Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre knows how hard it is to play into your 40s, so he understands why New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady called out his haters in a rare candid moment after Sunday's AFC Divisional Round playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Brady was asked by CBS' Tracy Wolfson about the upcoming AFC Championship Game matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, and the legendary quarterback didn't hold back.
“It'll be a good game," Brady said. "They're a good team. We played them earlier this year. I know everyone thinks we suck and, you know, can’t win any games. So, we’ll see. It’ll be fun.”
Favre, during a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, doesn't seem surprised that Brady would make those comments given his competitive fire.
"We have to have something that motivates us, and what Tom is saying there is motivating him," Favre explained. "You know, you go, 'why does he need anything else to motivate him?' It's what makes him who he is, and what makes him so great is that, yeah, he knows what he's done. He's well aware of where he stands in the National Football League, not only presently, but in the history. Now, he's not going to talk about it, but as long as he's still playing, that fire within him is going to burn when you speak negatively about (him) or his team."
This makes a lot of sense. The greatest athletes in every sport either use one source of motivation their entire career or keep finding new ones to avoid complacency. For Brady, it's probably the fact he was a sixth-round draft pick, and he talked about that in the "Brady 6" documentary several years ago.
The Patriots are underdogs entering Sunday's AFC Championship Game versus the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Many experts will be picking the Chiefs to advance to Super Bowl LIII, but Favre isn't going to count out Brady and the Pats.
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"I did say all year long, do not count the Patriots out, and Tom Brady, obviously, is included in that until he retires," Favre said. "That's when I count him out. And the same could be said for (Bill) Belichick. They've proven, yet again -- now, I know there's still two games left -- but they have proven, yet again, don't count them out."
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