belichick (she pronounced it Bill-ichick)?"
Brady's answered was ... cautious and, as is the norm for him, far from definitive.
"Um... (three-second pause from the end of the question) No, I mean I love ... I mean, I love him, you know?" Brady said. "I love that he's an incredible coach, mentor for me and he's pushed me in a lot of ways. And like everything, we don't agree on absolutely everything, but that's relationships."
Here's the video so you can see it for yourself:
Obvious questions/thoughts from this:
- Why the long, considered pause? Obviously, there's something there or else he just would have quickly refuted that anything was wrong.
- The word love ... Brady came off a little new-agey in this interview (a lot of talk about spirituality) so love appears to be a very big and oft-used word for him.
- Obviously, Belichick's drive and tough coaching has been a big part of Brady's success, so the answer isn't all that much of a surprise.
- Would have been nice if Oprah asked him why he's not practicing this offseason. Would seem to fit well with their family discussion.
- "I want to live a great, impactful, purposeful life, and I want to impact people from the lessons that I've learned, see if people can learn anything, and relate it in their life in some way.
- On being referred to as the greatest of all-time: "I don't like it at all. ... I don't feel that way. I'm not attached by that feeling. I don't care whether people think that or not. I want to be the best I can be. ... I still feel like I'm in it, I still feel like I'm doing it and there's more to be accomplished."
- This comment won't go over well with former players who have played more physically taxing positions than pocket quarterback: "Your body is your temple. For me, again, I don't want to be this professional athlete that finishes playing and I can't walk. I want to be able to play, I want to be able to ski, I want to be able to surf. I like to be active. That's what I enjoy."
- How long does the high of winning last? "If you win the Super Bowl, months. ... (And the lows?) It was a different year this year. In 2007, we had one of the greatest teams, I think, in the history of professional football. ... It was a month before I felt back to myself. It was a nightmare. You woke up the next morning and I said, 'It didn't happen. There's no way that happened.' This year, after the game, I saw my wife and I saw my three kids and my little girl and my son Benny were crying. I went over and they said, 'Daddy, we don't like the Eagles.' And I said, 'You know what? You don't always win. You try your best and do the best you can do.' I think with kids — you always want to win — but the sun's going to come up the next day. ... In some ways, this year was easier for me than it has been in the past. And it's not that I don't want to win the same, it's just there are other really important things. ... This year it was probably two or three weeks. ... You're down, just a little depressed."
- On his leadership style: "I try to be very positive. Once I develop a trust, I feel like I can be tough on them. But I can't be tough on them until I feel like I develop the relationship and the trust."
- On if it's true he "trains" away from the team: "No, I wouldn't say that. I do some different techniques than the rest of the team. The team, like most teams, is very systematic in their approach. What I learned, I guess, is different than some of the things that are systematic, but work for me. It's nothing that I don't talk about with my coach and owner: 'This is what I want to do, need to do to be the best I can be and hopefully you can support that.'" (Brady never said they do)
- On what deflategate taught him: "I think it taught me a lot of things. It taught me the people I can really count on, the people who really supported me. And it taught me a lot about life. Sometimes you do the best that you can do and it doesn't work out. There were a lot of frustrations and I tried to fight as hard as I could that I believed in.
- On why he stopped the court battle: "Just too much anxiety. I realized I couldn't win. And it was divided attention. And I was tired of that. I was tired of waking up and having a call with someone from the players' association. I just said, 'You know what? I'm just going to use this as an opportunity.' ... I had the month of September off for the first time in ... 21 years. 'I'm just going to take advantage of this.' The first thing we did was we, my wife, my kids ... we flew out to see my parents. And my mom was just starting treatment for cancer. And I said, 'We're going golfing, we're going to Pebble Beach.' And we went there. And my wife and I never went on a honeymoon so we said, 'We're going to Italy.' And I was like, 'That was the best month off I think I've ever had.' In some ways, it was a great experience.
- About the end of his career: I think about it more now than I used to. I think now I see that there's definitely an end coming, sooner rather than later. ... Play till, 43, 45? "As long as I’m loving the training and the preparation, I’m willing to make the commitment. But I think what I alluded to a lot in the docu-series is that there are other things happening in my life, too. I do have kids that I love, and I don’t want to be a dad that’s not there driving my kids to their games. My kids have brought a great perspective to my life. Because kids just want the attention. You better be there and be available to them or else they're going to look back on their life and they're going to go, 'Hey, dad didn't really care that much.'"