Bringing Up Brady
Tom Brady had a pair of distinctly different futures sprawled before him. The Junipero Serra High football star could take a scholarship to Cal, where he would be near his San Mateo, California home and start at quarterback almost immediately. Or he could go to Michigan, 2,300 miles away, where bitter winters and a six way contest for snaps loomed. A no-brainer, right? "To us it seemed an intellectual, practical decision to go to Cal, "his father, Tom Sr., recalls. "But for him it was a career decision."

Because he thought the challenges at Michigan would make him a better player, Tom opted to leave behind his parents and three older sisters. " It was an easy decision," the New Endland Patriots' QB says, "but I'm sure my parents were disappointed I wouldn't be just across the [San Francisco] bay."

Indeed, Tom Sr. and his wife Galynn struggled with having their son three time zones away. But they had raised Tom to think independently and be his own man, so they respected his righ tto determine his future.

Tom Sr., an employee benefits consultant, and Galynn, a homemaker, supported their son in all his activities. They attended as many baseball, football, and basketball games as possible, and father and son spent hours whizzing fastballs and talking strategy with each other. But the Bradys never pressured Tom athletically, urging him only to put a positive spin on obstacles he encountered and to treat others with kindness and decency. Galynn says Tom was well-behaved, but sometimes a competitive streak, inherited from his parents, would take over. "He'd only get fustrated if he didn't do as well as he wanted to," she says.

Mom was a nurturer who kept her son grounded, "what everyone hopes for in a mother, wife and grandmother," Tom says. And Dad inspired him by working long hours to support the family while still finding time for his son and those back yard sessions. "My parents led by example," Tom says. "I've tried to be like Dad by watching how he approaches certain situations."

When Tom reached Serr High, it was obvious he had picked up his father's work ethics. Just two years after he tried organized football--his parenst kept him off the gridiron until ninth grade for fear of injury--Tom became Serra's starting varsity quarterback. "We loved watching him play football Saturday then golfing with him Sunday to rehash the game," Tom Sr. says.

The Brady's lost that luxury when Tom left for Michigan, but they were at the other end of the phone line when in 1996 when he failed to win the No. 1 QB job and pondered a transfer. They told him he could stay and fight or flee from the difficult situation. Tom refocused and later won 20 of 25 UM games he started. "He was able to growhis wings," Tom Sr. says, "and that's what it's all about."

Those wings fluttered when Tom disppointedly fell to the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft. But he had learned to battle, and he climbed the Patriots' depth chart, taking over as the starter earlt last season. He led the Pats to the Super Bowl, where the Bradys watched him orchestrate a last-minute, title winning drive to earn game MVP honors.

Tom is now as much a dear friend as a son to Tom Sr. and Galynn. He was only home a few days this off-season, but their bond has never been stronger. "There is no one I enjoy seeing and spending time with more than my mom and dad," he says. "They are the reason I am what I am today."
-- Jordan Hyman (Sports Illustrated July 15-22 2002 Issue)