I have written many– some might say too many – columns about Tom Brady, and so when I wrote the last one about him after he had retired, I thought. That’s it.
But no!
The Back Story
Brady was the 2026 commencement speaker at my alma mater, Georgetown, a curious twist because I had come to know of Tommy (as he was called then) when he was quarterback – at times a struggling quarterback – at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, my hometown.
I loved his underdog approach and persistent perseverance, which emerged in college and became his strength in the NFL as the 199th pick and 6th quarterback in the 2000 draft. An injury to starter Drew Bledsoe in Tom’s second season opened the door for him to start. He then led the New England Patriots to the 2002 Super Bowl title, the first of six more to come: five with New England and one with Tampa Bay.
What I was not prepared for was his sense of humor – an approach to public speaking that makes for an enjoyable talk and one likely to be remembered.
The Schtick
“Sitting here, looking out at this amazing crowd of business majors, getting ready to start your careers, I realized something: Sports was a very strange way to make a living.
People screamed at me all the time. They gambled on my performance, and they celebrated all my failures.
But here’s a number for you guys: 99.7. What’s that number make you think of? It’s an A+ — I didn’t get many of those. It’s a low-grade fever, maybe…
There are 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, and we’re losing 28 to 3, and it’s fourth down at midfield. And at that moment, the Falcons had a 99.7% chance of winning.
If there was a 99.7% chance at anything, it’s that I’d be behind the counter at Ben’s Chili Bowl before I was behind center in an NFL game.
The Message
Of course, Brady was not at Georgetown to tell jokes.
His message to students was one that had guided him all his life: “You don’t quit and you don’t make excuses. Every hard choice is a brick in the path toward the life you want. Every excuse is a brick in the wall that will stand in your way.”
Good message, indeed.
So let me say Hoya Saxa for my alma mater and Go Blue for my hometown school.