Let Him Mosh
The origins of Tom Brady’s legendary career are not in his childhood home in San Mateo nor on the gridiron at the University of Michigan.
Surprisingly, we can actually trace the origins to a basement in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
It was here at the turn of the century where teenagers and Rutgers students ventured down cellar doors to witness the sound of the new era: emo(tional-hardcore). And the band everyone came to see that night: Thursday.
2001
We all know the Legend of Tom Brady. We know how in 2001 sophomore Tom Brady stepped in at quarterback for an injured Drew Bledsoe where he led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl victory.
We also know that Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal” stood at the top of the Billboard charts at the start of the season.
But earlier that year, something else happened. That is. The release of Thursday’s sophomore album Full Collapse. With songs like “Understanding In A Car Crash” and “Autobiography Of A Nation”, Thursday set the ground running for the emo boom…and New England football dynasty.
Going into the 2001 season, Tom Brady knew he had to make a name for himself. He knew he had to make statement. What people don’t know is that well before Brady was slinging pigskins for the Patriots, Brady was slinging elbows in the pits at the 2001 Vans Warped Tour.
It was here during Thursday’s set that Brady became entranced. Under the spell of skinny jeans and and black eyeliner, a wave of dedication encompassed the young quarterback. He knew he was destined for greatness. Now it was time for him to drop the setlist for the playbook.
And the world was not ready.
2002
Following his surprise Super Bowl victory, Brady needed to continue to make a name for himself the following season. And what better soundtrack to dominate Sunday then with Taking Back Sunday’s 2022 album Tell All Your Friends.
With tracks like “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team)”, Brady aimed to put himself in a position where know one would ever dare to cut him from the team.
And that’s exactly what he did. Despite no Super Bowl win, he led the NFL in passing touchdowns — letting the sports world know he was here to stay. He was about to become something larger than life.
2003
Entering the 2003 season, Brady was already a national chamption and an award winning player in his own right. He saw the sun shining bright on his illustrious career. And he needed to right album to represent this moment. Something more upbeat.
And that album? Yellowcard’s Ocean Avenue. Bumping to the record’s title track, Yellowcard's violin charged pop-punk powered Brady. It was Tom Brady’s time to leave this town of above average quarterbacks and run forever to the Hall of Fame.
And what do you know? The waves of glory crashed down on him and took Brady to another Super Bowl victory.
2004
Despite another Super Bowl victory, Brady was not happy with himself. Though over the past three years he won two Super Bowls, he only had one Pro Bowl appearance to show for.
A great team player? Definitely. The greatest of all time? Far from it.
He needed to return to his roots. He needed to go somewhere darker, somewhere heavier than he had ever gone before.
That is when Brady heard Hawthorne Heights’ The Silence Between Black And White. After listening to “Ohio Is For Lovers” for the first time, he knew he couldn’t wait forever. He was not going to stop until his final breath was gone.
And what happened? Brady finished with a career high quarterback rating. This gave him an easy ticket to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl. And what else? ANOTHER Super Bowl victory!
2005
Now a seasoned NFL quarterback, it was up to Brady to continue showing the league what he can do. He was not some lamb, but the GOAT.
It was time for him to dance, dance around the competition. And what better collection of anthems to do so than with Fall Out Boy’s From Under the Cork Tree.
Even if nothing much was going for him this season he knew at least he was going down gunslinging.
But he didn’t need to worry about that. Though unable to win it all that year, Brady secured another entry to the Pro Bowl and was name the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
2006
Honestly, nothing remarkable happened this season for Tom Brady.
But I’m sure he enjoyed My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade.
2007
2007 was THE YEAR. It was time for him to bring the riot. And how better equipped than with Paramore’s explosive album Riot!.
Brady was in the business of misery against every team that year (except for the Giants…). Crushcrushcrush(ing) his opponents in the regular season, Brady led the Patriots to a 16–0 season, throwing for 50 touchdowns. Though losing the Super Bowl to Drill Rapper Eli Manning, Brady secured another trip to the Pro Bowl, and for the first time in his career — THE NFL MVP.
But “That's What You Get” when you are facing off against the greatest of all time. He was clearly “Born for This”.
2008- The Present
Though faced with an injury that sidelined him from the 2008 season, Tom Brady would go on to have the greatest career in NFL history.
Even with the Lombardi trophies, MVPs, Pro Bowls, and awe-inspiring comebacks, going into the later part of his career, he felt as a stranger in the everchanging world. He hoped a new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, would fill this hole.
Despite winning another Super Bowl, he knew something was missing, and it had nothing to do with football.
See, into the 2010s, the artists that drove Brady’s success over the first decade of his career seemed to fade away. Paramore and Fall Out Boy were diving into different genres. My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard, and Thursday disbanded. Meanwhile, Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights fell into irrelevancy.
But after coming back from retirement with the assistance of Dua Lipa in 2022, things began to change. Fast. My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard, and Thursday announced they were touring again. Through 2023, Paramore and Fall Out Boy came roaring back onto Billboard with tracks that took homage to the bands’ early years.
The 2022 When We Were Young Festival changed everything. With Warped Tour dead, music fans were craving to find the next Hot Topic come to life. Bands like Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights were welcomed with crowds of roaring fans who have been with them for decades.
There was only one problem. Brady wasn’t there.
Instead Tom Brady had to face the Carolina Panthers that weekend, losing abysmally 21 to 3.
What was the point anymore? asked Brady. He was already the GOAT. He thought back to the times in the pits during the 2001 Warped Tour. He needed that feeling, that energy back. And no Hail Mary with 5 seconds left was going to make up for that.
When Brady saw the lineup for the 2023 When We Were Young Festival, he knew he had to make a decision. Urgently.
Though when it was announced that Blink-182 would be headlining, his decision was already made for him.
On February 1st, 2023 Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. announced his retirement from the National Football League.
And what do I have to say to that?
Let Brady, our Goofy-Goober, mosh.
