Tom Brady and James Harrison teamed up in the 2017 NFL season, but it was not with some remenants of the former rivalry.
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Harrison had been a Pittsburgh Steeler his whole career up till then, and so to join the Patriots, it meant that he was joining a long time rival as Pittsburgh and New England had done battle countless times in both the postseason and regular season.
For Harrison to join the Patriots, it just didn’t feel right. In particular, there was one man Harrison was after: Tom Brady. Brady was the leader of the Pats, and it was Harrison’s job as a pass rusher to get to him, adding extra fire to the rivalry.
Monday Steelers Flashback: When James Harrison became the Steelers All-Time sack leader against the Browns. #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/T88OoH3jFA
— Fungible Dave (@FungibleDave) February 8, 2021
Tom Brady Has The Perfect Respone To James Harrison For Wanting To Hate Him
James Harrison appeared on the Pat McAfee show, and he spoke about his initial thoughts when he joined Tom Brady and the Patriots. He said:
“I wanted to hate him when I got there, so I’m like, ‘He’s feeding me some BS. He’s just being a good guy in front of me.’ So I’m sitting back watching him for like a week or two. And finally I have to tell him like, ‘Dude, I wanted to come here and hate you.’ … But I sat back and watched. That’s why everybody likes him, man. He’s a good dude. From the practice squad guy that comes in the first day, he’s like, ‘Hey, how you doing, I’m Tom Brady.’ Like they don’t know who the hell he is! That’s just him, that’s his personality, he’s just a good dude.”
Brady is as big a social media presence as you can get in the NFL, and so whe he saw the segment on the podcast, he couldn’t help but chime in.
I mean…why would anyone ever not be nice to @jharrison9292?! 🤣 https://t.co/VUHPjqFEOx
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) August 18, 2021
Brady and Harrison did make good teammates as the former Steeler came in huge on the Patriots defensive line, especially during the postseason.
Lot of eyeballs on this move from James Harrison on his big 2nd down sack during Jacksonville’s final drive. Grabs the wrist and pulls the elbow, spinning the LT. Here’s this one, then I’l show you one of his sacks from vs Jets pic.twitter.com/9CbAOeBbBk
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) January 23, 2018
However, Brady and Harrison couldn’t get it done in the end, as they’d lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl 41-33.