Buccaneers' Tom Brady Named Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year
Tom Brady's trophy case has to be bigger than my house by now. If not, I would actually consider that a disappointment.
That's because Brady added yet another piece to the case on Tuesday night after Sports Illustrated named him their Sportsperson of the Year. It's the second time in Brady's career that he's won the award and it's the first time he's won it since 2005 - when he helped the New England Patriots win back-to-back Super Bowls that were also a part of the three-championships-in-four-years equation.
SI's Sportsperson of the Year is "an annual award given to an athlete, coach or team who best represents the spirit and ideals of sportsmanship, character, and performance". Brady was deemed the perfect fit for the 2021 edition after joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and leading the franchise to its second Super Bowl during a year in which COVID-19 had a large effect on the game.
That's not the end of it, though. Brady is currently on track to win his fourth NFL MVP award thanks to the season he is having. He leads the NFL in passing completions, yards, and touchdowns and has the second-best QBR among all qualifying quarterbacks.
And when you triple down with the fact that Brady is 44-years-old, it's easy to see why he was given the award.
"Individual awards always make me feel uneasy, because it's always about the team. It's always about the team," Brady told the crowd during his acceptance speech. "Needless to say, I'm beyond grateful and even though I'm pretty sure I only won because they weren't able to fly Giannis [Antetokounmpo] here from Milwaukee tonight.
"I have the honor of standing up here as a representative of a very big team, a great organization [in] the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There are 53 amazing players on that roster, there are 16 on the practice squad, there's great coaches and we have incredible ownership. The front office - it's a lot of incredible employees throughout the facility that make everything that we do as athletes our best. And when it goes according to plan, we do win. Every single one of those people has contributed to this success and this awards belongs to each and all of us."
But of course, Brady's not done yet. There's still five games left in the regular season and the postseason before he can rest up and take his mind off the grind. And he knows this.
"Accepting an award like this in the middle of the season is very new for me," said Brady. "We still have a long way to go to achieve our goal. And as you guys know, I keep that chip on my shoulder. So, I'm going to go home and turn on a loop of all the interceptions that I've thrown this year to put me right back and even myself out for the night."
You can watch Brady's speech in its entirety, here.
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