“I am a Patriot for life”, Tom Brady emotionally stated at his Patriots retirement ceremony held on Sunday, September 10 in his old stomping grounds. A sold-out Gillette Stadium crowd of over 65,000 fans cheered on Tom and his three children who were with him. The whole Brady clan repped Tom’s iconic 12 jersey.
The fans went wild when Brady unzipped his jacket to reveal his Patriots jersey underneath and ran through a rainy Gillette Stadium with “Public Service Announcement” by Jay Z blasting in the background. Brady ran across the field at halftime and performed his signature pregame routine which he did at every home game for 2 decades.
In starting new traditions, Tom Brady also rang Gillette’s newly installed lighthouse bell, which is part of the $250 million makeover the stadium underwent this summer.
Many former Patriots were in attendance at the home opener including Ty Law, Malcolm Butler, Lawyer Malloy, and Tully Banta-Cain. Despite the good luck charm that is Tom Brady, the Pats lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-25. September 17 will be their next game, hosting the Miami Dolphins at 8:20 PM.
Tom Brady’s halftime retirement speech
Brady began by thanking his fans, teammates, and family.
There’s nothing significant in life that can be accomplished as an individual. It’s always about the team. We [had] a culture of teammates and cared about two things. They cared about each other and they cared about winning.
Later he thanks the Kraft family and Coach Belichick, Patriots staff, and the audience for making his 2 decades as a Patriot better than he could imagine. Tom was unbothered, actually amused by the rainy New England weather.
We had six championships, a lot of countless memories in this stadium — celebrating wins against great teams in Foxborough weather like today, where we love, love seeing the opponents come in and be a little worried about what the conditions were gonna be like.
Tom’s induction ceremony into the Patriots Hall of Fame is scheduled for June 12, 2024 at Gillette stadium.
All our lives take us on different journeys. They take us to different places. They bring different people into our lives. But one thing I’m sure of and that will never change, is that I am a Patriot for life… I love you guys so much. I’ll see you next summer. Thank you.
Tom Brady to enter the Patriots Hall of Fame
The ceremony also celebrated Brady’s unparalleled accomplishments as a Patriot and football player. Many consider him to be not just the greatest football player of all time, but also the greatest athlete. Below are a few of Brady’s accolades:
- 7 Super Bowl wins
- 10 Super Bowl appearances
- 46 career comebacks (most of any player)
- 58 game-winning drives