We all know that Tom Brady has been winning football games for a long time. But this stat puts it all in perspective.
While the Patriots will go up against the Rams in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, 17 years after beating the then St. Louis Rams to start it all, one stat stands out.
It's not touchdowns or completions, or Super Bowl wins or appearances.
It's the fact that the three main weapons around Brady, who have spearheaded the second half of the Patriots dynasty, namely Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, and Sony Michel, were just kids when it all began 17 years ago.
17 years ago to the day from Super Bowl Sunday, February 3rd, 2002, Sony Michel was just six years old. Rob Gronkowski was 12. Julian Edelman was 15.
All of these years later, it seems improbable, almost unbelievable, that the four men are together, competing in what is Michel's first Super Bowl appearance, Gronkowski and Edelman's fourth, and Brady's ninth.