Transcript: Tom Brady, Part 1

In June 2005, 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft sat down for an interview with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The interview took place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Here is a transcript of that conversation.

TOM BRADY: I'm hard working, pretty disciplined, but fun, caring, probably too-sensitive person, who likes to be around his family and friends as much as he can.

KROFT: When you say sensitive, too sensitive, what do you mean?

BRADY: Not too sensitive in the sports world, but just very sensitive. Like on Father's day yesterday, thinking about my Dad, I get choked up. I think I've always been like that. And then I get very fiery on the other side of it. I think there's the two extremes. You know? I can get very sensitive, but at the same time very stubborn, too.

KROFT: Emotional?

BRADY: Very emotional in everything I do. And I'm pretty low key. It appears that I'm low key on the outside, but definitely not on the inside. A lot of people say, "God, you always look so composed." I'm like, "Man, I was so excited then. You know?"

KROFT: When you talk about being emotional, give me an example.

BRADY: An emotional time that I've had? It was recent. My grandmother passed away, and I was so removed from it because I was 2,500 miles away and it right during the time of the Super Bowl. My parents had gone home to see my grandma, as she kind of passed on. And it was hard for me to be away. But because I wasn't there, I really didn't get the feelings of being there, and seeing her, and seeing the family kinda come together. And then I went home for the funeral, right after the Super Bowl, and as soon as I walked into the funeral home, and I see her in the casket, it was like all these feelings just swung. And I had no idea. I had no way of anticipating that. It was just like wow. I mean, it told me how important she was in my life, and how much I miss her, and how much I was gonna miss her. It was weird, because I'm sitting there crying. And you know, everyone else is pretty composed, I guess, because they had been through it. But all those feelings kinda hit me at once.

KROFT: Get excited about winning a Super Bowl?

BRADY: Yeah, sure do. At the thoughts of winning it. Oh, yeah. Every time, it's been a different feeling, too. It's been the ultimate high. You know, you gotta find a way to, as best you can, keep it in perspective, or else you're just gonna kinda wither off those two months later.

KROFT: Competitive?

BRADY: Yeah. I hate losing. I hate losing.

KROFT: That's what I hear.

BRADY: Yeah.

KROFT: That's what your teammates said.

BRADY: When I was growing up, I used to play video games a lot. I mean, I broke more controls. My mom quit buying 'em, because every time I'd get mad, I'd lose a game, and it would be probably against the computer, and I'd throw the remote up against the TV. I mean, I broke a TV. And I broke countless remotes.

I mean, it got to the point, my dad pulled me off the golf course one time when I was eight years old. I mean, eight years old. I swung, hit a bad shot -- it was the seventh hole at the golf course -- and I take my club, and I slam that thing on the ground so hard. And he took me (LAUGHS), he said, "Get your butt in the cart, and we're going home right now." I was so mad that he dragged me off the course. But at the same time, at eight years old, I mean, why would I care that bad about hitting a bad golf shot? But I just, for some reason, I've just been like that.

KROFT: One of your teammates said, "If you walk into a room, and you see backgammon chips scattered all over the floor and the table overturned, they know that you've been there, and probably lost."

BRADY: Yeah. Probably. I'm a pretty good winner. I'm a terrible loser. And I rub it in pretty good when I win. But as soon as I lose, those backgammon sets – I've broken more backgammon sets. I don't know. It's like I wish I had a punching bag nearby sometimes. I can lose it pretty good. It's not something I'm proud of, and I wish I had a lot of ways I could change it. But it's hard.

KROFT: Your sisters say that you'll do anything to compete, that you'll have contests to see who can eat the most salsa without drinking a glass of water. (LAUGHS)

BRADY: That was the most recent with them. Yeah.

KROFT: And one of your teammates said that if you have a roll of duct tape, a pan and a broomstick, you'll figure out some sort of game. (LAUGHS) You'll invent some sort of game to compete with somebody. True?

BRADY: Yeah. I think I'm looking for that little spark. Competing is fun, and I enjoy that. With my sisters, you talk about the salsa, I mean, it was so fun that night. Because we order this big dinner, you know? And the dinner is coming, and someone says, "Well, let's just put some hot sauce in the salsa, and see how hot we can get it, and we'll try it." I have another sister who's very competitive, who's Maureen. It was her graduation when I was home. She goes, "Well, let's go. Alright. Come on." About 40 chips later, and buckets of salsa later, I mean none of us had touched our dinner, cause our mouths were so hot. And you couldn't drink or eat anything to subdue the heat. We didn't drink anything the night. We waited till the morning. We woke up the next morning, and finally it was like, "Man, you gotta have something." She was gonna pass out at her graduation. I thought I was gonna pass out, too. It was so funny.

KROFT: So, you ended up calling off the bet?

BRADY: In the morning, she had a Dr. Pepper. I had a glass of water. She had a Dr. Pepper before she went to the graduation. She was like, "I need something."

KROFT: One of your teammates, the long snapper . . .

BRADY: Lonie [Paxton].

KROFT: Lonie. Lonie was telling us a story about who could hit the pizza box.

BRADY: We went to a concert, Dave Matthews concert. We drove down to one of the arenas down in Providence. We're having a blast. They had this little backstage thing afterwards, where you go in and meet the band. And so, we go down there. The band never showed up. But that didn't matter, because Lonie and I had decided, well, we found like the bottom of a 24 pack of soda. It was like the cardboard. And there was a table. Someone brought a football because they wanted us to sign it. So, I signed it. And we said, "Well," Lonie said, "Well, let's play a little game."
He put the cardboard box up against the table, and he said, "Alright, let's go." So, I'm throwing it. And he's snapping it under his legs. And we keep getting farther and farther, back to all the way across the room. It was probably 30 yards away. Now, 30 other people [are] sitting on these tables, and the ball's flying over the top of their tables. (LAUGHS) And we're trying to hit these cardboard boxes. I mean, it was ridiculous.

KROFT: Did you hit it?

BRADY: Not as often as he did. He's a better throw underhand than I am overhand. He's pretty good. That's why he's one of the best.

KROFT: You've got three Super Bowl rings. You've been voted most valuable player in two of those Super Bowls. You're probably the most glamorous player in the N.F.L., but it hasn't always been like that, right? It hasn't always been easy.

BRADY: No. It's never come easy for me. I don't think my mind allows me to rest ever, or for things to come easy. I have, I think, a chip on my shoulder, and some deep scars that I don't think were healed. That is why I think I motivate myself to get up and continue to work, because I was always the person who was always trying to. And I know everybody has these stories of hardships, but I was always the one that no one ever picked. And like I said, I was the back-up quarterback on the freshman team that didn't win a game. I only played my second year, because my best friend, who was the quarterback, who started ahead of me, he quit playing.
And then finally I get my chance my junior year to play. And we go six and four. My senior year we go five and five. And I'm recruited to go to Michigan, and the only reason they recruited me was 'cause I made a highlight tape. My dad had a highlight tape. You know, I loved playing football, and he wanted me to go and play football. So, he said, "Let's make a highlight." We made like 60 tapes, so we're looking through this book of colleges, and all their athletic department addresses. And I'm sitting there, saying like, "You know, University of U.C., Davis. Let's send one there. Or Saint Mary's College in Moraga."

We get down to Michigan. I said, "Dad, you think we should send one to Michigan?" He's like, "Sure. Yeah." And I'm thinking like, "I can send this, but it's pretty much a waste of a tape." Well, they get the tape. Finally, they offered me a scholarship, and we took a visit back there. "Hey, I'm going to Michigan. This is where I want to be."

Well, I walk in the door. There's another quarterback, who's a great player. He's the sixth quarterback. I'm the seventh, and it was like, "How am I ever gonna play here?" I mean, the guy who's starting was a year ahead of me, who the coach loved, who led us through a bunch of great wins.

KROFT: That being?

BRADY: Scott Dreisbach. His very first game of his career, he led our team back, and threw a game-winning, touchdown pass in front of 112,000 people, with like one second left. And he was from, as far as I'm concerned, he was gonna play for the rest of his career. And I would never get a chance.

It was like, my dad, I remember sitting in the car one time. He had come out to see me play. I said, "Dad, I don't know if I'm ever going to get to play here. I mean, I don't think I'll ever get my chance." And it wasn't a very good attitude. You know?

KROFT: What did your dad say?

BRADY: He said, "You're probably right. You probably won't. You know? You probably won't." And then I said, "Well, where do I want to be? If I could play, where would I want to play?" I had talked to a guy who worked with a lot of the athletes at the school. He was a really neat person, a person I stay in contact with. He used to come and speak in front of our whole team about self-defeating attitudes and behaviors, and how you can beat yourself before you even go out there to compete, not only athletics, but in life. And just the positive attitude, and setting goals, and understanding that the only thing you can control is your attitude. Regardless of any of the other things that happen in your life, there's only so much you can do, and you can control what you can control. And that was my preparation, my effort, my leadership – not how other people affected me, but how I affected them.

KROFT: I want to go back a little bit . . .

BRADY: Alright.

KROFT: You started off as a back-up quarterback on a team that went zero and eight. Then your junior and your senior year in high school you were barely 500.

BRADY: Right.

KROFT: How did you get a scholarship to Michigan?

BRADY: I was a better baseball player, and I played a lot of baseball. So, my name was out there in the community as a baseball player, and a football player. But I always had a good arm, I mean, I could always throw the ball pretty well. I didn't start playing football until my freshman year. So, it was my second year, my sophomore year, I had a great coach, who really kind of opened my eyes to what football was all about, and how much fun I had that like, I would spend my time in the summers now, rather than go to play for a traveling baseball team, I wanted to go to football camps. My dad and I went down to Arizona and went to a football camp. We played golf together. We went to these steakhouses out in the middle of nowhere. And I continued to improve. I mean, I got better. It wasn't like I stayed the same. And then by my third year, I had a pretty good junior year. I mean, we didn't win many games. We went six and four. But I had started to kinda establish myself.

Then I went to a high school scouting combine, which was the first time this had really become popular. It's very popular now for kids. And I did really well there, cause I was tall. You know? I was pretty strong. I never really moved very well, but I could throw the ball well and I was a pretty natural thrower. My name was on the radar screen. It wasn't you know, near the center of it. But it was on the screen.

KROFT: And then your dad made a tape of your highlights?

BRADY: Yep.

KROFT: And sent it off to?

BRADY: To a bunch of different schools, 50 or 60 different schools.

KROFT: You think that helped?

BRADY: Oh, my God, that was the reason. I mean, nobody would have ever -- I know Michigan certainly wouldn't have seen it. Nobody woulda seen it. I mean, I was just a dime a dozen, I think. I think I was a good athlete at a local level. To be recruited, I mean, you need to be regional and state wide, and . . . .

KROFT: All State, right?

BRADY: All State. Yeah. And I was not All State. I don't even think I was at that level, and I didn't think I was very good then, either. I mean, I'd only been playing football for three years, and I didn't think I was that good of a player. But I did know I loved the sport, and I did know I had no problem at working hard at the sport. And I loved to improve.

I think some of the things that might come a little bit easier for me are like the mental parts of the game, some of the leadership qualities, the game management. I've always had those. I don't think I have to work too hard at those. My problem was I had to work at a lot of the physical things.

KROFT: What do you mean physical things?

BRADY: In terms of moving around. The caliber of player, the caliber of athlete that plays at this level -- it's like a supreme athlete. I was like the slowest kid in my freshman year. I was the slowest kid in my sophomore year. But you know what? I continued to run. I continued to try to improve my speed, and my quickness, and my agility and my athleticism. By the time my senior year came around, I wasn't the slowest anymore. I certainly wasn't the fastest. I was probably below average.

So, then I go to Michigan. And now I'm the slowest again. So, what do I do?

KROFT: What do you do?

BRADY: I kept working at it. I kept working. I mean, I'm the type of person, like I said, working hard for me doesn't seem like it's that difficult for me. It's just, it's what I've done. It's what I do. And I don't mind doing it. So, I would always work on my speed. In the summertime, I was running. I was lifting, trying to improve my leg strength. Physically, I was trying to mature and grow into a bigger guy. So then, I could take the hits, take the punishment, and still be strong.

In my college year when I started as a freshman in high school, I was very slow. And then I continued to grow. I mean, I used to not be able to run with anybody. So, what would I do? I would just run as hard as I could. You know? And I would always be last. But you know what? I was running hard. You know? And gradually, over time, I kept running hard. And I run hard. And I gained some endurance. I mean, I might not beat you on the first race, but I might beat ya on the tenth one. You know? And that's the way I was gonna try to beat you. And it was just challenging for me that way. Even when I get on the treadmill, right? I'd say, "Alright, today I'm gonna run for ten minutes." And some days, you get on the treadmill. And ten minutes is a long time. And it's like four minutes into it, I'm like ah, man, I set this thing too fast. I gotta . . . but then my mind says, "No. You told yourself ten minutes. You are not getting off this treadmill. I don't care if you fall and die going on this treadmill, you're not getting off it." So, I wouldn't.

KROFT: Were you surprised you got the scholarship to Michigan?

BRADY: Yeah, I sure was. I don't think initially they were ready to offer it. I think they waited till the very last minute to do it.

KROFT: And you weren't number one on the depth chart when you got there?

BRADY: Certainly I wasn't the first in my class. They tend to recruit a lot of players, as they should, because you never know who's gonna pan out. The development of an 18-year-old to a 22-year-old is, I mean, you develop so much. So, I think as an 18-year-old, they have some potential that-- you have, and whether you realize it or not is kinda up to you.

KROFT: So, you were kind of a project? Somebody that they hoped would develop, and maybe turn into a better player? A good player?

BRADY: Yeah. I think maybe they thought that. I think there was maybe some things that they saw in me that, I don't know how they could evaluate some of those intangible things. But maybe they liked the way I throw the ball. The thing is, when they recruited me, the quarterback coach who recruited me was gone after my first year, after my freshman year. The recruiting coordinator who recruited me, who initially I met, he left before I even got there. And the head coach who was there got fired before I even stepped on campus. So, nobody that I had a relationship with was there when I got there.

KROFT: You were an orphan.

BRADY: I was. I was orphaned. Yeah, I was 2,000 miles from home. It was a growing-up experience. You better grow up quick.

KROFT: Tell me about your first two years. I mean, you start out. You were number seven.

BRADY: Yeah.

KROFT: You were the seventh-ranked quarterback there when you came in, right?

BRADY: Yep.

KROFT: How did you move up?

BRADY: Well, I was seventh when I moved in. At that point, you start at the bottom. You get the last reps. And then over the year, the practices, as you improve, you know, you might move up a little bit. My second year, I was third. I was behind Scott Dreisbach and Brian Griese, who were two very good quarterbacks. But Scott, who was a starter, was a year ahead of me. And Brian, who was a third string, or second string, was two years ahead of me. So, I mean, I wasn't in a very good position. It's not like these guys were graduating fifth-year seniors. I mean, I didn't have much of a chance if one of those guys didn't get hurt, or I didn't improve.

KROFT: You thought you might not play?

BRADY: I thought I might not play. I didn't know if I'd be continue to play football because there were some other schools that offered me a scholarship, that had said, "Hey, Tom, if you come here, you know, you'll play. You'll be, heck, you might play your first year."

KROFT: So, you thought about transferring?

BRADY: At one point I did. I actually went into the coach's office, and I said, "You're not giving me a fair chance. I don't think that you're realizing my potential. I don't think that this is the best place for me." And he said, "You know what? If you would just focus on, if you would just worry about yourself," he says, "You know what, Tom? You expect everything to be perfect. You expect every player that you play with to run the right route. And you expect the blocking to be great, and the perfect play to be called. And when that happens, hey, you're pretty good. But when anything else happens, you're not very good."

And it was like okay. You know? It was a great lesson for me. You know? That hey, things aren't always gonna go right. And they're not gonna go right. But how do you react when things do go right? You know? Cause a lot of people can do it when it goes right. How are you gonna do it when it goes wrong? When the guy runs the wrong route?

Well, what I began to do was if I looked out there, and I saw a guy, who was gonna run the wrong route, or got it right 50 percent of the time, I wouldn't even look over there. I'd say I'm not throwing to him. I'm gonna pick one guy out that I like to throw the ball to. And that's who I was gonna throw it to.

KROFT: So, you went in, and you talked to Lloyd Carr, the coach at Michigan?

BRADY: Yep.

KROFT: You told him what you thought. He gave you some advice. And that made a difference?

BRADY: Well, it made a difference initially. And then I had mentioned a guy, who I did some work with, some psychology work with. He would challenge me to a new way of thinking. And he challenged me to, and as I said, to worry about myself, and what I could control, and that anything else beyond that, it was just a waste of my energy and it wasn't gonna make me any better. Being concerned with how everybody else on the field was doing wasn't gonna help me. The only thing that could help me was me going out there, and doing the best I could do, and working to improve, and focus all of my attention on myself and my own abilities. That's not something that happens overnight. You go from someone that blames other people to someone that always blames themself, which is how I am now. I mean, if a guy runs a 12-yard route, and it was supposed to be 14 yards, and I'm late on the ball, because he broke early, I blame myself. Because I shouldn't even throw to him. Why am I looking there if a guy's gonna screw me? You know? I don't need to do that. I'm gonna throw to the guy, who's gonna be, who I have a lot of trust in. And that's the way that I began to think. And over time, I mean, year, two years, that's the way I began to think. And it worked. So, why change that.

KROFT: You said if some guy runs an improper pattern?

BRADY: Yeah. If he runs the wrong, yeah, exactly. If he runs, let's say a route should be 20 yards long. And he runs it at 15 yards. Well, when he runs that 15 yards, I'm not ready to throw the ball. So, if I do throw the ball to him, I'm gonna be late with the ball. Because he's early. And it got to the point where I was gonna decide not to throw to the guys who were gonna run the short routes, or the long routes. I was gonna throw to the guys who ran the right routes, at the right time. So, I developed a chemistry with certain players, to know that that's how we were gonna make it happen. I was gonna get the ball to the guys who did the right thing.

KROFT: That's tough.

BRADY: It is. Oh, it sure is. Especially because you get put out there, and sometimes there's not too many good options out there. Not on this team -- I mean, when I was in college, and when you're getting the third-string reps, I mean, how are you ever gonna try to impress the coach with guys who didn't do the right thing very often? And their coaches would hold them accountable. But you know, if I come off a drill, and I'm 0 for 5, I mean, the coach has Brady 0 for 5. You know? And hey, one guy mighta dropped the ball. One guy mighta ran the wrong route. One time, I might have had to throw the ball away, cause nobody was open. One time I mighta thrown one in the dirt. I mean, it still says 0 for 5. And that's the reflection of me. I mean, if I would throw the ball here, you know, and the guys went right through his hands, I would say, "God, why don't I just stick it right on his chest? Why do I put it over here? I gotta throw it right here. Because he won't drop it if I put it here. You know? But if I put it here, he might drop it." So, that's the only way that, and if he makes a great catch there, then hey, that's a great catch by him. But I'm not gonna leave it up to chance.