In the days leading up to Super Bowl LI, reports surfaced that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s mother has been undergoing cancer treatment. As a result, she was unable to attend the first 14 of her son’s games of the 2016 season. Galynn Brady, however, was in the audience for the most memorable game of the year.
The mother of four was a first-hand witness as her son led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit to win the Super Bowl. Thanks to the improbable victory, Tom Brady earned a fifth championship ring – and his mother received one too. According to ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss, Patriots owner Robert Kraft surprised Galynn Brady with a Super Bowl ring of her own.
“It was a great surprise to all of us when the ring showed up,” Brady told Reiss last Friday. “[Robert Kraft has] been so supportive of my family and certainly everything my mom went through and knowing first-hand how families deal with it.” Kraft himself saw his wife Myra undergo cancer treatments. However, as opposed to Galynn who finished treatments in April, Myra Kraft lost her battle with cancer in July 2011.
Seeing the team honor Galynn Brady's battle with cancer by giving her a Super Bowl ring is therefore a great gesture. Kraft's franchise quarterback has repeatedly demonstrated how close the bond with his parents is in the past. During Super Bowl media day, for example, Brady choked up when naming his dad as his hero.