Patriots fans already had plenty to remember and celebrate on February 1st, as it’s the seven year anniversary of the Malcolm Butler play that sealed the Pats winning Super Bowl 49. Now it will be remembered for a whole new way as well -- the day Tom Brady retired, officially...and how he did so.
At 9:39 a.m. Brady announced via social media he was finally calling it a career. And this came from Brady’s official Instagram and Twitter, so now we knew it was legit. And soon there after the tributes, which had poured in prematurely on Saturday following the Adam Schefter Twitter bomb, rolled in from teammates, local squads, celebs and more.
Some tributes rolled in with a sense of humor from former rivals and opponents who must be relieved.
But once Patriots media and fans had a chance to read and re-read the statement, or hear from their friends that Brady made no mention of the Patriots or Pats fans in the initial statement, well...hot takes, jokes and emotional reactions started flying...
I thought the same thing. My husband just texted me: pic.twitter.com/TR9lWlTRS1
— Leslie (@marathongirlie) February 1, 2022
Some tried to take a rational approach to Brady’s statement/omission...
Oh, and there were jokes and laughs, too. Good ones.
Once Brady thanked the Pats organization and fans, which followed an emotional note of gratitude from Patriots owner Robert Kraft, some sense of relief seemed to be felt in Pats Nation. Still, there are some unexpected feelings on what should have been a day of emotional outpouring, respect and gratitude to the GOAT.
Patriots Nation will always be grateful for what TB12 did for New England, however, the guy had 22 years to write his retirement speech and well, as we all know, you only get one shot and Tom f'ing blew his!
— Jeff (@TheJeffSullivan) February 1, 2022
We always knew the day Brady retired would be a memorable one. And it was, twice even! It’s just that the final official retirement was memorable for more reasons than we expected.
