Tom Brady is one of the most competitive people you’ll ever meet, and former Patriots WR Danny Amendola found this out the hard way when he played ping pong with Brady and nearly lost his head. Amendola joined the Patriots in 2013, and early into his New England tenure, he saw how Brady could get when things didn’t go his way. Danny Amendola was beating Tom Brady quite easily in a game of ping pong, and that’s when the angry Brady came out and reared its ugly head.
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Brady’s competitiveness was his greatest asset during his long and successful career. He was always laser-focused and committed to his art. He took no days off and made sure to be his best in whatever situation he was presented with. It all started with the day he was drafted. He walked right up to owner Rob Kraft and told him that he was the best decision the franchise had ever made. He also knew that he would get Drew Bledsoe’s starting job one day.
Tom Brady Chucked a Ping Pong Paddle at Danny Amendola
So, how exactly did Brady get into rage mode with Danny Amendola? Well, to put it simply, the NFL GOAT really doesn’t like losing, whether it’s football or not.
After joining the Patriots, Amendola thought he’d put his ping-pong skills to the test, challenging Brady to a game. Amendola is a good ping-pong player, so he fancied his chances, and unsurprisingly, he was beating Brady quite handily. Brady didn’t take well to that, and he threw his paddle at Amendola. And no, he wasn’t joking around either.
Per Albert Breer, from Sports Illustrated,
“So after Amendola signed with the Patriots in 2013, the two talked trash with each other over it, and then wound up playing. Amendola wound up winning, and winning pretty handily. As the story goes, Amendola hammered home the last point, and barely could turn around before he heard this whistling go by his ear. Brady’s paddle had come in hot and just missed him. Amendola, I’d heard, looked up expecting to see Brady laughing. Instead, he was getting the death stare. And Amendola—who’d become a trusted target of Brady’s, and Super Bowl hero in his own right—learned a good lesson about Brady that day.”
So, yeah, don’t mess with Brady essentially, or don’t beat him. He might just end up clobbering you with a ping-pong paddle which could end badly for you.
Despite the Incident, Brady and Amendola Formed a Strong Connection
Brady and Amendola may have got off to a rocky start, but they sure didn’t let it affect their performance together on the field. Amendola was a playoff dagger, catching several clutch passes from Brady over the years in the postseason.
“I’m always looking for him at some point. I mean, he’s a big part of what we do, so he’s never not part of what we’re doing. He’s a huge part of what we’re doing always,” Brady said about Amendola, as per USA Today back in 2018.
