BOSTON (WEEI.com) -- Tom Brady is sticking with his underdog narrative, even if it seemingly irritates everybody who lives outside of the I-495 corridor.
In his weekly interview Monday with “Mut & Callahan,” Brady said the whole football world has been against the New England Patriots in the lead-up to Super Bowl LIII.
“That’s the reality,” he said. “I think we’ve embraced that, we’ve dealt with it all year, going back to Week 2, Week 3. But we believe in ourselves. I think the adversity has made us tougher. There’s nothing easy about the football season. Just what we’ve dealt with certainly hasn’t been, ‘Just roll our helmets onto the field.’ We’ve had to grind and work every single day. That’s what this team has done all season. That’s what it will take this week. It’s a great opportunity for us. We can’t give anything less than our best.”
Two weeks ago, following the Patriots’ Divisional Round victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, Brady told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson, “Everyone thinks we suck.” The Patriots’ quarterback also appeared jubilant in the aftermath of New England’s upset win against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship last Sunday.
Tom Brady Sr. told the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian recently he’s never seen his son “more delighted” than after the Chiefs’ game. Brady backed up his father’s words.
“After that game, there was a lot of joy, because I feel like nobody expected us to get to that point, and nobody ever expected us to win that game,” he said. “That’s a lot like it used to feel, before all of the success. It brings back different feelings and emotions. I’m a very happy person, regardless of that. I feel like I try to be very positive and very optimistic. I always try to look at the bright side of things. I’ve got three kids who are healthy, I have so much support from my wife, my parents, everyone in my life, my friends. It’s just really been a great season. I’m really excited for this week. I’m really excited to get on the field and start practicing – really gain our confidence, try to ramp it up as we move towards Sunday.”
Even though Brady says this Super Bowl run feels like old times, he’s in a very different place than he was 17 years ago, when the Patriots took on the then-St. Lous Rams in Super Bowl 36. For starters, this will be Brady’s ninth Super Bowl. He says his perspective is much different this week than it was when he made his trip to New Orleans in February 2002. Seventeen years ago, Brady expended energy on the party circuit. That won’t be the case this time around.
“I went to this event on the Friday night before the game. It was a Super Bowl party,” Brady said. “That was pretty stupid. I got asked to do it, and said, ‘This will be great!’ I did it. I would never do anything like that again. I was definitely out at 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. on Friday night. This Friday night, I’ll probably be asleep by 8:30 p.m.”