Robert Kraft Reportedly Texted Congratulations To Tom Brady After NFC Title Game Victory
BOSTON (CBS) -- For the bulk of the 21st century, Robert Kraft has regarded Tom Brady as part of his family. And now that the quarterback is wearing a different team's uniform, that bond has no doubt changed significantly.
Still, the owner of the Patriots was seemingly a fan of No. 12 on Sunday.
According to Peter King, Kraft was one of many folks who sent congratulatory text messages to Brady on Sunday night, after he and the Buccaneers defeated the Packers in Green Bay to advance to Super Bowl LV.
"Before we spoke, Brady got flooded with congratulatory texts and calls, including one from Patriots owner Robert Kraft," King reported.
King used that texting tidbit as an opportunity to compare the feeling of this conference championship to his previous nine -- all of which obviously came with New England. But the 43-year-old QB wasn't much in the mood for comparing.
"It's hard to compare," Brady told King. "It's not worth it, comparing any of that, to me. It doesn't really matter. It's an incredible feeling and to win a conference championship is incredible. To win a Super Bowl championship is one of the great feelings in the world. But they don't give these away. Obviously, everything's different this year, with us being at home. I'm sure it'll feel like just another game, although we all know it's just not another game."
Earlier in his conversation with King, Brady was a little reflective.
"I know. I know. Man, there's a part of me that just is ..." Brady said before going silent, after King mentioned how Brady's 10 Super Bowl appearances are twice as many as the next-most (John Elway, five) in NFL history. "It's been an interesting life for me, you know? I still get to do something I love to do and certainly don't take anything for granted. Just grateful to everyone who supports me. And obviously my wife, my kids. Nobody can do anything in life without incredible support. Grateful to my parents, for being raised the right way. The commitment they showed. And my friends over the years. I think man, I've accomplished all of these things and I think for me the best part is sharing it with everybody else and just seeing videos of my kids jumping around and my friends jumping around. It makes it all so special for me and worth everything because I still get to live my dream. It's an amazing feeling."
Of course, Kraft sending a text to Brady is no surprise, considering Kraft's outspoken affection for his former QB.
"Well, I love Tom Brady. He's part of my blood family, as far as I'm concerned," Kraft said last year to WBZ-TV, prior to Brady's final game in a Patriots uniform. "We're pretty lucky to have had him."
And after Brady left, Kraft's public statement was no less loving.
"I love Tom like a son and I always will. He has brought so much happiness to me personally and to all of our fans," Kraft said last March. "I now look forward to the day we can bring him back home to New England to celebrate his Patriots career, his endless achievements and his legacy as the greatest of all time. I love him very much."
