On Sunday, the New England Patriots lost Super Bowl 52 versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Today, five days removed from the title game defeat, New England quarterback Tom Brady took to Instagram to release a statement about the game and a 2017 season that ended in defeat:
It has taken me a few days to reflect on our SB loss as well as the great season our team had. There are many emotions when you come up short of your goal. And they are all part of learning and growing in this journey of life. Learning turns everything into a postitive [sic]. And the number one feeling I have had the past 4 days is gratitude. Gratitude to my teammates for the incredible effort given all season regardless of the challenges we faced.
Gratitude toward my coaches for the effort and sacrifice they make to put us players in the best position to win. Gratitude to the NEP organization for supporting us on our very challenging and difficult journey.
Gratitude to the Philadelphia Eagles team and organization for bringing out the best in us and being gracious winners (as well as congratulations on winning the championship)
Gratitude toward our fans who showed up every week to cheer us on and commit their time and energy and love and support to what our goals are. And gratitude to my family and friends who continue to love and support my dreams.
Thank you all. I love you all.
Best, Tom
As can be seen, the overall theme of the statement is gratitude towards those who supported and accompanied Brady during the 2017 season. Especially the last sentence – gratitude to his family and friends who continue to support him – is an important one after watching the first five episodes of the Tom vs Time documentary, during which Brady himself speaks of the sacrifices his family has to make because of his profession.
The statement itself was released on the morning after the Boston Herald released a story about the quarterback potentially sitting out offseason practices in order to get a better contract. The story has since been taken down from the Herald's website after WEEI revealed that one of its regular callers pranked author Ron Borges into believing he is Brady's agent Don Yee.