Tom Brady can find a receiver 80 yards downfield under pressure inside the two-minute drill, but the six-time Super Bowl champion admitted on Thursday he couldn’t find New England when he was drafted.
The confusion deepened when a wide-eyed, 22-year-old Brady touched down at a small airport the Patriots frequent (located in Rhode Island, not Massachusetts) shortly after he was selected in the sixth-round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
“I landed in Providence,” the San Mateo, California-native said via the Tampa Bay Times, “and that really screwed me up.”
According to the story, Brady landed at Theodore Francis Green Airport — not Logan International Airport in Boston. Gillette Stadium is located in Foxboro, Massachusetts and is approximately equidistant to both Logan (30 miles) and T.F. Green (34 miles), though oppressive Boston traffic and convenience often makes the latter a no-brainer.
T.F. Green is located in the city of Warwick, however, approximately 10 miles from Providence, where he thought he landed.
Despite early confusion, Brady, now 43, quickly acclimated and became a regional deity during his two-decade tenure as New England’s quarterback. He and wife, Gisele Bündchen, and three children held a primary residence in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, for many years.
Among his many accolades, the decorated Michigan product received 14 Pro Bowl nominations, three first-team All-Pro nominations, four Super Bowl MVP awards, three NFL MVP awards, two NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards and a NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. He has led the the NFL in the various passing categories multiple times.
Like all good things, Brady’s time in New England eventually came to an end, and he signed with Tampa Bay this past offseason. He made an immediate impact on the Buccaneers, helping lead the team to its first Super Bowl appearance since 2003.
He will compete for his seventh Super Bowl ring on Sunday, Feb. 7 in Super Bowl 2021 at the Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium against the Chiefs.