"I don't like it": When Tom Brady used to 'cringe' over his GOAT title

With all his achievements and numerous records in the NFL, Tom Brady is arguably the GOAT of the league. He is considered one of the greatest athletes worldwide, often in parallel to legends like Roger Federer, Sachin Tendulkar, and Michael Jordan. However, despite his achievements and various accolades, Brady hesitates to acknowledge the title.

Fresh off his 13-3 Super Bowl LIII victory against the LA Rams in Feb. 2019, Brady revealed he doesn’t like being labeled with the title. In an exclusive interview with Good Morning America, he said:

"I don't even like it; it makes me cringe.”

Brady believes the title may negatively affect his performance as he is driven more by criticism than accolades.

“I wish you would say, 'You're trash, you're too old, you're too slow, you can't get it done no more,'" Brady said. "And I'll say, 'Thank you very much; I'll prove you wrong.'”

Brady shined the brightest during the latter half of his career. As years went by, he aged like a fine wine with experience. The pliability therapy from Alex Guerrero helped Brady remain fit and injury-free, thus never letting the age factor catch up to him.

Brady believes that he is his biggest critic, and it motivates him to bring the best out of him.

“The personal criticism, I mean, I think I'll walk off the practice field and be like, 'That was the worst day, you know, like get your mind right,'" he said. "Sports have always brought that out in me.”

Tom Brady rises to silence doubters

A careful observation of Tom Brady's career trajectory shows he ascended the ranks whenever he was doubted the most. After being drafted No. 199 in the 2000 draft, Brady was benched till an injury to Drew Bledsoe in the 2001-02 season gave him an opportunity. Brady led the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXVI, which started the epic Brady-Belichick era.

Another instance happened during the latter part of his career when he left the Patriots. Fans doubted if Brady could be the same without Belichick and the Patriots, and he proved them wrong again. He joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and led them to a Super Bowl win in his first season.

These Super Bowl victories highlight an intrinsic trait of Brady's to come back at his doubters.