Even after winning his sixth Super Bowl, a feat no player at any position has ever accomplished before, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would rather be doubted than praised.
Michael Strahan interviewed Brady Tuesday for “Good Morning America” in Disney World, where Super Bowl MVPs and other champions often celebrate. Strahan told Brady he considers him the “G.O.A.T.” — 2010s shorthand for “greatest of all time.”
“I don’t even like it. It makes me cringe, it makes me cringe,” Brady replied. “I guess I take compliments worse than I take — I wish you would say, ’You’re trash, you’re too old, you’re too slow, you can’t get it done no more.’ And I’d say, ’Thank you very much, I’m gonna go prove you wrong.’ “
Tom Brady says he prefers to be criticized over being praised by everyone as the best QB of all-time.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 5, 2019
Getting criticized makes him want to prove people wrong. pic.twitter.com/hIXwEHFiRC
This declaration that praise “makes him cringe” falls right in line with his belief, stated after the AFC Divisional Round win over the Chargers, that “everyone thinks we suck and, you know, can’t win any games.”
It’s like being considered the greatest quarterback of all time, greatest football player of all time, perhaps even the greatest athlete of all time doesn’t fit the narrative Brady was going for in the playoffs. The Patriots still won Super Bowl LIII, so it worked out for him in the end.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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