Sunday was an emotional night for Tom Brady in his return to New England, and his Buccaneers came away with a 19-17 win over the Patriots.
Knowing Brady, it would have seemed his favorite part of the night was getting a victory, but speaking on his Sirius XM Let's Go! podcast Monday he revealed the best part of the night and it wasn't that.
“If there’s one thing I take from [Sunday] night, I had some questions about what was my experience going to be like. I got to see some people after the game that I just love so much. The best part of the night was having the game over and seeing them," he said. "And understanding that no matter how we compete, my relationship with those people transcends wins and losses. And yeah we want to win, absolutely. I think the process of trying to win is what’s most important. Winning and losing is icing on the cake, and for the winner. What you have to do as an athlete is you have to put as much as you can into it.
"… The hugs, the handshakes, the congratulatory messages, all the different things that I heard really in the end to me is what continues to motivate me and inspire me.”
Brady also admitted facing a lot of his former teammates wasn't all that fun.
“Let me just say, it’s nothing I prefer to do," he said. "It’s not as enjoyable as some people would think. I look over and I think about Matt Slater out there, and I look at Kyle Van Noy, and Dont’a Hightower, and Devin McCourty, and I look at David Andrews, and Shaq Mason. Just some amazing people that I’ve gone to war with. The reality is, sports, sometimes you go different places and now you’re on the other side of it and on the other sideline. You want those guys to do so well because you know how important it is to them. You know how much it means to them."
Tampa Bay improved to 3-1 with the win.
