Bucs QB Brady vs. 49ers: It’s Personal

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Coming off of the high of a thrilling, last-minute 17-16 victory over the Saints on Monday Night Football, the Bucs look to keep that momentum going when they travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers. The game has special meaning for quarterback Tom Brady, as it marks a homecoming of sorts for the 23-year veteran. Though for as long he’s played in the league this will be just his second visit to the San Francisco Bay area.

“Yeah, it’s pretty unique,” Brady said. “For as long as I’ve played to have one experience there, and it was a great one, too. We played out there, it was a rainy day, it was 2016, we had a really good football team and I had a lot of friends and family in the crowd. I ran out for pregame warmup and I remember Chip Kelly coming over and he was like, ‘Damn, it’s a home game for you.’ And it really was. There was a lot of great [things].”

Returning home brings back a flood of memories for the Bucs quarterback and native Californian. It’s where he first fell in love with the game of football.

“I always consider myself a California kid, and I grew up obviously loving Joe Montana and Steve Young,” Brady said. “And going to 49er games, that’s where I fell in love with football. We’d sit up there in the nosebleeds. We had four tickets – my mom and dad would go, I would usually go and then one of my sisters would go. I was lucky to grow up in the Bay area at that time. It was just a great time. There were so many great players, it was a great era of football and I loved the 49ers.”

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

That love for the team would dissipate as Brady watched his hometown team pass over him over and over again in the 2000 NFL Draft.

“I loved them through college, and then when they skipped over me six times I started hating the 49ers, and that’s just the way it went down,” Brady said.

After high school Brady chose to go to Michigan for college and never made it back home as he was drafted by the Patriots. He then chose the Bucs in his one and only stint in free agency in 2020, although there was interest in returning to San Francisco. Yet the 49ers had just been to the Super Bowl with Jimmy Garoppolo, who was younger and just given a lucrative contract. So Brady signed with Tampa Bay instead and helped the Bucs win Super Bowl LV.

Sunday Will Be A Homecoming Game For Brady

Brady is sure to have plenty of friends and family in the stands rooting him on as they have been throughout his career. The only difference is they won’t have to travel to do so.

“I went to Michigan and obviously went home whenever I could,” Brady said. “Then I went further away to Boston, so I kept going further and further away from California. I came here, still didn’t make it any closer. So my parents have certainly racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles over the years. It’s been a magical experience. It will be great to go home and see a lot of people that I probably haven’t seen in a long time, my aunts and uncles, and try to go win a football game.”

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

For Brady the nostalgia of his childhood is just that – nostalgia. Make no mistake. This game is personal and he wants to beat the snot out of the 49ers for passing over him in the draft in 2000 and also in free agency in 2020.

When the ball is kicked off on Sunday it’s all business for Brady and the Bucs. He’s going to do whatever it takes to help his team win.

“Well I’m not a 49er fan anymore,” Brady said. “Yeah, that’s long gone. Yeah, I put those emotions away, too. I think my emotion is to do everything I can to help us win this game. I know they know that’s what they expect of me.

“We’re a competitive team and we haven’t had our best moments this year all the time, but we’re going to go out there and we’re going to try to play our best football this year, which is what it’s going to take because we’re playing a great football team.”