23-year career, seven Super Bowls (more than any NFL franchise), five Super Bowl MVP titles and records in spades. It’s no exaggeration to say that Tom Brady is one of the greatest sportsmen of our time. Accomplishments which are worth to the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, formerly the New England Patriots, to be often quoted across the Atlantic in discussions around the GOAT aka the greatest sportsman of all time, in the same way as Mohamed Ali, Michael Jordan Where Serena Williams.
The most famous NFL player
In Europe, there are debates about Tom Brady’s place in a very American-centric sports pantheon. All the more so for an athlete whose discipline hardly exists outside the United States — even though the Super Bowl, the biggest sporting event of the year in the United States is watched by hundreds of millions of viewers. around the world each year. What to ask the question: does the famous number 12 deserve his GOAT status?
We asked the question this weekend in Munich, on the occasion of the match between the Buccaneers and the Seahawks. First observation: the Tom Brady case does not leave anyone indifferent, whether you are a neophyte or a subscriber to the NFL League Pass. The quarterback’s career is such that his name goes beyond American football, making the 45-year-old the face of the League around the world. An important criterion in the GOAT debate, but not sufficient to obtain the famous designation.
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Tempered opinions
For the many fans crossed around the Allianz Arena, the answers are almost unanimous: yes, Tom Brady is a GOAT A postulate that some are nevertheless keen to qualify. This is the case of Manuel. This Minnesota Vikings fan is happy that this Sunday’s game is “one of the last” from the QB to the 7 rings, which he considers “the GOAT currently, but not all the time”.
Filip, on the other hand, is a Seahawks fan and traveled to Munich from Manheim in the west of the country to see his team take on the legend. For the young man, TB12, as he is nicknamed, “is at the same table as Mohamed Ali, Michael Jordan or Roger Federer”. But difficult to classify it all up there according to the principle that“you can’t compare sports to each other”.
“Whatever it takes to win”
His friend Ugo is more categorical. “It’s the besthe says, without hesitation. He is not the most physical player in the League, but from a strategic point of view and in the reading of the game, he is the best. And that’s why he earns so much.” In addition to his above-average football IQ, the young NFL fan also praises the mental qualities of Brady, a player who “does whatever it takes to win, including lowering his salary to help his team, unlike other players who only think about making more money”.
And you don’t have to be a Tom Brady aficionado to think his status as Greatest of all time is not usurped. Victoria is not defined as “a huge sports fan”, with the exception of American football and the NFL, which she follows diligently. This other supporter of the Seahawks considers “deserved” the designation GOAT for the quarterback.
Sanders and the Manning brothers better than Brady?
Overall, the opinions of Germans addicted to the NFL converge on the question of Tom Brady’s place in the pantheon of American football or even sport, with a few nuances. But for the few Americans met on the spot, this status is called into question.
“He is obviously in the discussion. But there are others before him”, tempers Omar, a fan of the Detroit Lions who came from the United States with friends to attend the meeting – during which Tom Brady shone, moreover. In the GOAT debate, he prefers Barry Sanders, an iconic runningback of the NFL and… Detroit Lions, coincidentally.
Her friend Jamika, a Cleveland Browns fan, has other names in mind. Those of the Manning brothers, Peyton and Eli, training quarterbacks, each having won two Super Bowls. Quoting the two brothers, she puts a coin back in the machine and revives the discussion on the GOAT An endless debate.
