NFL
Chris Godwin Reveals What Tom Brady Told the Tampa Bay Buccaneers During His ‘Epic Speech’ Before Super Bowl 55
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterPublished22 Apr 2021
At this point in his NFL career, Tom Brady has developed quite the reputation as a leader. Most of that work, however, is done behind the scenes; beyond the occasional sideline outburst, fans can’t see how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback gets his team ready for action. Thanks to Chris Godwin, though, we now have a bit more perspective.
As you might expect, Tom Brady stepped up and spoke to his teammates before they took the field for Super Bowl 55. According to Godwin, the quarterback gave an “epic speech,” which helped lead the Buccaneers to victory.
Tom Brady has received plenty of praise for his leadership in Tampa Bay
In the world of professional sports, praising someone’s leadership can be a tricky thing; it’s easy to get sucked into focusing on intangibles and looking at unmeasurable traits ahead of things like talent. During his time in Tampa Bay, though, Tom Brady has received plenty of credit for pulling everyone together off the field.
When he first arrived in Florida, Brady started organizing offseason workouts. Once the campaign officially began, though, it’s not like he sat back and let others take the lead.
After the Buccaneers won the NFC championship, for example, Bruce Arians said that Brady gave the entire organization belief that they could make it over the hump. The quarterback also sent multiple text messages in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, reminding them that they could win.
Perhaps the best commentary on Brady’s presence, though, came from LeSean McCoy. “He’s the only player that I’ve ever been around that, when he speaks, when he talks, I believe him,” the veteran running back explained on The Pat McAfee Show. “He could tell me, ‘Shady, go walk on that water. You won’t drown.’ I’m going to be like, ‘OK.”
Chris Godwin takes us inside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers locker room
In the moments leading up to a Super Bowl, it’s safe to assume the players are inspired to hit the field and lift the Lombardi Trophy. During February 2021, however, Tom Brady wasn’t going to take any chances.
According to receiver Chris Godwin, Bruce Arians usually says a few words before each game; then either Devin White or Lavonte David takes over. Ahead of the big game, though, it was Brady’s time to shine.
“They both said their thing, and Tom’s like, ‘Yo, I got a last word,” Godwin explained on 10 Questions With Kyle Brandt. “He gives this epic speech, and I think it hit a lot harder because he didn’t give any pregame speeches throughout the year. And so that tells you how big the moment is, when Tom gets up here, and he gives this legendary speech. I was like, ‘Yo, that’s live. That is very dope.’ We were all ready to go.”
Brandt then asked about Brady’s speech. How does a man with an unparalleled NFL resume speak to his teammates and get them ready to compete?
“It’s what he’s saying, how passionate he is. You can tell he really means this. He’s talking about the game and honor and what this game will mean to everyone’s legacy, going out and winning this and being that team. He’s like, ‘This is something that your grandkids are going to be able to remember and be taught.’ He’s so passionate, man. It’s funny, too, because he’s basically been to 10 Super Bowls at this point, and he’s still just as fired up. So we were like, ‘yo, we gotta roll. Our time is now.’ He really had us ready to go.
Chris Godwin
It’s safe to say that Tom Brady’s pregame speech paid off
RELATED: Tom Brady Just Gave Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fans a Promising Update Ahead of the 2021 NFL Season
As mentioned above, it’s tough to directly connect the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl performance to Tom Brady’s speech; the Kansas City Chiefs, after all, didn’t do themselves any favors that night. At the end of the day, though, everything worked out for TB12.
The Buccaneers, of course, cruised to the championship. Brady also claimed his fifth Super Bowl MVP title on the night and scored a valuable victory for the sake of his resume. Had he stayed in New England, you could have cynically argued that he was benefiting from the system and only succeeding thanks to Bill Belichick; leading Tampa Bay to glory, however, officially puts that theory to bed.
While winning back-to-back championships is never easy, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a chance of accomplishing the feat this season; they are, after all, bringing back virtually their entire roster. If nothing else, we know that Tom Brady will be on hand to keep everyone motivated.
