Tom Brady climbed the ladders of the NFL world through sheer hard work and reached the GOAT status all without anyone seeing it coming. Case in point, his early days with the New England Patriots. During the initial training period, Brady’s prospects weren’t the best in the eyes of the team management. As revealed in the first episode of “The Dynasty”, veteran Drew Bledsoe saw him as the fourth QB option of the team.
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Brady being the unimpressive rook naturally became the target of the season by the veterans. Drew Bledsoe & Co. decided to put Brady through the ringer and arguably played one of the most brutal pranks of all time. Bledsoe and group somehow found hold of dye packs used by the FBI to thwart bank robberies. The specialty of the dye pack is that it only becomes visible in moisture. And as soon as the dry ink stops being dry, it stays on you for weeks.
The veterans of the group used the due pack and filled Brady’s socks with it. Tom wears his socks, sweats in the training session, and by the time he removes his socks, his feet are now purple like a cartoon dinosaur’s legs. Brady tried scrubbing his legs ferociously for weeks until finally, it started peeling off.
“So FBI, if there is going to be a bank robbery and they think there is going to be a bank robbery, they have this special dye that they put on the money. And you can’t see it at all until it gets slightly wet. So just a little perspiration on your hands and then it’s permanent.”
“So we were able to lay our hands on some of this FBI stuff and we filled Tommy’s socks full of it. He goes out to practice. His feet sweat. He comes back in and his feet are bright purple… for weeks.”
Most rookies would have crumbled under such an environment. But not Brady. The GOAT hustled day in and out for an entire year, improved himself by leaps, and eventually forced the Patriots to make him the starter over Bledsoe.
New England Patriots Made The Greatest Decision Of All Time When They Made Tom Brady The Starter Over Drew Bledsoe
Before Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe was the face of the New England Patriots. After all, he was their first overall pick in the 1993 draft and their most expensive player as well. In the year 2000, the Patriots enjoyed their peak when Bledsoe led the Patriots to yet another Super Bowl win. This led to the Patriots management extending Drew’s contract for a record-breaking 10 years. Coming into the 2001 season, many expected the next 10 years to be Bledsoe’s era.
However, an internal bleeding injury in the second game put him on the sidelines for months. Backup QB Tom Brady took over and performed exceedingly well till Bledsoe’s recovery. Once Drew was back, the NFL world expected Brady to go back to being a backup. But lo and behold, Bill Belichick pulled off a stunner by making Brady the starter ahead of Bledsoe, who had just led them to a Super Bowl and had signed a 10-year extension.
Picking a sixth-round rookie like Tom Brady over locker-room leader and MVP Drew Bledsoe was a bold move. But what Brady had in him was the eye to always pick the open WR. Brady during Belsdoe’s injury layoff also led the offense very well and was prone to not making mistakes at all. Combining these traits with Brady’s meteoric rise through hard work, Belichick gave away the starter cap to Brady, and the rest as they say is history.
As we all witnessed, fortune favored the brave and Brady stitched up a Dynasty with Belichick for the next 20 years winning 6 Super Bowls togehter. From being labeled as “The Puppy” and getting pranked to being the GOAT, Brady’s story is truly inspirational!
