Tom Brady is the winningest player in NFL history, so he’s never had much of a relationship with failure.
But having lost eight games in the regular season for the first time is his career, the Bucs quarterback is learning how to wake up with disappointment.
One day after throwing two interceptions and losing a pair a fumbles in the second half of a 34-23 loss to the Bengals, Brady said his eyes opened at 3 a.m. Monday determined to turn things around.
“Rough day. Man, losing sucks,” Brady said Monday on his “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray. “That’s just the reality. There’s not a lot of explanation. Unfortunately, I’ve had to do too much of it this year, so I’m just learning from it and trying to be better. … You can’t win when the quarterback turns it over four times, and that’s on me. That’s how I feel.”
After winning seven Super Bowls, Brady said he is constantly asked why he continues to play at age 45 only to be frustrated by the Bucs’ 6-8 start. While he agrees that sports are about winning, he said there are things to be learned from not getting the desired results, too.
“What am I learning by putting a similar amount of energy as the last couple years and not winning?” he said. “What is that teaching me? Why should we just feel like we’re entitled to win all the time? We’re not. That’s not what life is about.
“And I think anyone who has gone through life and struggles at their job, or struggles in other aspects of life when you do put effort and energy into it, what do you learn from that? As opposed to why is that happening to you and for you?”
Brady said rough patches such as the one the Bucs are going through with losses in two straight games and three of the last four are “not the time to feel sorry for yourself.”
“ Get up, go into work and make it better and improve it and work harder and work more determined,” he said. “It’s so easy to throw in the towel. It’s so easy. That’s what most people want. It’s why you listen on TV, ‘Ah, it’s what you should’ve done.’ Yeah, if you’re a loser that’s what you should do. Just fold the tent when things don’t go the way you want. That’s not the way life is.”
While Brady knows nobody will have sympathy for him or the Bucs this season ― they still hold a one-game lead in the NFC South ― he said the experience has helped him relate to people who struggle in their daily jobs.
“I have a lot more empathy for guys who are putting in a lot more time and energy and things aren’t going their way,” he said. “That could be not just a football player. That’s anyone in their job. That could be the guy working at UPS. That could be the guy working in the military. That could be the guy working in the sales office.
“That could be Kylian Mbappé, who scored three goals in the World Cup (final). And you know what? The (French) team didn’t win. That’s life. You’re not entitled to winning. No one is guaranteed winning. No one is guaranteed tomorrow. The sun came up today, and you’re going to try and make this the best day you can.”
In addition to some personal issues he didn’t care to share, Brady added that he has been dealing with a right shoulder injury this season.
“Look, we all have physical, mental, emotional aspects to us, and all those things are challenged. Some years you are challenged a little more physically. You’ve got to overcome some adversities physically. You know, I took a big shot in my shoulder this year. Did it derail me? No, not at all, and I’ve dealt with it in the past.
“The emotional challenges of losing, those challenges, those are hard. It’s hard to show up every day to the media and say, ‘Why aren’t you getting it done? What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you guys not performing the way you are?’ I’ve never had to deal with that. And you know what? It’s not very fun.”
___
© 2022 Tampa Bay Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
