GOAT Appreciation Week is Officially Underway and the Feelings are Already Turned Up to 11

JEFF HAYNES. Getty Images.

And so it begins. The exclamation point that ends a story that began on Bill Belichick's 48th birthday, during the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft. When he went around the Patriots war room to get a consensus on what to do with the 199th pick, and was convinced by the late, great quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein to take the scrawny, slow kid out of Michigan who looked like the "Before" model in a protein powder ad.

I count myself among the millions who wanted,. needed, Tom Brady to return to Foxboro for the tribute he deserves. But I think I'm also among the millions who are sort of dreading it. Twenty years, six championships, nine trips to the Super Bowl, 249 victories, a number of impossible plays, improbable comebacks, and surreal moments too innumerable to count. That's a Biblical flood of memories to process. And too much really to pack into one pregame ceremony and do it any sort of justice. 

Still, this is important. Vital, really. It's the necessary closure after watching him take his metahuman ability to win down to Tampa, and then retire without even mentioning Patriots fans. Twice. It's the confirmation we all need that however things ended here, that those two decades did, in fact, happen. We own those memories. We share in those banners. To steal the line from Terrance Mann, Sunday will remind us of all that was once good. And can be again. 

But I say again, it's a lot to take on. Too much to put it into any kind of perspective. I've been so invested in the fate of this franchise and this returning player for so long, I'm worried it'll be too much. Like my emotions will have blow a circuit breaker just to keep my heart from shorting out and bursting into flames. 

I guess this must be what it feels like to see your adult child get married or have kids of their own. Take for instance, this post the Patriots put out to kick off the week. Brady's first start, a blowout win over Peyton Manning's Colts. An absolute laugher of a game in all aspects. I haven't watched the home videos I made of my sons when they were little. But I'll watch this content a thousand times this week:

You just have so much to say, so many thoughts to express, you just end up speechless. 

Fortunately for us though, the people directly involved are anything but. And they are talking.  Beginning with Brady, acknowledging just how special all this was for him:

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And Belichick, responding on his weekly radio hit:

Asked if he's got any specific memories of that 20 year collaboration, he answered:

"Well, there are six of them that come to mind. Can’t say enough about Tom. What he’s meant to this organization, what he’s meant to me personally. He just epitomized everything you would want in a player. His work ethic, his ability to handle and process a lot of things on and off the field. His critical playmaking ability, instinctiveness and anticipation and decision making at the most critical times in the biggest games in the team’s history not to mention the seasons.  

"For so many years, he set a standard of daily performance which turned into yearly performance which turned into not only a Hall of Fame career, but probably the best career of all time in the National Football League. 

 "He did it on a day-to-day basis. I’d say that’s really the biggest thing about Tom that’s so impressive is what you got from him every day was that same level of commitment, work ethic, performance, attention to detail and inquisitiveness and coachability. Tom’s always looking to get better, improve and find ways to be a little bit better than he was no matter how good he was. That’s really a great, great attitude to have with a player of his person and ability and performance and production."

I'm sorry. Was I blogging? Where was I going with this? Oh right. Brady and Belichick. Moving on …

Belichick is a big Sun Tzu Guy, so he's undoubtedly read this one. "Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley." And this is what he got in return.

Once again, let us use this as a reminder that the way things ended for Brady here in 2019 does not in any way cancel out how these two worked together for an unprecedented period of time, brought out the best in one another, respected each other, were grateful for the opportunity to work together, and achieved unimaginable success. 

I have it on good authority that Brady has been telling people how frustrated he got in Tampa with the total lack of discipline in Bucs organization. That body language we all saw last year that screamed "I've had it with this" was real. We were not mistaken. He's privately admitted he gained a newfound appreciation for how lucky he was to work for this coach in this system, that prioritizes hard work, dedication and teamwork above all other things in order to win.

In return, the GOAT of players gave the GOAT of coaches "that same level of commitment, work ethic, performance, attention to detail and inquisitiveness and coachability" he referenced. And it's profoundly beautiful to hear both men say it publicly.

If this is how the rest of the week goes, I'm going to need a bigger box of tissues.