Tom Brady Wants to Know Where He is Going
A 2018 story in the Washington Post, provides recent insights into where Tom Brady is spiritually.
But first, some updated facts since we posted the 2008 story below:
- Won his first Super Bowl in 2002. Seven Super Bowl wins.
- He’s 44. (2022)
- Most playoff wins of any quarterback in history.
- Five SuperBowl MVP awards – the most for any single player in NFL history
- His wife Gisele Bundchen is worth more than $400 million (US) – not to mention his own personal worth.
- His father said: “Tommy wants to play till he’s 70.
In Bob Smietana’s story in the Washington Post (02 Feb.2018), Tom Brady told a sports journalist:
“I do want to know the whys in life. I do want to know why we’re here, where we’re going; trying to find that deeper purpose. To live it, through sports in a very authentic way, makes so much sense to me.”
Really? Can football soothe and assure this star?
Five SuperBowl Rings as of 2017
Is football the ultimate answer to Mr. Brady’s questions? He’s 40 now. When the trophies are becoming tarnished and the rings have to be re-sized and new stars emerge in the NFL, what’s Mr. Brady’s deeper purpose then? Or is football the distraction he needs in life to bury those persistent underlying questions – questions that were weighing heavily on his mind in 2015 and in the 2008 story below?
In 25 years’ time, young men and women will be asking: “Tom, who?” Yes, a few football aficionados will have instant-recall of NFL historical stats and greats – but the rest of the world will move on. What answers about life, God, and eternity will Mr. Brady have then?
In 2015, A New York Times journalist wrote about being in Brady’s kitchen. Brady takes the writer through his kitchen. There’s a menorah being displayed. Brady is a Catholic – his father went so far as to join a seminary.
“We’re not Jewish,” Brady says. “But I think we’re into everything … I don’t know what to believe. I think there’s a belief system. I’m just not sure what it is.”
That’s an easy question to answer. Brady’s belief system is professional football. It’s given him a path and a raison d’être. It’s defined him, while allowing him to remain undefined. (1)
The football path may get him through this life, but what then? The Bible says: “There is a path that seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) The football way may seem good for today but what about in a Hospital Emergency Room or in a life-death situation. Does football help then?
Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6
Tom Brady, many Christians are praying that you will be taken out of the darkness of your spiritual confusion into the light of truth – Christ Himself.
Jesus said: “Whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness.” John 12:46
Source:
(1)http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/kelly-tom-brady-is-the-whole-package-that-we-know-of-nothing-inside/article22731479/
Original 2008 Story
“I Wish I Knew! I Wish I Knew!”
Tom Brady wishes he knew and maybe you wish you knew too.
At 30, Tom Brady has achieved fame of epoch proportions in the football world. There is a good chance that Brady will go down as the best quarterback of all times.
Born in California in 1977, he followed the 49ers closely in the 1980s attending their games and admiring quarterback Joe Montana – in fact, idolizing him. Then he played college football at the University of Michigan. He made his NFL debut in 2000 with the New England Patriots.
Between 2000 and 2007 his string of record-breaking successes catapulted him into the celebrity world of the rich and famous. During the 2007 NFL season, Brady led the Patriots to a 16-0 record, outscoring opponents by more than a 2-to-1 margin. He also reached numerous career, franchise, and NFL records and milestones as well. (1)
At 24, Brady was the youngest quarterback in NFL history to ever win a championship. Now at 30, he has already won three Super Bowls – a record that ensures he has a place among the best quarterbacks in football history.
Presidents invite him to their annual State of the Union addresses. The Pope invited him for a personal audience. He has a $60 million ten year contract with New England Patriots. He turns down multi-million dollar endorsement deals if he doesn’t feel good about them. The endorsements to which he does agree, he shares the proceeds with his teammates. On the personal side of things, he is considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the world who gets to date supermodels.
In December of 2007, 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft interviewed Tom Brady. There were some surprises as Brady spoke candidly about his life and what he’s looking for.
Steve Kroft seemed genuinely surprised to hear this young athlete with fame and wealth tell him:
“Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.” (2)
Steve Kroft then asked him: “What’s the answer?”
“I wish I knew. I wish I knew,” says Brady. “I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.”
It wasn’t a flippant response. The facial expressions and the tone of his voice captured in the video underlined the deep desire this young celebrity has to find the real purpose for his life – the answer that will bring him true and lasting fulfillment – not fleeting successes and thirst for something more.
The CBS 60 Minutes correspondent asked him about his three Super Bowl wins and which of his Super Bowl rings he liked the best. “What’s your favorite ring,” he asked.
“My favorite ring? I’ve always said, you know, I always said the next one. The next one is the best,” Brady says.
Tom Brady wishes he knew the answer to his life and maybe you wish you knew too.
The difference between humans and every other living creature is the conscious pursuit of life’s meaning and the inner desire for
fulfillment. Humans are unique in that they were created with the capacity to enjoy a full relationship with God.
There is no question – the capacity for such a relationship exists. People try to fill it with personal successes and achievements. They may try to fill it with money or sex or friends and hobbies. They may turn to drugs and alcohol, gambling and other lifestyle choices. But at the end of the day, there is still an aching void. An emptiness. A longing for something more.
With his hefty string of accomplishments, sports awards, honors and trophies he incredulously thinks: “it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t…. this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.” You can hear the disappointment in his voice and see the look of disillusionment in his eyes.
2000 years ago Jesus talked to a woman He met at an ancient well. She was coming to draw water. Was there anything she had not tried in life?!! Certainly the men of her city knew very well she didn’t live a secluded or a dull life.
The message Jesus conveyed to her was: you’ll be thirsty again and again if this is the only water you ever drink in life. The water from this well can not satisfy you and quench your thirst permanently. Of course, He was sharing a timeless spiritual truth with her – beyond the physical water in that well.
Jesus said to her,
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever.
The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
The answer to Brady’s question and the answer to your question is the same: Christ alone can fill the void in your life. Nothing else will. Nothing else can. You were made to have a relationship with God and until you embrace Christ as your Saviour, there will always be that lack of fulfillment – an inner longing for something more.
When Christ enters your life, you will have an internal fountain that will keep you satisfied now and forever. He will quench your thirst. Click here to discuss this further by email.
If you would like to receive a package of Bible information to assist you in your search for peace and forgiveness, click here.
Sources:
2. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3643660n
3. Picture, Boston Globe, Google Images