Tom Brady will make his widely-anticipated return to Foxboro on Sunday night when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the New England Patriots. Naturally, the 44-year-old quarterback isn't expecting a homecoming tribute -- it's just another business trip, no time to reminisce on his success with the franchise.
But there's no way that a rational, clear-headed Patriots fan doesn't take part in saluting and cheering on Brady once he takes the field at Gillette Stadium, according to former NFL pass rusher and current podcast host Chris Long.
"If you want to be technical, there will be somebody booing. But you can't," Long told the Tiki and Tierney show on Tuesday. "If they boo Brady, they've just got to pack it up and move the stadium elsewhere. You can't have football in Boston if you boo Tom Brady. I know the first thing somebody from Boston will say is, 'You can't tell me what to do,' sorry, buddy. That's the GOAT there.
"An entire generation of fandom, with that great franchise, you needed that guy to do it. So, I'd hope you wouldn't have booing en masse. I'm not telling Boston people what to do, because Lord knows they don't care what I think. But at the same time, I feel like as a fan, you keep the boos for the people you really hate. That guy put in a lot of effort there. I'd hope he gets cheered."
Brady won't be able to ignore the emotions. He won six Super Bowl titles with New England across two decades, and Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of his first career start, which took place at the old Foxboro Stadium. But the business trip mentality matters, considering that the Buccaneers were beaten by the Los Angeles Rams, 34-24, this past Sunday.
The Patriots won't be facing some lesser version of Brady -- he's completed 68.8-percent of his passes for 1,087 yards with 10 touchdowns and two picks through three games. He'll also have a chance to make history up in Foxboro, as he's 68 yards away from breaking the NFL's all-time passing yards record, held by future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees (80,358).
Tampa Bay (2-1) and New England (1-2) are scheduled to kick off at 8:25 ET on Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Bucs currently have an 83-percent chance to reach the playoffs and a 53-percent chance to win the NFC South.
The entire conversation between Long and Tiki and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.