Stephen A. Smith is known for putting players on the spot, and this time his focus was on Tom Brady. During an episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the broadcaster asked Brady about who was the one rival whose downfall he enjoyed. Brady clarified that it wasn’t a specific person who made him feel this way, but rather the teams that stood in his way.
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This is primarily because Brady laid his focus on the “belief of who that person represents,” rather than the individual. Notably, Brady admitted that the Indianapolis Colts from the Peyton Manning era were especially significant because they blocked his path to the Super Bowl. He said:
“But let’s say the Colts, back when I was at the Patriots. Every time they lost man, I could’ve thrown a party at my house. And it’s not because I didn’t love Peyton Manning and I didn’t respect him more than any other quarterback that I ever played against. I just knew that if we wanted to go where we wanted to get to, he was standing in the way.”
Explaining further, Brady noted that his team needed to move players like Manning “out of the way”. He revealed that it helped the Patriots when “someone else could slightly budge him a little bit off track.”
In one of the greatest rivalries of all time, Brady and Manning faced each other seventeen times, with Brady winning the head-to-head matchup 11–6. In the meantime, Brady admitted that the rivalry with the Colts ignited his relentless drive for Manning’s team to lose each week. Even with profound respect for players like Manning, Brady opened up about why he kept friendships off the field.
I didn’t have friends on other teams when I was playing: Tom Brady
Responding to Smith, Brady outlined how he wanted the Colts and Peyton Manning to lose every week as he prioritized his team’s success above all else. Brady explained that he preferred other teams to knock the Colts off rather than just trying to bury them himself, hoping that subsequent teams would continue to do so. Brady also made an interesting admission about friendships on the football field.
“I wanted everybody to lose. Believe me, I never had friends on other teams when I was playing. I didn’t have social media accounts where I could direct message people.”
The seven-time Super Bowl winner added that he didn’t step onto the field to shake hands with opponents, underscoring his focus on winning. It’s clear that Brady’s intense, team-oriented mentality meant he would rather see his opponents fail than celebrate their successes.
