Tom Brady on football journey, life after the rings, lessons, being a dad & self growth | The Pivot

fellas it's a big day man we already had the Fanatics announcement so now people know we didn't went from the mixtape era right and now we about to drop a couple of commercial albums but we going to stay real but man think about the journey bro we've just come a long way bro do y'all think we supposed to be here look at this man look at these us three out here sitting on the in in the penthouse man I appreciate y'all boys listen if we going to keep going man it's about longevity Wellness Health I just did a 88 hour water fast and symbiotica with these packs here they got the molecular hydrent hydrogen tabs perfect for me molecular what look at me I'm a graduate now come on I have a sociology degree but no man I've been on the golden mind you know when you do what we did for a living man to have somebody like shahab and Dan sort of introduce you to symbiotica and have these easy packets for the road for us has been great and it's been a part of this journey bro y'all know I don't do all that working out I don't do all that eating good you know you know I mess off but man I appreciate symbiotica y'all know I don't do all that damn working out all that stuff man you know I don't do all what y'all do with the biking and all that but man I appreciate it and y'all always ask me how I stay so sexy and so cute I got my my super green hey he on the way up we got to go let's do it let's do it big time sir we got the we in the pin house fellas boy I feel like Eddie Murphy on Trading Places man I feel y' I feel it my legs oh you cross your legs yeah I'm cross my legs in this y'all know I'm cross my legs in this one oh cuz you feel bougie you feel bougie d i watch the roast again dog crazy like a ain't no way I can't do it why do that I only got one of them things he got seven I guess you just be secure in yourself got to jump it off though it's a roast hey it is speaking of jumping off I mean it's probably the right person to jump this off yes I mean shoot we were rude you were Fanatics I mean hell we got this guy on the show this like one Championship rang away from the white party I'm acting funny now no we not acting funny I'm acting funny now we just going to do what the pivot does yes sir fellas what up there he is yes sir man we will not roast you H enough hell know okay although I still feel those muscles in you right there I need to get on time I started my butt too big more but when I don't work out I'm like what happened I know right but you you still get at it no I still try to yeah I I mean I've always loved it thank God working out and trying to stay in shape so that's never been a prise just I can't ever build anything so his 40 better though than it was when he ran it I know that's it ain't that much better not much but it haven't slowed down that much I was never fast to start so I was like you look slow I'm like well I've always looked slow I always was slow how how does that work though like how do you get faster that's just credit to Alex just me and Alex yeah yeah I just every day he's out in Vegas now but there's someone that I still work with and I just this morning I was doing sprints wow just cuz I like it you know what I mean why it doesn't make sense I know I'm bro that's why feeling militant I'm feeling Got Me Up Mission got me up knowing me I got the key only Vision I can trust trust Limitless it I here to witness it my people feeling feeling get me up on the mission got me up know me I got the key on the vision I can trust trust [Music] well brother first off man thank you so much uh welcome to the pivot right I would I'm going introduce you even though I'm pretty sure the whole world knew you before the roast now even more people uh know you but seven time Champion five time Super Bowl MVP three time League MVP uh just legitimately one of the best to ever touch a football man we are honored to have you here it's a big day for us Fanatics announcement congratulations amazing for you guys you guys worked really hard and you got to start the big day with the best and that's just exactly what we did we partnered with Fanatics now and Michael Rubin and all that he's doing and they only do big things whether it's Mitchell less whether it's tops we're talking about their Collective sports betting to be a part of this company as it grows and grow with them being the first of many podcast that are going to come under this umbrella it's exciting and this is the way to start it yeah we just trying to be legendary man just like man we had some big guest fellas we had Kevin Hart we had the rock we had Shaq we had some big shows and now we got TB man I'm excited we have a gift for you I know a while back you posted about Dwight Clark and about being at the 1981 NFC Championship kind of complaining a little bit maybe like you may have did to a couple of my mom and dad I wasn't happy yeah so Fanatics and the pivot wanted to give you this is an actual seat no way from the from the game bro and it's by Dwight Clark before he passed unbelievable monana you know what I mean so you looked out for us bro Michael Ruben FS is amazing what a treat man is unbelievable that's 16 on there is dope too I wouldn't have called that play I didn't like that play very much for me but Joe could make it happen so that was unbelievable yeah thank you guys yeah no doubt but why are you so amazed you Tom Dam Brady do you understand who you are I think that I still see myself as that kid that loved football growing up and wanted to be you know out there on that field and I still can't believe a lot of things that have happened in my life it's very different than probably how we all grew up we always had dreams and hopes and Ambitions but it's like you put One Foot In Front Of Another and then finally you look back and you're like wow how did that happen cuz how you told me it would happen that way or To Be A Champion like I've been or to have all these crazy experiences believe me I still myself all the time and sometimes you got to accept that okay my life's different it's not the way that it was when I was 10 years old and I think a lot of us still want to go back to that when we were young and we didn't have as much responsibility and life was so fun and now we have all these big lives and big responsibilities and sometimes it feels a little overwhelming for all of us and believe me I'm like I have that sense too sometimes I'm doing way too much sometimes I feel like I'm failing in this area I'm failing in this area and always just trying to recalibrate you know where my ities are in 2017 you mentioned your father being your hero and uh what I love the most about sitting down with these people I admire is getting to know the human and with all that you've accomplished to be able to say that my hero doesn't wear pads or my hero didn't do this to be able to say that you grew up in the same household with someone you admire in that way for people who are trying to raise the next Tom Brady not just on the field but off the field talk a little bit about what your parents swed into you to help you be who you are yeah you know I just had two days with my mom and dad and my three sisters first time I'd say it was just the six of us together in a long time without spouses or grandkids and things like that and it was just it it felt like we were back in the house growing up and we were just all sitting there is as we always did as a family and it was so fun and sweet and we're so comfortable with one another and I just look at my parents and I'm so grateful for the foundation you know that we all still want to be together and that we'd all still love each other we're so invested in each other's lives and care about what's going on not what everyone may see or think it might be but really what's really going on in your life so my parents instilled like a family value in US and I just remember you know why my dad was my here I just always remember like I was never as you guys know like the most athletic kid I wasn't that way in high school I wasn't that way in col College I wasn't that way in the pros but I I did have a determination and I think he he was hardworking man would show up every day at home and then when he'd get home in the afternoon after work you know I was always there and he'd be like come on let's go up to the baseball park I'm going to hit you ground balls and me I was like a Labrador Retriever yeah I mean I could do that literally all night right and there was never one day where he came home was like you know I'm too tired you know like my priorities as a kid my parents made them their prior prorities whatever I was interested in and I think the only advice I could give for parents and so many amazing parents do this is whatever is most important to the kids that's what that's what you should be that's your priority you I feel like when when you have the responsibility your children whatever they want to do we got to empower them to go out there and be that and then not discourage or or or you know one thing my parents also did they never thought like Mom Dad I want to go to college and play football it was never like really that's going to be really hard let's go to you know some smaller school where it might be easier for you it was always like whatever I wanted to do they were there to support it and I think like the it's all long odds for all of us to get to this point to play in the NFL for you guys to have the success you had it wasn't because your parents are like wow you shouldn't do that now sometimes maybe that is but that wasn't my experience my experience my parents were like go for it and they were all in right behind me TB it's um mental health M and when we see Tom Brady everyone sees Tom Brady yeah I want to ask how is Tom Edward Patrick Brady Jr how was that kid how how how was the kid from San Mato yeah I I'm always um I would say I'm just doing my best to check in with myself as often as possible with my physical health my mental health my emotional health it's something that I'm working on every year I think I start something a little bit different I think this last year I I uh I wanted to kind of rebuild my body cuz it got you know I lost lost a lot of weight um in my last season it was challenging and and I really was like all right I'm really focused on rebuilding that and I think next like this year is like a lot of work stuff I think next year I'm like okay I'm really going to settle into like a better more sustainable Rhythm to life uh between you know like again all our responsibilities when's it too much when's it not enough and I think we're always like man I want to be you know you're juggling all these balls in the air certainly for former athletes we never know how it's going to go when we retire it's always like man prepare for what's going to happen at the end of The Journey so it's like all right let me start figuring it out and you don't know which balls are going to land yeah and then finally one lands and you're like oh [ __ ] that was a good one I really wanted that one and then sometimes you kind one lands and you're like okay well maybe I'll do it I don't really it's probably not my favorite thing but I'll do it and then something else comes and you're like I'd rather be doing this and I think I've been so fortunate to have different opportunities but I didn't know what any of those would be so it's like I'm taking this broadcasting job and I've and and like I'm really excited about that it's really a good challenge it's a way to still obviously love what we've loved for so long but also like Express exactly what you guys are doing here a different parts of you to express through your words and not through this physical part we we made our living being physical beings yeah behind the scenes we were communicative we were teammates we it was very mental it was very emotional but now we have to actually use our voice that's a different skill set and you know it wasn't non-verbal communication it's very verbal communication so something like being a broadcaster on Fox I'm really looking forward to that among you know some other cool things that I'm that I've been really fortunate to be able to be a part of when we played against each other yeah and you woro my ass out a couple times but you did mine too so I got a picture on my wall of me and Jason Taylor high low you which would have been a penalty right now but back then it was good I got it on the wall right in my in my playroom but are were you like we thought we used to joke about you being plugged in at night cuz you never like you were just you said exactly what everybody's going to say you were always in shape you played every game yeah but now it's off the field Tom Brady were you ever are we ever worried about like showing your true personality because I saw it kind of in Temple we had Byron leage down there and we we started seeing more of you know yeah Tom Brady and then we started seeing more oh and every they call you TB he just said y'all were teammates and seeing that were you did you what was the transition of being that kid coming from Michigan yeah and getting in the league and trying to be successful and then being successful and then really showing the world who you were and I think in the roast that's when I pointed what's the uh Leonardo DiCaprio meme yeah when you went to snapping I was like I I wanted this guy I want to talk to this guy was it any any I won't say fear but it was any trepidation and and showing the world who you really are I I think I've always shown the world parts of me and and I think there's other parts which I didn't really feel like was the right place to express it too because even when I went to Michigan it was a very team focused program it was like all about the team Bo sh like you say the team the team the team then I go from that program for five years right to the Patriots and coach bich was the team the team the team and that was 28 years where it really wasn't my voice it was the team's voice and I felt like as a leader of the team well this is how we should do it and a lot of ways I like like that cuz it does we I thought we always did a good job of doing our best to keep the distractions at a minimum you know when when you have different factions within a team I I never what positive or negative I don't ever think like that's the clearest path to success the team is it's very challenging to go beat the Steelers to beat the dolphins not Jacksonville isn't I'm just kidding I'm just kidding I'm just kidding you know I love you I know but you sound like these guys we were teammate I loved believe me I loved playing with you every single time you were there Freddy just came from a roast he's still on fire but no I guess um let me just say this real quick then 2017 uh AFC Championship game and the Jags fans probably love this I'll take opportunity miles Jack was he down is the oh knee on the in on the uh oh no I don't think he was down oh God I don't think we were catching him either I ran over I sure as hell wasn't going to tackle him thank you Jaguars Nation there you go from know from the man it's not your fault it's the ref's fault I know they're trying to get it right but we're letting the world see who you really are like it was wild to me for all of us is just finding your voice again like again who's the young kid in all of us that really just wants to be one of the guys like when we're growing up we just want to fit in we want to be a part of a group you know and we did and I was and I did that and I and I still am I'm still part of different groups at different times certainly I think the group that I'm most want to be a part of is my kids you know like it's it's us and and and I think in general our family so you know a lot of it is just what am I responsible for what are my responsibilities and really what are my values and and do my priorities and do my actions reflect really what my priorities and what my values are so professional part of my life very important my personal part of my life with my children very important I don't want to let too many things get in the way of that so I'd say now going forward I feel like because some of those balls have landed I can be more selective with my time to make sure that talk about mental health Freddy T like okay this is really I feel like I'm overwhelmed I feel like I'm over tired I'm irritable you know not sleeping there's a lot of ways that it takes different tolls on us so how can we always just check in with oursel to make sure that we're living a life that we want to live and we could be a good example for the for the kids but also for the Next Generation people who want to be sitting in these chairs how do we help other people get to what they their dreams and goals are in life and what are all the things that I've learned in my life and the people that I've been around very fortunately that have instilled in me things that I can pass on that other people can value too you uh you know you mentioned checking in on yourself uh let's go to Patriots one right Patriots 1.0 yeah because it was like different phases of who you guys were you reto teams won championships with different teams broke records with different teams you've said publicly before after the back to backs you were sort of relieved the first you said the first time I think it was 03 you were excited you were ready to go do it again and then you wi it in no4 and it was almost a a relief that okay we did it we want it but you had to reset because people think that when you're succeeding and you're getting deep in the playoffs they don't talk about the toll it takes on you mentally emotionally and physically even when you win it sure what was the mindset behind trying to reset after such a hot start to your career yeah and I think the the point is I think and earlier we talked about like what my parents provided which was a foundation that win or lose I can find my way through my life you know in the best possible way or that gave me the best opportunity to succeed sometimes success is just as challenging as failure failure is challenging because you don't get what you want and sometimes that kind of chips away at our self-esteem and our self-confidence you may have self-confidence some areas when you win or let's say you win a championship but now comes all this other stuff you get invited to this place you get invited here oh my God I don't want to turn that now people know that you have money or you have contributions can you do this can you do this can you do this now you feel like you have a responsibility cuz people asked and then now you know so much I think the early part of my career was trying to fulfill other people's new expectations of me and me still being the 14-year-old boy that wanted to fit in and I was like I just want to be like I just want to go to the to the field and like play and now there was all these other things to choose from some were actually really fun to be a part of go to the spbs the first time get invited to the White House you get invited to different parties and you're like man I should try that out because everyone seems like it' be a lot of fun next thing you know you're overwhelmed because you didn't sleep you didn't eat right you're partying and I'm like God what I don't I don't really like the way I'm feeling you know how do I get back to the way that I want to be so that I can feel the way that I want to feel so I think we're all challenged with that all the time I don't think you're out of the out of the woods in your teenage years or in your mid 20s or mid-30s like every year we go by this is my first year as a 46 year old man in May this isn't my fifth time through it I don't always know how to act I don't always have the right answers for every place that I'm in or the right Behavior so a lot of times something happens you're like man I really like that but there was these things that I would probably change that I would do differently so I'm always trying to reflect back what would I have done a little differently had I did it all over again and that to me is like being your your own self-critic that's the person you look at in the mirror every day to go did I live up to my own expectations or where am I falling short and then why am I falling short of my own expectations so a lot of it is you know for ourselves as long as you know I think last year I put this big uh poster up in my in my uh in my bathroom is the man in the glass you know is really that's the person at the end of the day that you're most accountable to fellas we've had a couple of Big Time number 20s on this show we had B do we had Ed read and I mean everybody's going to go to a guy like bar Sanders when we talk about the number 20 speaking of that fanatic sports book just went live in New Jersey and now that's 20 States for The Fanatic sports book and to commemorate that they're going to give away $5 million in customer bonuses and they have some special offers throughout the NBA Playoffs what I love the most about it is you got 20 days to do this you got 20 days to get a part of the $5 million in bonuses all you got to do is download the app it's simple download the app and the NBA they got some specials I know you talking about football dudes I got to throw my boy Ray allity there I got to throw my boy hitting from the Honda Arc in there Ray Allen that's my 20 but fanatic Sportsbook app you got to go get it 20 States 95% of the market y'all got to go download that also they got $5 million in customer bonuses that includes two surge days on the biggest sporting events remember grab your mobile devices and download the Fanatics Sportsbook app it's now live in 20 States $5 million in customer bonuses two surge days on the biggest sporting events and for you NBA fans we got something special coming for you as well I got to ask some Tom you you you you jumped you jumped on me you said partying I didn't think your ass parted you I thought tb12 I heard stories that you haven't eaten a strawberry in 22 years I know You' heard the stories you know what I'm saying I know you heard those sto the TV2 the extremes of it no St of how you really treated your body are they extreme stories or did you really lock into that [ __ ] because you can kiss my ass bro I'm EA me a chicken wing I'mma drink a beer I would too you you know okay you would yeah of course yeah I mean I think so much of that got blown out of proportion cuz like everything they want to make it to the extreme and I would say when I started in 2000 I was like everyone else going 2001 2002 2003 well then I was like well my my elbow was K killing me how do I start getting my elbow to feel better okay I got to get more muscle work on it okay great now why not feel good after I traveled and I drank alcohol well I got super dehydrated okay how do I improve that all right how do I get to be more fit okay I got to change my diet a little bit so it wasn't like it all happened like I was some robot like this was 23 years that I had to refine all these things and I think over time like all of us I would say in our playing career hopefully we got better as we went because you ran some play you didn't like them now you ran other plays you took good footwork you learned how to catch the ball you learned how to read quarterback better you're better in your sixth seventh eth ninth year than you were in your first or second year so to me it was like off the field because I had this goal of playing and I really led to play the game how can I sustain my body over a period of time so that I can keep playing and that had just to be decisions and choices that I was making ultimately those choices led to different behaviors when I saw those behaviors pay off I made more money I made more money in the last 10 years of my career like a ton of money and I try to express that to all the young players that's just not about playing if you're playing because you want to make it a career and you want to make money you're going to make money if you play well well if you play well for a long time you're going to make a lot of money yeah so like the last 10 years of my career even though I never I would say went for the most money in my contract I still ended up making way more money than I ever thought just cuz I played for as long as I did yeah I was just telling the guys the other day man uh it's about longevity Wellness Health even in your postc career you got to make those sacrifices and for me I'm all over symbiotica I think it's a great product it does me amazing and that's my go-to Freddy man the vitamin C super green bro I take them all the day you know I have the best diet but I take them every single day we all know if you're if you're not getting better you're getting worse getting worse yeah Tom you uh you gave the forward in uh Greg Harden's book yeah uh stay sane in a insane world yeah and a quote stood out uh I think you said uh when the when the student is ready the teacher will appear yeah how do you apply that in retirement in your life right now in that transition how do you apply that that that quote I think every now that I've been kind of removed from football for I don't know a year and a half it's it's quite a bit different than the life of playing of being an athlete and the regimen and the the things I'd be thinking about sometimes I feel like I'm a little bit in a washing machine right now not quite sure where you're going what the schedule looks like you know the the the creature of habit yeah structure and that's good the structure the habits all those are really I would say positive for all of us at different times certainly when you don't have that you bounce around you're like a pingpong ball too so for me it's like again now I think we have to be our own teacher in a way like the teacher will appear when you recognize within yourself hey I really don't like the way that this is I don't like the way that this is going you know and I think I recognize some of those things like okay that wasn't my best self I didn't show up really who I was in that moment or who I want to be or would my dad be proud of that would my mom be proud of that are my kids going to be proud of that and I wouldn't say I make all the right decisions all the time either you know so there's plenty of things I mess up there's plenty of mistakes that I make that I go okay I try it actually stupid decision why don't I change that and then you try to try to go forward that way and again it's none of us are success is never linear we do go too far to the right oh [ __ ] go too far to the left left okay back too far to the right and you bounce around it feels good when you're in the middle I wish we could all stay there all the time but I think the challenge to life is that there's a lot of circumstances that happen in our life that challenge us who we really are where our Center is I have I would say my I'm really not in my center right now I'm really not I'm I'm sometimes On The Fringe going what the hell I had never thought anything like that right you know and like how can I get back to where I can be centered come from a good place where I'm making a really great decision and it's nice to have I think the the real great positive thing for me in my life I have a lot of people that I feel like tell me the truth and can be really honest with me when I'm when I do [ __ ] up yeah it's important and they're like no man you're fued up like you got to change that okay I listen to that so I think we should all be receptive to the people in our life that we value their response not every person who's going to hate on you about something but if you really value those people in your life and you value the people that do have a thing to say that you agree with and it's a meaningful observation or critique like I think we do need to embrace I I had a an hour and 30 minute conversation this morning with one of my friends that I was like open my eyes to a lot of things and I needed to hear that we had uh JJ reck on the show and we asked him about pivots and he spoke about life being linear but operating in the gray learning to accept that and then ultimately what you said at the beginning of that being able to face that that man in the mirror yeah and have those those convers those tough conversations and I think that's that's kind of what I had to do when I retired because that routine wasn't always there again people would pull you left and right favors all sorts of stuff but I had to find a way back to the middle and and and find something that I fell in love with which is this like I love doing this and I'm loving this opportunity to sit down and chop it up with you yeah same here same here I feel like I've always had this think about naturally as a quarterback probably a lot like a safety too like I was in control I wanted to make sure we were in the right formation we were running the right play We're lined up we were going on my Cadence I was going to throw the ball where I wanted to I had so many things that were in my control I loved flying the plane being the operator think what you realize in life is you're not in control that much and like what do I need to do more in my life I need to be better with less control and I got to be better operating in that gray area I can't be so anxious when things aren't going exactly things aren't going exactly the way that I want I don't sleep I don't eat I don't work out I get angry when I'm not in complete control and like think about it all this hardwired for all these years like coach I want to run these PLS when I was a senior in college I went in before the Ohio State game and I was like must have been 6:30 a.m. on the on the Thursday before the game and I walk into the coaching office they're in a staff meeting and I'm like coach I want this these are the plays I want to run I like this this is and he's like go to bed you know and I look at myself back then and I was like what was going on with me like you know it was so much of like I wanted it to go so well that I felt like if I try to control everything then it would go well but the reality is that's not life what goes well is really what's inside of you I need work on that so I had so many years of like and you think about it you do have some control and look there's a success you have so now I fall back and I look and I okay the more I can control the more I can succeed but am I really succeeding if other parts of my life if I'm so worked up and so out of balance so I think a lot of these things I'm trying to check in with like myself and as I go forward in life I'm not going to have that total control CU it it's not really there anyway you know you're not really in control you are in control of what's inside you and that's what I you know am certainly trying to get better at with that mentality can you enjoy success because you just said something like when you have success now it's okay that's what it takes and you just kind of do more of that do you did you enjoy all the damn success you have absolutely AB I never took any of the um I wouldn't say I took the success for granted maybe I took some of the wins for granted like in the playing career um I mean the reason why I fell in love with football was what you gave me earlier in the show like it was never to be a champion I love just throwing the football I still when I throw the football and I see that ball spiral out of my hands I'm like love that love that I'll do I'll do you guys want to go to the beach let's go to football I'll have it hell of a time we would run we would laugh we could probably play for three hours out there I would love it like I loved it in fact when I got older I actually liked the practices more than the games because I felt like I had such high expectation in the game like if I went out and threw two interceptions oh Tom Brady threw two interceptions you're Tom you're supposed to be perfect out there you can't [ __ ] up in the game but in practice no one was watching man okay I could have a little more fun I could be a little more lighter it's even when I look at myself later in my career my I had this face it was a scowl all the time and it was me just being super self-critical CU I felt like I had this expectation for myself that if I didn't go for 303 touchdowns then I let myself down and I let the team down so practices actually were enjoyable games were like fun absolutely fun because the energy and excitement was there but then at the end it was like it could only really go one way you know we won we expected us to win when we lost oh was huge upset right probably tough and I'd rather have that than yeah you know try to be surprised that you actually won a game but what I would have change was okay this's part of me that I actually still love like when I see these young players I see like Patrick you know out there at quarterback running around laughing having fun I'm like I used to be like that what the hell happened to me you know and I just got too serious and and you know but again I can only look back and think okay if I if I do it again which I'll never do it again I would be different but the reality is you can't so you just learn from it and go okay now next phase of Life enjoy it a little more it's always great to see these great players and these leaders be talked about about by their friends you know and I always say too like all my friends weren't my teammates all my teammates weren't my friends you know you're in the locker room with people who have one goal but I remember watching the last dance with Michael Jordan and people talking about who he was at practice the way he challenged people uh the edgers you you mentioned them on man in the arena you know the vels the bruskies they talked about like giving it to you at practice yeah how much fun was that to be on a team with great players that had great success but also great competitors and go back and forth with those dudes to sharpen your sword I I loved it I loved it I loved I loved all those guys that I played with that challenged me every single day Rodney Harrison oh my God talking [ __ ] to me TI law intercepting me wagging the ball in my face it just that's what I that was the drive you know I loved the competition I loveed the practice I love and then on game days I love I you know we could never taunt in the game or you know that wasn't the right thing to do against I would never taunt you if I didn't know you now i' taunt you if I did know you right you know I'd be talking [ __ ] in practice because it was fun CU those are your guys you know when I and I always felt like when I was really comfortable with people I love when people mess with me it's like my favorite thing in the world cuz I know they're comfortable with me and when they're comfortable with me now I know I can let my guard down okay now I can have fun with you I don't want to have to come here be like oh my God so great to see you oh my God is amazing I want you guys to [ __ ] with me so that now I'm like all right now we're good like you're my we're good we can have fun and laugh and joke and I think that's like what I always had with my teammates we had there was nothing better than the locker room but really the reflection of locker room was really just you got to be that kid again you got to be yourself without judgment and people would [ __ ] and say things that weren't true and exaggerate things and everyone laughed the only thing you were trying to do with your friends was was crack a smile you know you say stuff in the locker room just to get laughs just to get jokes and there was such a freedom and comfort that inside those walls we were totally protected and insul it was like I had my son go to uh he goes to camp in the summer and when I drop him off I'm like oh my God is he gonna make it and like 3 weeks later he comes back he's at the time of his life why because he just got to be a he just got to be boy yep and like that's all we always wanted in the locker room we just wanted to be a boy we want to be like everybody else I'm have to make a confession bro so I didn't truly get to meet you until my last year when I was in Washington and we met at training camp yeah and then we talked before the preseason game neither of us play so we talked for like 30 minutes yeah from the locker room and I know I shouldn't have been using my phone but I was like I'm not going to play in the preseason I called Troy I said bro I feel like a traiter and he was like what's up I was like I really freaking like Tom Brady I was like he's freaking awesome and in having that conversation it lets you know that you don't get to know these people but I'm might have to call bull crap on you TB I wanted to say all those good things before I started called you a liar so me and Troyer hurt in ' 07 you guys are scoring a million point points a game Anthony Smith who is my replacement yeah he didn't really guarantee that we were going to win or the Steeler was going to win but he got kind of coaxed into it right I think went out hung up like 50 you throw the touchdown to Jabar gathy you run all the way down the field and Anthony was swo too I know big boy he was and you got in his face and I was like Tom Brady got some [ __ ] to him yeah you know you mentioned using anything to get a chip man stuff like that how much did you actually use that for motivation like not only for yourself but for team I liked so to me that was my anger was a great way way for me to approach the playing field like I could not look at you on the field I like Ryan off the field when you take your stuff off great Ryan the Steeler like you wanted to kill me and I wanted to kill you that's just the way it was not literally but just I wanted to make sure that we did our job and and I think it was when you're out there on the field that's that was a gladiator persona for all of us you know and when it when I walked off the field I didn't have to be that person anymore which was good cuz I didn't want to be that person in my everyday life so I just feel like anger was the one the one thing I could always tap into that would get me way more focused and even when I would get mad at my teammates or myself or it was always about how do I get my focus and concentration better and make a faster read a better throw more locked in on a coverage man if I could get myself all riled up oh man I'm going to be focused cuz the last thing I want to do is just go out there and [ __ ] around like oh yeah and then throw the ball and see get one of my receivers blown up so it was like I I I had to do that and if if if I got mad at Freddy oh you did no I didn't yes you did Brother not often no no no not not not that he was out there I was I've been waiting to tell this story I believe it was uh maybe my second year there 2010 preseason yeah third game versus Washington uh it was a meeting that I didn't go to Kevin Went to but Kevin didn't play in the preseason game so I had to have I was in the F position I had the uh versus cover two Tampa Tampa two I had the inside hook but I had to play off the mic yeah and you wanted me to run a skinny out but I hooked it in he chew me the [ __ ] out in pre-season but but but being the great teammate that you are you came and apologized because you recognize or Billy o said Freddy wasn't in that meeting so he should have known that adjustment and you came and apologize so but yeah you always fiery and I would tell people all the time you practice just like you for the game like the game and practice there they're The Identical you can tell the difference in your approach and that's why you became the type of player that you were I think for for me football was super serious like there was a professional aspect that I wanted to bring that it wasn't like run around and [ __ ] around and cuz then I just didn't think we were giving ourselves the best chance to win too like why are we working so hard if we just want to come out run around and goof off and lose games like and and a lot again I learned that through college I learned it through the early part of my pro career through Willie McGinest through Teddy brusi through VES through Seymour you know through through Troy Brown like David Patton I mean the Antoine Smith like man we can't mess around the margin of air is too thin and then as we got better and more people were taking shots I felt like we had to actually like hunker down even more like we had to lock in and man everyone's after us now like a lot what the Chiefs are facing now at first you win oh it's amazing what an underdog blah blah blah second time man they're pretty good un third time they're like can somebody else win you know and it and like all you're doing is like trying to job do your job and like I love the fact that we want it but then everyone's now now everyone wants to take you down okay and I'd rather be in that position but you really better lock in even more cuz I was that young hungry kid that wanted to take down the top guy at one point point I was I was the kid that was overlooked in high school overlooked in college overlooked in the draft so I always had that mentality and still do today well believe me there's a kid out there that's coming for me so like the only way for me to stay ahead is to keep going rather than to go okay well oh man I made it great I made it now what well you're you whatever happened last year happened last year whatever's going to happen this year is going to be this year how do I put myself in this position this year to still have the same level of success and if I do that that'll give us a great chance and I was able to carry that discipline you know through whether it was in the offseason like with how I was eating how I was training I changed you know I got married and kids and there was no time to party anymore you know it was just like okay had some work that I had to do and I just got much more focused and I like the results of a lot of those things those a lot of things I'm still tinkering with trying to figure out how to be better in different areas yeah but then you be you honestly and this my words but when you're talking about like where the Chiefs are now and where you were yeah when you was coming down om's hitting I ass for 450 and all that stuff you become the villain yeah so you're you're that young kid grinding going through working through college getting drafted late yeah playing behind Drew and then couple years later the entire football world is chasing you yeah what does that do to you because I remember I didn't like you yeah because I I didn't know you as a person but I just knew if you go and play the Patriots up there when they come to Miami this dude used to sit back there with no emotion and just send people in MO in in motion and smile at him first down look over to the sideline you know what I'm saying like you became a villain in my mind how did how did it change you when you were being chased you were the rabbit when you were the Greyhound for years and then you became the rabbit for what 15 years you were the guy everybody was chasing 15 20 two of them well he played for 22 but the first the first couple years they weren't chasing him yeah I agree and then I was I was looking at him like you raggedy [ __ ] but how did that like you know what I'm saying like then you were the rabbit at at one point in your career that change when did you know that change happened and how did it change you I think it was after probably the the the third Super Bowl we won then it was like it was no more there was nobody that was hoping we'd ever win another game and then 07 came and we went undefeated which I thought we were so talented it was unbelievable it was the most fun I've ever had playing football and the fact that we can have probably the most fun we have playing football and have the most success and then not win man that's like a you know I remember that was that was you know that that was still a tough loss but you know I give the other team a lot of credit they they beat us so like even when I see strayan rubs in or Eli and they joke I'm like man respect like good for you like you I'm happy when other people win you know what I hate I hate haters I really that bothers me it's like everyone's just trying to win when you win give them the respect they deserve man like at some point just they did it you beat me I would always say hey man congratulations you won if I saw you now if I didn't see you I you know but at the same time like there were plenty of times where you beat us where I was like we just [ __ ] didn't get the job done I wasn't going to go oh the ref this or let crowd this or you know we should have got that call or that no we just we couldn't get couldn't handle business and I always did a appreciate that about the Patriots we never made excuses and I really give Coach belich a lot of credit he would never let anyone off the hook he the refs made a bad call he didn't care someone made a great he didn't care he just just give them their credit and I and I always want to still do that now even as I'm going into broadcast man people are trying to succeed in their life why the would you get in people's way of that let them enjoy it they deserve it Integrity that you have you know just watching from afar and talking to people Sammy mois and just so many people that went back and forth from the dolphin Patriots the respect that people have and the way you hold yourself I think it was 15 years ago going on that I stole something from you and I wanted to give it back oh look at you did I throw you something oh no let's see December 6 2009 I remember that day in a game ball first career intersection is it's is deflated I figured that was the joke let me punt this thing off this I'm taking this on with me too that is pretty sick now your second time you caught a ball from me I know right I appreciate you brother yes sir you mentioned uh not you know giving people their credit yeah you know and the Giants and Eli and straand and all of those things um when people look at your career they do talk about the accolades the accomplishments the successes because there are so many you come off of at that time the greatest quarterback year ever the greatest regular season we'd ever seen you fall a little short and then you're hurt yeah you know and it's okay I'm recovering from injury uh I think Jack came along yeah around that time as well in a new relationship like you have all of these things going on man what was like that part of your life like because that was sort of the beginning to seeing this Tom Brady the Tom Brady that had so many entities and so many things to deal with I think all of our lives change when we become parents because we grow up and there's different responsibilities instead of after the game you go out you go home and you put your kids to bed you know after the game it's not like hey what do I want to do it's like did the kids have fun are they good okay let's get let's get home and and and and get on with our day cuz even I remember we won the Super Bowl in 2014 against Seattle flew home with my family it was the day after the game get home flood in my house like water just pouring on the roof and and and I'm like what you know like a day ago we're on top of the world and now it's like real life boom and you just realize every day and I think the perspective I have now is the sun comes up the next day you know and it's going to like whether you win that Super Bowl whether you lose that Super Bowl whether you win the game lose the game that sun's coming up so and when you got kids they need to be tended to and I think that's what we allude to as we go how do you keep the discipline over a period of time what changed with my diet my nin all the TV2 stuff you know that people exaggerate it was just like I had to get better and more efficient if I still wanted to play then I had to do things better and more efficient so the responsibilities changed and I felt like I just had to adjust and adapt with those responsibilities and certainly when Jack was born like the greatest gift in my life you know was him coming into my life and forcing me to look at parts of myself that again that I needed to grow up you know I was not growing up and I grew up more but still a lot different than when I had my second child than my third child child and then other parts that of my life and and all these moments like that happen they all change us they change your perspective change your attitude you know every time you mess something up hopefully you learn from it and then that mistake becomes an area for growth you know and I feel like that's the stage I'm in now like what are all the stakes that I the mistakes I've made the first 46 years of my life and hopefully if I can keep going for another 46 how do I want to apply those going forward so that I can live the life I want to lead sat with Caleb Williams before the draft and at this point he obviously knew he'd be going to Chicago at least felt that he would and he said now that I'm going to a place that I plan on being for 20 years right things people didn't say before you yeah that they wanted to play football 20 years you made that seem possible um you did it so well at such a high level for so long and he said and now that I want to chase one guy right it's it's to the point now that people aren't thinking about their peers yeah when they play your position they're thinking about you Patrick Mahomes and I wish we could allow people to win individually Patrick Mahomes will always have to answer questions about can you catch Tom Brady yeah right if you're Brock py and you're Mr Irrelevant you got drafted late you've taken your team to a Super Bowl Tom Brady when you look at some of these young quarterbacks the way CJ straw was speaking to he's like I have a question for you yeah and the way they sort of feel about you what are some of the guys you actually enjoy watching play because of the way they approach the game I mean CJ is a good example like I really appreciated where he came from and all the expectations that he had and then what he's gone and put together last year with a lot of humility and I could see like when I watch quarterbacks I the first thing I watch is are does he endear himself to his teammates what are the things that he's saying what are the things that he's doing to endear himself to his teammates so that he does feel like one of the guys if he wants to separate himself from the rest of the team it's not going to go you're not going to play 20 years just not because the only way you're going to play is is your teammates because there there's only so much you could do you can't there's so many things I sucked at but the only way that I could get to where I wanted to get to was to have the best teammates and the only way I could get the best teammates was if I was the best teammate yeah so you had to talk the right way hang the right way celebrate the right way lose the right way you know and I think that's what the bonding that's the gift in sports like there's nothing better than being a great teammate if someone said man you're an unbelievable teammate you'd be like thank you because they know you so intimately you can't fool people in a locker room you can't [ __ ] your way through a football season right maybe you can't for one year if you're a good actor but people really are going to know who you are if you show up early you put the time in they see you how you are when you win right after the game when you lose how you are the next day how you approach the week after everyone in the media is firing at you Brady you suck you did this you did this they're going to know who I am by the way that I approached the next week so I always felt like the best teammates were the ones that they they were with you no matter what you know and I was fortunate that was the best part about playing with Freddy T like I know what he's all about I'd go to war with him any day I love being out there on the field with them I I mean when he was out there man I you couldn't have him out there enough so I I wasn't I wish I could have been out there more I don't have any regrets but I look back I felt like Randy watching the roast a little bit like [ __ ] two years before I get there they go to Super Bowl two years after I leave I think you go like three within five years or something like that it was your fault no yeah I mean you bought that Jacksonville to New England that that's that but well on the theme of teammates locker room that whole deal watch watchingg the roast it reminded me of that you know we asked each other on the show we did um if we could be sit there and have have gotten roasted I said just remind me of the camaraderie locker room all that other stuff what did you what's your biggest takeaway from that like did you learn anything new about yourself or any of your just throughout the whole throughout the whole part of the roast of the roast I I you know like I said I I loved when the jokes were about me I thought they were so fun um I didn't like the way that affected my kids so it's the hardest part about like the Bittersweet aspect of when you do something that you think is one way and then all a sudden you realize I wouldn't do that again because of the way that affected actually the people that I care about the most in the world so like it's it makes you in some ways a better parent going through it because again you don't sometimes you're naive you don't know or you get a little like oh [ __ ] you know and like I said I I I when I signed up for that I I I love when when people were making fun of me and I and I always said like when I was going through all the deflate gate stuff in 2015 2016 I watched three things on TV I watch Premier League soccer I watch golf and I watch comedy shows cuz every time I turn on Sports I was like are you [ __ ] kidding me right so it it's like I just want to like laugh and I and so I wanted to do the the roast because I the guy Jeff Ross became someone that I knew and then I you know you just you don't see the full picture all the time so I think the it's a good like for me as a parent I'm going to be a better parent as I go forward because of it um and at the same time I'm happy everyone who was there had a lot of fun and I do think for me just outside of let's say that it always is good like if we're not laughing about things we're crying and I think we should have more fun like the guys like what do we love we love laughing in the locker room let's do more of that and love each other and come on man celebrate other people's success that to me gives everyone a lot of hope it doesn't hurt when they give the microphone to you last and your entire life is actually a brag you know what I'm saying like like just like legitimately just pointing out the facts of who you are is talking trash you know like lit they ass yeah you can just basically say like you can just read your accolades and be like yeah that's practially funny CU I have none of those I have none of those things and so I think like that is like that is you know truly just a a dope experience I do want to say this man you know and I said it on our show Friday it's like greatness right brings people together you know and there was so much said from the outside about your guys' Dynasty and what happened in your building departure all those things the two best things from the entire night for me were to see you grank and Coach bellich take a shot and then Robert Craft and coach bellich get an opportunity to do that like when you accomplish what you guys did man like I I only won one of them and I went to two but going back to Pittsburgh and seeing all those dudes and what we shared and what we accomplished I would never want anything to change who we could be to one another and so I thought man that part of what you did was that and I think you should be proud that your accomplishments could do that but also you you know and um you know man thank you for doing this uh thank you so really happy for you guys we appreciate that and believe me it's hard work all this is putting all this stuff together it seems like it's comes off so easy there's a huge commitment to make to everybody and certainly to get the guests and to prepare and to make it great so so happy for you guys now you made it you made it extremely extremely easy actually just just being dope the show started with a gift for TB but it's going to end with a gift for us from our dog Michael Ruben and Fanatics Freddy T what you said about them surprises man just like the fanatic sports book man we got some more surprises here my do CH this is going to be hanging up in the New York Fanatics office we want to get you this is Freddy T this should be in the Hall of Fame but until then we'll keep it in the Fanatics office in my hall of fame you know what I mean and we got the RC joint right here you know what I mean so I tell you what bro this is all right bro this hard man is y'all like y'all photos I love the black- on black Jersey hey by the way Guys these two photos came from the Super Bowl just thought out M are both celebrations I ain't even making a play this is nice app was cool man appreciate you I love that part about you the most though brother was year 13 getting I I I took a lot of that back to Jacksonville Absolut you know I try to tell these guys I I I have F I could have been better as a pro so I appreciate that those two years there taught me a lot yeah Tau me a lot about team and myself so I appreciate it man sure awesome thank youny thanks partner man I appreciate you still live down here yeah I D you stick those chicken wings I get on I get [Music] [Laughter] conr lucky I'm getting lucky I appreciate you bro how you doing it's awesome yes sir thanks guys thank you hold up liit it I here to witness it my people feeling feeling got me up on the mission got me up know me I got the key on Vision I can trust trust Limitless it I witness it feeling

Channel: The Pivot Podcast

Views: 1,002,801

Keywords: pivot, the pivot, the pivot podcast, football podcast, sports podcast, channing crowder, fred taylor, ryan clark, channing crowder podcast, fred taylor podcast, ryan clark podcast, nfl, football, super bowl, super bowl 2024, super bowl podcast, nfl 2024, espn, ryan clark espn, new heights, pardon my take, pat mcafee show, bussin with the boys, lets go tom brady, the herd with colin, around the nfl, nfl draft, nfl news, nfl highlights

Id: f7RdZNrO21k

Length: 56min 21sec (3381 seconds)

Published: Tue May 14 2024