Tom Brady announced tonight that he will unretire and head back to Tampa Bay to help the Buccaneers franchise try for its third-ever Super Bowl title. While there are likely fans and pundits alike who believe the G.O.A.T. should have stayed in his rocking chair, Tom Terrific deserves to go out on his own terms.
When I told someone I know the news of Brady's comeback, he said when the quarterback finally does call it quits, we might remember that he used to be good, not that he still is. But a player who's won almost twice as many Super Bowls as any other quarterback in one of the most competitive sports leagues in the world has earned the right to try to be remembered in whatever way he wants to.
Plus, it's not easy for any athlete who loves their sport to call it quits, let alone the G.O.A.T. I'm nowhere near as talented as Brady, but I remember feeling almost like I'd missed an appointment the first time fall rolled around and I wasn't on a football team anymore. Brady can control when he walks away as much or more than anyone who's ever played the game. The only football player who comes to mind as being able to walk away on his terms was John Elway, who ended his career with two straight Super Bowl wins. Why shouldn't Brady come back and give it another shot if retirement didn't feel right, especially after an early exit in last season's playoffs? The legend, after all, has more than earned the right to go out the way he wants to, not the way armchair general managers might tell him to.
