I Think it's Fair to Say That Tom Brady's Speech to Patriots Fans was the Greatest Piece of Oratory in Human History

I've heard it said that throughout human history that, in order to lead a people, you had to be able to ride a horse and win battles. Then at some point, humans invented media. Which meant that leadership involved first being able to give speeches over the radio, such as Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. And later to project a certain image on television, like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Clearly if that's true, we've lost all of that over the last couple of decades, given that no matter where you've look you find and empty shell of a vaguely human-shaped creature spewing out platitudes hoping their subjects will clap like seals waiting for a fish to be thrown at them.

The point being that truly great leadership has seemed to abandon us in this terrible age in which we find ourselves. At least it did. Until today. Until the speech given by the most successful public figure of our age. 

Watch this and find the lie in my words. Like all Patriots fans everywhere, Tom Brady had me at first bell:

And sealed the deal by pulling Patriots 12 jersey over his perfectly toned torso. The made it only better with his "LFG" sprint out onto the field, which was a good 1.25 seconds faster than his NFL Combine run in 2000. And removed any and all doubt with this gem, that came as close as he ever could to eclipsing the three years he spent in Tampa:

But it was the speech itself that won the day. Without teleprompters. Without reading it off the sheet. At worst, with note cards containing a few bullet points so that he didn't leave anything out. And above all else, just a man speaking from the heart to a people who love him and who he loves back:

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Pericles of Athens. Alexander at the Opis Mutiny. Henry V at Agincourt. Washington's Farewell Address. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream Speech." Elle Woods' graduation talk. Mr. Kraft's own "We are all Patriots" monologue, which is rightly displayed outside the offices at One Patriots Place. And now Tom Brady's "I Am a Patriot For Life" Address. The perfect part of a day that had moments both good and bad, which I shall get into with this week's Knee Jerk Reactions. 

But for now, this deserves  a blog of its own. And one can only imagine how greatTB12's Patriots Hall of Fame acceptance speech on 6/12/2024 (nice date) will be like when he's not confined to the 12 minutes allotted by the NFL's broadcast partners. But that is a date worth living for.