Winning a championship as a quarterback is no easy feat, and neither is parenting. Tom Brady, the longtime face of the New England Patriots, has been fortunate enough to experience the challenges and rewards of both.
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The love and support of his parents meant everything to him, and he directly attributes his success in life to them. Suffice to say, he can’t thank them enough, so now he’s simply hoping to replicate their generosity.
According to the seven-time Super Bowl champion, he had always dreamt of being a professional athlete, even though he was ignorant at times of the amount of sacrifice and dedication it would take. Nevertheless, his parents never once questioned those aspirations.
“I think it was a very supportive dad and a very nurturing mom,” Brady suggested while explaining the dynamic of his own parents. “I would say the great part about my parents was they never discouraged the dream… My parents never said, ‘Hey, ya know, I think we should think about something else.'”
Nowadays, Brady is doing his best to replicate that level of support with his own children. While that’s certainly easier said than done, especially for a father of three, he seems to believe that the process begins with simply listening and asking “Well, what do you want to do?”
“My middle son loves anime, Japanese, sci-fi style cartoons,” he noted, and while that’s typically something he wouldn’t indulge in himself, he also understands that it’s not about him. Determined to be the best father that he possibly can be, Brady is choosing to leave his ego at the door in pursuit of a more meaningful connection with his kids, regardless as to where that may lead him.
“And I’m like, dude, we’re going to open an anime studio someday. I want you to draw, I want you to create. And he’s like, ‘really?’ It’s whatever he wants to do. That may change 50 times between now and then, but the reality is; what he’s all in on, then I’m all in on it right behind him.”
Brady’s oldest son, Jack, who was born in 2007, is officially 18 years old. Considering that Jack routinely accompanied his father to the Super Bowl podium throughout his career, many young Patriot fans grew up right alongside him.
His second son, Benjamin, who was born in 2009, is currently doing his best to carry on the family’s gridiron legacy. He may not have chosen to play quarterback, but the young tight end has still managed to impress his future first-ballot Hall of Fame father.
His third and youngest child, Vivian, who is currently 12 years old, is regarded by Brady as the one who “light’s up his life,” hinting at her being a daddy’s girl through and through. Brady now seems to be chasing “World’s Best Dad” coffee mugs instead of Lombardi trophies, and if he’s anywhere as good of a parent as he was a quarterback, then it’s safe to say that the kids will be alright.
