Tom Brady had a massive statue unveiled at the New England Patriots’ home, Gillette Stadium, on Friday. And honestly, it’s surprising it took them this long, even though he’s only been retired for three years. He was that good.
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A statue outside your team’s stadium is one of the ultimate honors for a pro athlete, no matter what. But that doesn’t mean they all turn out great. Allen Iverson’s undersized likeness in Philly and Dwyane Wade’s jowly statue in Miami are proof of that. Brady’s towering 12-foot version, however, has been getting rave reviews.
They even added a five-foot platform to make the statue 17 feet tall, matching the number of AFC East division titles Brady won in Foxborough. Shannon Sharpe, though, believes they should have skipped the symbolism and gone purely for size to reflect Brady’s outsized impact on the Patriots franchise.
“If anybody deserves a statue! The only thing I’m mad about, 12-feet tall? It needs to be 20-feet tall! It needs to be like the Statue of Liberty. For what that mofo did,” said the former TE on Nightcap.
Sharpe’s co-host, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, who had to play in Brady’s conference for his entire career, agreed wholeheartedly. Johnson repeatedly labelled Brady the greatest before focusing on one of the QB’s greatest achievements.
“That New England-Atlanta game? That game alone! That 28-3 comeback alone deserves a trophy, a statue by itself,” said the former wideout.
“Unc, you can play a video game. You can play Madden. And you can let someone score 28 points, and you have three. The chances of you coming back in a video game is slim to none … let alone to do it in godd*mn real life. Do you know how many things have to go right for you?”
The statue could be bigger, but 12 feet to represent his jersey number and 17 to represent those division titles seems pretty fitting. The QB was clearly pleased with the statue too, which depicts a serious Brady with a triumphant fist raised.
As has become common since his retirement from the NFL, Brady had some fun at the event, cracking more than a few jokes, especially at his own and the Jets’ expense.
“Today’s the first time in my life that Boston sports writers will describe me as chiseled, so that’s a major win… It’ll also give the Jets fans something to throw their beer at as they leave the stadium every year, probably in the second quarter.”
Brady also joked about how the fact that this statue is an image of him frozen in time was fitting considering his infamously slow time (5.28) in the 40-yard dash at the 2000 NFL combine. Tom Brady was not the perfect athlete, but there’s no doubt he is the GOAT. And as Sharpe said, no athlete has ever deserved a statue more.
