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Tom Brady is used to giving speeches.
For 23 years as a player, the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback aimed to inspire and motivate with his words. He spoke in front of locker rooms and media countless times throughout that journey. On May 16, he took on a new role – commencement speaker.
Brady had the same goal to motivate and inspire, but for a different audience as the commencement speaker for Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business Class of 2026, where he took the stage to a round of applause. In that moment, he poked fun at himself and his former coach, Bill Belichick.
"I don’t do well with compliments," Brady joked. "I had a coach for 20 years tell me how (expletive) I was every day."
The quarterback-turned-broadcaster continued with the playful jabs, adding that he was grateful to be with the graduates and their loved ones, "even the ones who are Jets fans." Once he began the speech, Brady used opportunity to draw some parallels between his career and what lies ahead for the graduating class.
"Sitting here, looking out at this amazing crowd of business majors, getting ready to start your careers, I realized something – sports was a very strange way to make a living," Brady said. "People screamed at me all the time. They gambled on my performance, and they celebrated all my failures. One way that sports is a lot like business, though, is that when you do it long enough, your life gets defined by numbers.
"23, that was the number of pro seasons I played. Seven, those were my Super Bowl wins. Three, those were the Super Bowl losses. (Expletive) it, Eli Manning."
At that point, the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback chose to focus on a different number – 99.7.
"What’s that number make you think of? Brady questioned. "It’s an A+ – I didn’t get many of those. It’s a low-grade fever, maybe. But it’s also virtual certainty. If something has a 99.7% chance of happening, the outcome is a foregone conclusion."
The quarterback noted that the Atlanta Falcons had a 99.7% chance of winning Super Bowl 51, otherwise known as the 28-3 game. Brady told the story of the comeback, explaining to the graduates that they'll have with adversity and should never quit.
"You guys are going to see that," Brady said. "You’re going to think that you’re better than your competition. You’re going to work really hard, and it’s still not going to go the way you want. You’re gonna find yourself on the short end of that 99.7%, wondering just how the (expletive) you got there."
"Overcoming fear and doubt in the face of those challenges is where you’re going to gain the confidence to make your best choices when things aren’t going the way you want," Brady later added. "When the odds are stacked against you, when you’re facing your own 28 to 3 moment – and believe me, it’s coming – you will have a choice to make: to quit or to fight your (expletive) off."
He told the crowd what was going through his head in that moment.
"I said to myself, 'Don’t be a little (expletive). Go out there and fight your (expletive) off. Whether you win or lose, fight to the end.' At that moment, we had no idea what the outcome of the game would be, but the one thing I’ve learned through sports is the only time you’re sure to lose is when you quit."
Despite being the team that had been there and done that, the Patriots were on the verge of another crushing Super Bowl defeat. Brady highlighted the differences between the teams and later tied that to the world of business.
"This Falcons team was young; they had a new coach," Brady said. "We were the veteran team. We had the Hall of Fame coach. We’d been there before. We’d already won four Super Bowls at that point.
"But the experience or reputation only takes you so far. And it’s true beyond sports. History is littered with businesses –mature ones – that took their competition for granted, and then got disrupted by ambitious, young entrepreneurs. Do you guys remember Blockbuster? Kodak? Nokia? Blackberry? I didn’t think so. Maybe some of your parents do. The point is, nothing is guaranteed."
While the headline is that Brady and the Patriots pulled off one of the most memorable comebacks in NFL history on the biggest stage, he told the graduates that it wasn't an in-the-moment decision on his part. It was the culmination of years he spent battling for everything he had – even if the odds were stacked against him.
"You don’t quit and you don’t make excuses," he said. "Every hard choice is a brick in the path toward the life you want. But every excuse is a brick in the wall that will stand in your way.
"When the opportunity to do something special presents itself, the people most prepared to meet the challenges will be the ones who’ve made the most hard choices. Who’ve faced adversity and overcome it. They certainly won’t have won all their fights. But they never quit."
The quarterback said that was the reason he stayed at Michigan despite challenges and faced an uphill climb as a sixth-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.
"If there was a 99.7% chance at anything, it’s that I’d be behind the counter at Ben’s Chili Bowl before I was behind center in an NFL game. And who knows, that could have been fun too, but no one could have imagined I would end my career with seven world championships.
"Maybe because none of those people knew that I would never, ever quit.”
The Patriots went on to complete the comeback and win in overtime, 34-28, as Brady hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the fifth time. There was confetti and eventually a parade to celebrate the occasion, something the quarterback said might not be the case for those in the graduating class.
"The odds are your 28-3 moment won’t end in a trophy or a parade," Brady said. "It may not even end in victory. It almost didn’t for us. But that’s not really the point. These are all just momentary tests where failure isn’t final, only quitting is. The choice to fight is an opportunity to succeed, yes, but it’s also your chance to grow and show everyone that while you may be beatable, you are unbreakable.
"The only thing worse than losing the biggest game of your life is losing respect for yourself along the way."
In his closing remarks, Brady challenged the class to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, even poking some more fun at Belichick along the way.
"I want you to challenge yourself with ideas that are uncomfortable and people that push you to be your very best," Brady told the graduates. "Even if one of those people is a cranky old coach who cuts the sleeves off his sweatshirt and screams at you all day, 'Do your job.' OK, that’s too specific."
"Remember this, testing your greatness always comes in the form of a contest where preparation meets opportunity. And the winner is the one who just won't quit."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Brady plays all the hits in Georgetown commencement speech
Continue reading...
For 23 years as a player, the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback aimed to inspire and motivate with his words. He spoke in front of locker rooms and media countless times throughout that journey. On May 16, he took on a new role – commencement speaker.
Brady had the same goal to motivate and inspire, but for a different audience as the commencement speaker for Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business Class of 2026, where he took the stage to a round of applause. In that moment, he poked fun at himself and his former coach, Bill Belichick.
"I don’t do well with compliments," Brady joked. "I had a coach for 20 years tell me how (expletive) I was every day."
The quarterback-turned-broadcaster continued with the playful jabs, adding that he was grateful to be with the graduates and their loved ones, "even the ones who are Jets fans." Once he began the speech, Brady used opportunity to draw some parallels between his career and what lies ahead for the graduating class.
"Sitting here, looking out at this amazing crowd of business majors, getting ready to start your careers, I realized something – sports was a very strange way to make a living," Brady said. "People screamed at me all the time. They gambled on my performance, and they celebrated all my failures. One way that sports is a lot like business, though, is that when you do it long enough, your life gets defined by numbers.
"23, that was the number of pro seasons I played. Seven, those were my Super Bowl wins. Three, those were the Super Bowl losses. (Expletive) it, Eli Manning."
At that point, the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback chose to focus on a different number – 99.7.
"What’s that number make you think of? Brady questioned. "It’s an A+ – I didn’t get many of those. It’s a low-grade fever, maybe. But it’s also virtual certainty. If something has a 99.7% chance of happening, the outcome is a foregone conclusion."
The quarterback noted that the Atlanta Falcons had a 99.7% chance of winning Super Bowl 51, otherwise known as the 28-3 game. Brady told the story of the comeback, explaining to the graduates that they'll have with adversity and should never quit.
"You guys are going to see that," Brady said. "You’re going to think that you’re better than your competition. You’re going to work really hard, and it’s still not going to go the way you want. You’re gonna find yourself on the short end of that 99.7%, wondering just how the (expletive) you got there."
"Overcoming fear and doubt in the face of those challenges is where you’re going to gain the confidence to make your best choices when things aren’t going the way you want," Brady later added. "When the odds are stacked against you, when you’re facing your own 28 to 3 moment – and believe me, it’s coming – you will have a choice to make: to quit or to fight your (expletive) off."
He told the crowd what was going through his head in that moment.
"I said to myself, 'Don’t be a little (expletive). Go out there and fight your (expletive) off. Whether you win or lose, fight to the end.' At that moment, we had no idea what the outcome of the game would be, but the one thing I’ve learned through sports is the only time you’re sure to lose is when you quit."
Despite being the team that had been there and done that, the Patriots were on the verge of another crushing Super Bowl defeat. Brady highlighted the differences between the teams and later tied that to the world of business.
"This Falcons team was young; they had a new coach," Brady said. "We were the veteran team. We had the Hall of Fame coach. We’d been there before. We’d already won four Super Bowls at that point.
"But the experience or reputation only takes you so far. And it’s true beyond sports. History is littered with businesses –mature ones – that took their competition for granted, and then got disrupted by ambitious, young entrepreneurs. Do you guys remember Blockbuster? Kodak? Nokia? Blackberry? I didn’t think so. Maybe some of your parents do. The point is, nothing is guaranteed."
While the headline is that Brady and the Patriots pulled off one of the most memorable comebacks in NFL history on the biggest stage, he told the graduates that it wasn't an in-the-moment decision on his part. It was the culmination of years he spent battling for everything he had – even if the odds were stacked against him.
"You don’t quit and you don’t make excuses," he said. "Every hard choice is a brick in the path toward the life you want. But every excuse is a brick in the wall that will stand in your way.
"When the opportunity to do something special presents itself, the people most prepared to meet the challenges will be the ones who’ve made the most hard choices. Who’ve faced adversity and overcome it. They certainly won’t have won all their fights. But they never quit."
The quarterback said that was the reason he stayed at Michigan despite challenges and faced an uphill climb as a sixth-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.
"If there was a 99.7% chance at anything, it’s that I’d be behind the counter at Ben’s Chili Bowl before I was behind center in an NFL game. And who knows, that could have been fun too, but no one could have imagined I would end my career with seven world championships.
"Maybe because none of those people knew that I would never, ever quit.”
The Patriots went on to complete the comeback and win in overtime, 34-28, as Brady hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the fifth time. There was confetti and eventually a parade to celebrate the occasion, something the quarterback said might not be the case for those in the graduating class.
"The odds are your 28-3 moment won’t end in a trophy or a parade," Brady said. "It may not even end in victory. It almost didn’t for us. But that’s not really the point. These are all just momentary tests where failure isn’t final, only quitting is. The choice to fight is an opportunity to succeed, yes, but it’s also your chance to grow and show everyone that while you may be beatable, you are unbreakable.
"The only thing worse than losing the biggest game of your life is losing respect for yourself along the way."
In his closing remarks, Brady challenged the class to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, even poking some more fun at Belichick along the way.
"I want you to challenge yourself with ideas that are uncomfortable and people that push you to be your very best," Brady told the graduates. "Even if one of those people is a cranky old coach who cuts the sleeves off his sweatshirt and screams at you all day, 'Do your job.' OK, that’s too specific."
"Remember this, testing your greatness always comes in the form of a contest where preparation meets opportunity. And the winner is the one who just won't quit."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Brady plays all the hits in Georgetown commencement speech
Continue reading...
