Opinion: Tom Brady's final seasons with Buccaneers helped endear himself to fans that once despised him

Update: Brady officially announced his retirement Tuesday
Tom Brady certainly has the sports world on the edge of its seat, doesn’t he?
Conflicting reports regarding his potential retirement dominated the news cycle Saturday, and that will likely remain the case until Brady officially announces his fate. A person with direct knowledge of the situation, though, told Paste BN Sports' Mike Jones on Saturday that Brady wanted to share the news himself but was "definitely" retiring after 22 seasons in the NFL.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the announcement.
Initial reactions to Brady’s impending retirement largely included gratitude, and deservedly so.
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Love him or hate him: Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL.
Three NFL MVPs. Five Super Bowl MVPs.
Seven Super Bowl titles. Ten Super Bowl appearances.
And countless regular-season and postseason records to his name.
For much of his NFL career, it seemed easy to hate him, right?
Brady and Bill Belichick were the essence of the evil empire in New England, a 20-year reign over the NFL that epitomized excellence with nine Super Bowl trips and six Super Bowl titles together.
If your team faced Brady and the Patriots any given Sunday, you loathed them and erupted in elation if you got the best of them.
But in recent years, Brady found a way to become endearing instead of hated.
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Brady broke the fourth wall virtually. He pulled the curtain back and provided a window into his life, his family and friends, his health, his personality and his ambitions. He wasn’t afraid to make fun of himself, often laughing with us at his own expense to show he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Brady transformed from superhuman NFL villain to a regular guy we could maybe get along with despite his lavish lifestyle and lofty accomplishments.
There was the TB12 diet and workouts he shared, giving people an insight to his extraordinary longevity. There were the hype videos after every win: a lighthearted selfie message, a few highlights from the game, or killer songs to provide a perfect bow.
Even this season, joining longtime rivals Peyton and Eli Manning on Monday Night Football, Brady brought on nostalgia reminding Peyton he got the best of him during their careers, before Eli quickly reminded Brady he edged him in two Super Bowls.
“I enjoyed much more the ones I played against Peyton than Eli,” Brady said. “You guys, we had so many great battles.”
"I enjoyed all of our games, Tom,” Eli Manning said. “I really enjoyed them all.”
Brady also endeared himself to fans, such as 10-year-old Noah Reeb, who received a video message from Brady after Reeb held a poster at a Bucs game that read “TOM BRADY HELPED ME BEAT BRAIN CANCER.”
And Bucs fan Byron Kennedy, who Brady joked “lost all his leverage” when he returned Brady’s 600th touchdown ball before negotiating what he wanted in return for the keepsake. Kennedy wound up with season tickets, some signed memorabilia and Bitcoin that Brady helped secure.
Let’s also not forget one of the most memorable moments of Brady’s career: tossing the Lombardi Trophy from his boat to another in Tampa Bay, then stumbling his way onshore during a drunken celebration of his seventh Super Bowl title.
Maybe the way we consume media since the start of the pandemic, which also coincided with Brady’s departure from New England, aided Brady’s efforts to share more of his personal life, which made him more likable.
But it’s clear Brady’s time in Tampa Bay helped with this renaissance of his public image, and was a reprise for him after a 20-year grind with Belichick in New England.
They were the best coach and quarterback duo in NFL history, routinely tormenting the Dolphins, Jets and Bills in the AFC East, and so many others along the way to sustained glory.
Brady got the best of great quarterbacks during his era — Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Donovan McNabb, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes just to name a few. Brady even congratulated Ben Roethlisberger on his retirement before one-upping him with his own retirement news the same week.
But even Brady grew tired of working alongside Belichick, and wanted a change from the Patriot Way he helped cultivate.
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Leading the Buccaneers presented a new challenge for Brady, and football became fun again.
Bucs coach Bruce Arians challenged Brady as much as he provided him a haven to finish out his career freely, on his terms.
Brady worked with an up-and-coming offensive coordinator in Byron Leftwich. He relished playing with receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, helping them reach new heights in their careers. He also brought back close friends, such as Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski.
“Thanks for everything big bro it was an honor @TomBrady,” Evans posted with a goat emoji before it was deleted on Twitter following conflicting reports.
Most important, Brady showed he could win a Super Bowl without Belichick.
And that might be a lasting accomplishment in a career full of them.
Brady may have sensed his Super Bowl window close following Godwin’s season-ending knee injury and Brown’s fallout with Arians before the playoffs.
Brady and the Buccaneers fell short, losing on a game-ending field goal to Matthew Stafford and a loaded Rams team. But it was not without drama. Brady did what he usually does and helped Tampa Bay come back from a 27-3 deficit to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Brady found a way to have arguably the best season of his career. He threw for 5,316 yards (the most in his career). He threw 43 touchdowns (the second most in his career), one season after throwing 40 touchdowns.
In short, he showed no clear sign of slowing down.
But as soon as the Buccaneers’ season ended, Brady spoke openly about needing and wanting to spend more time with his family, perhaps dropping a hint about his future.
“Playing football, I get so much joy from. I love it. But not playing football, there's a lot of joy in that for me also now, too, with my kids getting older and seeing them develop and grow,” Brady said on his Let’s Go Podcast. “So, all these things need to be considered, and they will be.”
Tampa Bay’s roster is likely going to see some significant turnover next season as well, another consideration for Brady.
So, the world now waits for Brady to drop another viral video officially announcing his retirement and making you forget you ever hated him at all.