New York: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said on Friday that teammates bring him extra motivation rather than the chance to accept a Super Bowl trophy from the man who banned him — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Brady seeks a fifth career Super Bowl title when the Patriots meet the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 on February 5 at Houston, Texas.
Goodell imposed a four-game ban upon Brady over the Deflategate scandal — in which the Patriots were found to have used under-inflated balls in a playoff game two years ago and Goodell ruled Brady must have known about it.
After court wrangling the punishment was upheld, and Brady missed the first four games of this season.
Despite Brady’s absence at the start of the campaign, the Patriots finished an NFL-best 14-2 this season and could finish with Goodell awarding them a championship trophy.
Asked about Goodell and motivation, Brady turned to his teammates to sidestep the question.
“I’m motivated for my teammates. They’re all the motivation I need,” Brady said after practice. “It takes a lot of work to get to this point.
“Nothing that has happened in the past is going to help us win this game. What’s going to help us win this game is going through that process we talked about and being ready to go. That’s enough motivation for me.”
Brady, the husband of Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen, said he is trying to accentuate positive thoughts.
“I’m a positive person so I just focus on all the positives. I don’t get caught up in negativity and bashing other people,” Brady said. “I’m very blessed. I get to do something I love to do — show up to work every day, play football in the National Football League and play for the Patriots.”
“I try to influence people in a positive way to try to be an encouraging person in other people’s life. Hopefully that wears off on my teammates. It’s a tough game and it’s a lot of challenges you face. Always focusing on what’s positive has worked for me.”
‘Where is Roger?’
Goodell, unpopular with Patriots supporters after pushing the legal fight to ban Brady after his original suspension was thrown out, skipped last weekend’s American Conference final in favour of going to Atlanta for the National Conference final.
Fans chanted “Roger, Roger, Roger” and “Where is Roger” at Gillette Stadium during New England’s 36-17 victory over Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game as 39-year-old Brady threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns.
Earlier this week, Goodell said it would be “an honour” to hand the Lombardi Trophy to Brady if the Patriots win the Super Bowl.
Goodell told Fox Sports it would not be an awkward moment to award the Patriots the Lombardi Trophy if they win another crown.
“Not for a second, Goodell said. “These are great teams. I’m going to be thrilled. Tom Brady is one of the all-time greats. He has been for several years. He’s on the precipice of at least potentially winning his fifth Super Bowl ring. He’s an extraordinary player, great performer, and a sure-fire Hall of Famer. So it would be an honour.”
The Patriots advanced to a record ninth Super Bowl — and the league-high seventh for the coach-quarterback tandem of Bill Belichick and Brady.
“It’s a pretty cool thing for our team to be able to accomplish this,” Brady said. “Every year is a little bit different. You have different circumstances and I think (we’ve) just done a good job taking advantage of our opportunities. This is a pretty tough, mentally and physically tough team that has proven itself over the course of a long season.”
