New England Patriots: Imagine a duck boat parade for Tom Brady

When (if?) he retires, imagine a duck boat parade for New England Patriots all-time great, Tom Brady, to honor him for all his selfless exploits on behalf of Boston and the region. Can you?

It would be historic, not sure such a thing has ever been done before. It might just be the greatest Boston sports event of all time!

One might also imagine that Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, and the corporate community might step up financially to finance such an event.

Imagine a parade for New England Patriots legend Tom Brady

Back in the day, conquering heroes of Rome were awarded what they termed a “triumph” to celebrate their victory. It included a huge parade. Everyone turned out. It was a big deal then, so can you one imagine what one would be like for our own sports hero, Tom Brady?

Can you imagine celebrating two decades of absolute sports bliss honoring old No. 12 who was the most important cog in all those victories? And, can you imagine bringing back the phalanx of great players who played with Brady to celebrate alongside the greatest?

Imagine players like Ty Law, Adam Vinatieri, Tedy Bruschi, Lawyer Milloy, Antowain Smith, Joe Andruzzi, Roman Phifer, Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork, and Corey Dillon there along with all his coaches.

Can you imagine holding it in good weather and seeing two million people come out to wish Tom well and along with some former teammates celebrate his great career?

Brady has impacted NFL football like no other player in the history of the league and it may never be equaled. Brady’s exploits are the thing of legend and Patriots fans, and all fans of any other NFL team for that matter, will remember him in different ways.

That means love here and well, not so much love elsewhere. One thing is certain, however; he will be remembered forever, regardless of how you feel about him.

Tom Brady deserves special recognition from the New England Patriots

Brady’s exploits rank among the very best ever in the history of U.S. team sports. Brady is a testimony to the greatness that comes with wearing the red, white, blue, and silver of the New England Patriots, his two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers notwithstanding. That was an unfortunate aberration.

It’s very Brady-like that he eschewed a “victory tour” around the NFL. He was always about winning, and not about himself. That distinguished him from so many players for whom the “me” supersedes all.

All the years of taking less salary so that the team could use the money elsewhere exemplified that team-first spirit. Unfortunately, the team neither appreciated that fact enough nor utilized those funds as well as they should have.

If they had, there wouldn’t be enough walls in Gillette stadium to hang all the Super Bowl titles he would have/should have won. That’s been said in this space before and it still stands.

It’s now time to recognize the conquering hero of the Patriots dynasty for his many exploits that benefited Boston and the entire New England region. He will be recognized.

So, can you imagine Tom Brady on a duck boat with his compatriots celebrating this selfless player, his team exploits, and one of the greatest sports heroes ever?