Cam Newton, who would follow
Brady as the Patriots’ starting
quarterback, in 2020, is selected
No. 1 by Carolina in the NFL draft.
Blaine Gabbert, Brady’s backup
the past two seasons in Tampa,
is selected 10th by Jacksonville.
debuts for
Te x a s Te c h ,
in relief ofDavis Webb.decades older, he spends a lot of time listening. “Learning
from those people is really important to me,” says Brady.
“I don’t think you can go through life and be fixed. I was
listening to someone the other day, and they said, ‘The
words I don’t know are the most powerful words because
they’re limitless. It’s limitless potential.’ And as soon as
you think you know something, you’re fixed.”
Reeves has given great thought to what makes Brady
special and has come up with three bullet points:- He makes people feel valued. “That could mean really
listening—he’s an extraordinary listener—to someone he’s
meeting for the first time.” - He thrives on excellence, for himself and those around
him. “He wants you to have what he has. He wants people
to be the best they can—but he’ll help you get there.” - He is a person of joy. “Pain is inevitable—certainly in
football—but misery is optional, and Tom does not accept
misery. Tom runs the opposite way. He runs to joy.”
Then Reeves absently adds a fourth. “Tom keeps his rou-
tines, but he is open to adventures.” And...wait...catch
that? It sounds like a throwaway line, but aha. That, as
much as anything, might unlock the secret to Brady’s—
and, for that matter, our—longevity.
Yes, Tom keeps his routines, so much so that his fanatical
habits figure prominently in the mythology. His sleep
schedule and his infrared pajamas. His training and
his plyometrics. We know about his hydration and his
electrolyte intake. Lord knows we know about his diet
and nutrition. He dares to eat a peach...and avocado
ice cream. (There is a sports-media edict that says Brady
cannot be discussed without a reference to avocado ice
cream.) But he dares not ingest carbs, nightshades, dairy,
white sugar or white f lour.
Ross Andel, director of the School of Aging Studies at
USF, notes that routines and good habits are essential
for optimal aging. A Bucs fan, Andel sees Brady and his
defiance of time and is unsurprised. “His ability to stay
disciplined is second to none,” says Andel. “Other people
look for a quick fix or go to extremes. He doesn’t mind hard
work. He holds onto his schedule. There’s such a resilience.”
Yet when discussing keys to graceful aging, Andel also
references an opposite, even contradictory, instinct: a
willingness to adapt—“I never want to be fixed”...“he is
open to adventures”—to stimulate new parts of the brain
and pleasure centers. In short, to evolve.
Andel points to a German study in which volunteers
were taught to juggle. As the subjects picked up a new
SIM skill, brain imaging revealed changes in gray matter. AsONBRUT
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