This nightmare of a week may be technically ending, but the actual horrors are only just beginning. This is our new normal. We're amidst a pandemic, with toilet paper shortages and the most bizarro/awkward/unnecessary breakup in sports history; Tom Brady is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
Just three days ago, Tom Brady told us he was "FOREVER A PATRIOT" while terminating his position with the team. 
I know I may take liberties with definitions/interpretations of words on my blog and IRL, but it appears TB12 may need to download the Dictionary/Thesaurus application and freshen up.
"Looks like Tom said forever, and still said goodbye"
I still was holding out hope that this was all some crazy scheme to use whatever potential leverage he had left to stay. Unfortunately, that's no longer a possibility :(
One reality of life is that change is inevitable; It'll never stay the same forever; All good things must come to an end; This too shall pass; If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes. I think we get it?
I knew that Tom Brady wasn't going to be the QB of the Patriots for the rest of my life (unless I died prematurely); this day was bound to come eventually. I just thought it'd be much different; that Brady would end up playing every down of his professional career in New England. I thought all parties would put their differences beside for the good of the organization and their legacies (as they always had). Let's not forget the Pats started 8-0 this season, it wasn't like they went 4-12. They could've found a way to go "all in" on Brady the next two years; then just rebuild. Everybody alive has their issues/skeletons; even the most successful player/coach/owner Triumvirate in the history of professional sports. Always remember, despite how great your neighbor's house may look on the outside, that inside those doors things may not be as perfect as they portray on instagram. 
Things at 1 Patriot Place were clearly not as always perfect as they seem. You can't hide your lyin eyes.
20 years is a long time to be together. Two decades of dealing with each other's bullshit. It's unfair to place blame entirely on one man; all played a role.
Belichick could've given an inch and treated Brady like the superstar, all-time talent he is and given him the respect/love he desires. Obviously this is me speculating, but I really think Brady just wanted to be acknowledged. His humble act is exactly that; an act. He's a human. He wants his due. We all know the parking spot story. Tom's like a son who just wants his dad to say he's proud of him and that he loves him. Instead, it felt like Bill was trying to give Brady less and less; almost to help accelerate his decline and justify paying him less/moving on entirely. I understand Brady's frustration with Bill over the years. You could argue the way he is is why the run lasted as long as it did, but Belichick is not impervious to mistakes or flaws. Ras-I Dowling, Tavon Wilson, Jordan Richards. I'll just stop now for all of us. Then there's RKK. The money man. The owner. The cool guy billionaire that fucks chicks 50 years his junior after making a spectacle of his wife's passing. The man who on paper has final say of how this organization is run. He could've avoided all this years ago by invoking his power as the owner to lock up Tom Brady long-term and make sure he has amble support on the offensive side of the ball. Brady saw countless teammates and friends leave at seemingly the worst moments for two decades. Kraft could've put his foot down. Instead Brady would adapt and the team would still win. Let's just please not forget the 10 year championship drought peppered in between dynasties. Brady had some stinkers in the playoffs for sure, but more often than not it was a flaw in the roster that cost them in the playoffs. Lastly, there's Brady; the California kid. The man who on the surface did everything right. He took team friendly deals that allowed this marriage together as long as it did. His "sacrifices" made a majority of this double-dynasty possible. He spewed the company lines for years, fully embracing the Patriot way; not allowing his personality (or lack thereof) to truly shine. It was all business all the time. What shocks me is that he ultimately made the decision to leave. That's what fucks me up. It's like he's turning his back on all of us that have loved and supported him for 20 fucking years. He finally had enough of Bill's bullshit? What was the straw that broke the "please don't call me the" Goat's back? I always would've assumed it'd be Belichick ultimately making that call. He's the one who's mastered eliminating emotion from decision making. We all figured he'd be able to overlook two decades of dominance and throw Brady to the curb when the time was right. I fell directly in the camp of not believing the hype that Brady could actually leave. I never thought Brady would; that it was all just to kill time during the off-season. It wasn't until a little before 9 am on Tuesday. As I woke up, I tried to figure out wtf Brady was saying, without actually having to read it all. That's when it was too late. He gone! I'm still in shock. Make fun of me all you want; I'm gullible. I trust too easily. I fall hard; fast. I believe in people, despite my better judgement. I'm incredibly jaded for years of being mistreated and disrespected, but I try to see the good in people. I thought legacy, honor and history mattered more than petty bullshit and proving "who needed who more?" Even at 42 (soon to be 43) it's not exactly a fair time to decide. We'll likely never truly know. I don't know why we need to? Does it really matter if John or Paul was the bigger Beatle? Brady hasn't fallen off the cliff, but he sure isn't even 2016 Brady anymore. If he fails in Tampa, I don't think it's fair to discount what he accomplished over TWENTY years in New England. Let's not forget the Bucs have 6 playoff wins in its history which dates back to 1976. The idiots in media like Max Kellerman will mention how the 2008 Pats went 11-5, but seems to forget how the vast majority of a team that was ONE enforcement of "in the grasp" away from literal perfection the year before. How can someone getting paid to give sports opinions be so dense? At the same point, if Bill succeeds post-Brady (much more likely) I don't think you can write off all he accomplished in New England on the arm of TB12. Brady carried the 2017 Pats to a Super Bowl and if Belichick did what was best for the team instead of his ego they likely have another ring. They both needed each other. While a Pats-Bucs Super Bowl this year would be the ultimate test I don't think we're gonna see that. Like many others, I assumed since they've made it this far they'd stay together until the very end. Especially when the shine of their 6th championship together was still glistening in the rear view; just 13 months ago. 
Social distancing after their 9th AFC championship together??I
I've tried to transition my sports fandom into one of apathy the last decade or so; mainly to counteract getting so upset/disappointed by a fucking game. Believe me, I know how dumb it is to get so emotionally invested. (the last month+ with Mookie and now this has forever altered me) Despite all the glaring red flags staring me in the gullet, I never thought Brady would actually leave. My childhood is officially ending at 28. This chapter is over. The one thing from my youth that still was whole is gone. Because of that, this has hit me like a ton of bricks. SORRY! It just adds fuel to this "fuck everything rn fire". I never even entertained the thought that he could be the one who ends this relationship. Even with my fucked up real life experiences with family, love and marriage; I figured they'd find a way to make it work. Silly me.
In the days since the news broke. the dust isn't' settling; it's more of a nuclear fallout trying to process this reality. I've beaten this point to death, but the dude has been the quarterback of my favorite team since i was IN FOURTH GRADE. I'M ALMOST 30. I'm supposed to act like it doesn't affect me emotionally? Why? To look cool in front of people who don't care about me? This fucking sucks, and I'll go to my death believing it didn't have to happen. The world doesn't need to be as shitty as it is and I think that's why I get so down. Everybody is at fault, because like most business ventures; greed and ego ultimately got in the way. When you see the specks of the deal it makes the decision sting even more.
Being a Pats fan living in New England, I know a fair share of Patriot fans. The reactions have been divided, which isn't surprising.
You have fans that stand with Brady and fans that stand with the organization. Some will support him in Tampa, while others are ready to burn jerseys, scream greed and ego at the legacy of Tom Brady. All reactions are valid; here's how I really feel and am processing this transaction.
As social media continues to change the way we process reality, we learn more and more about people. The lines that used to protect the general public from how the provable sausage gets made in any industry are blurred by the day. There's more access to not just information, but education than even 20 years ago. Your views start to alter; or at least they should.
When I was a kid, I had no idea how the real world works. I still don't, but it's like before I was driving with a completely frosted over windshield. At least now there's a little hole so I can drive and make my own decisions. 
I hated Johnny Damon for picking the Yankees after he said he never would. As I've gotten older I've learned how business works and how shitty employers treat the people who make them money. You gotta look out for yourself. 10 years ago if Brady left for more money I would've bashed him until the free-range cows came home. Now at 28, I can see why, despite their success that Brady would want to leave Bill Belichick; as much as it pains me to admit.
The wanna-be enlightened sports fans will say "you should be happy" for the years you had or that "he doesn't owe you anything". These type of people need to get thrown into a volcano ASAP. Like can we just get off our high horse for two seconds? Obviously Tom Edward Patrick Brady, Jr doesn't owe me or you shit. I'm not that obtuse, but It doesn't make this suck any less. I want to be mad at him for leaving, but can you really blame him? He did everything right for 20 years and still gets sort of shafted. When you only have a few years left you want make the most of those year and play for a team that is going to pull out all the stops for you. Not ask for pay cuts and let premiere talent walk out the door. What's so weird about it is that Brady will be fine. If anything outsiders will probably like him more. Some fans may be mad now, but whenever he retires the Patriots will welcome him back with open arms. He'll sign the one day contract. They'll suck his dick so hard it'll look like a dehydrated banana. The ceremonies and videos will be nauseating, but necessary. The documentaries will be amazing. I cannot wait for Belichick to write a tell all....It's all going to happen, but I'm sorry Brady's legacy is forever altered. He could've had the one team career. Instead his ego leads him to scuzbag Tampa. In a way he is forever a Patriot, even if he doesn't play for the Patriots for forever. It's like if your spouse that you absolutely love and would do anything for left the family for like two years to go get all the fucking out of their system from the chambers of monogamy. You could be bitter and burn bridges; call them a whore. Make it really ugly. Go full send on the divorce papers. Or you can left them go do their thing; get it out of their system. Share them with the world. Then after when they realize communal living and thurples never work; you get them tested and welcome them back with open arms. Tampa Bay is Tom Brady's mistress with big fake tits and an ass built by a physical trainer. Sure she's a lot of fun in the sheets. Then you start talking to her and you realize there's nothing in her brain except and drink recipes and the memories of her dad who wasn't there. Yeah busting huge loads on her tattoo of a butterfly is rad, but eventually you get tired of meaningless fucking. After about 26 months of this you want to sit back on the couch with a beverage and just have a chill conversation about the moral dilemma that was dropping the atomic bomb, not once, but twice in World War II. Are you really going to be able to have that conversation with Tampa Bay? Does Tampa Bay even know there was a war? When you're ready to talk leaflets and lasting effects; New England will be waiting with open arms and shot of penicillin.
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