Tom Brady Will Be Wearing White Jersey In Super Bowl ... And That May Be Good News For Bucs
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- There may be no section of society more superstitious than sports. Whether it's putting on a right sock before a left sock every time, or going through strict pregame rituals, or blinking five times before every play, athletes tend to tick a little differently than the rest of us.
And in that regard, there's some good new for Tom Brady.
It comes in the form of ... jersey color.
When the Bucs take the field on their home turf on Super Bowl Sunday against the Chiefs, they will do so while looking like the away team. The Buccaneers will be wearing their white jerseys when they play in front of some 100 million people, electing to wear the road jerseys despite being the home team for Super Bowl LV.
It's a decision that Brady's been a part of before, as the Patriots opted to wear white jerseys for Super Bowl LII against the Eagles, despite being the "home team."
The result in that Super Bowl didn't turn out in Brady's favor (despite his 505 passing yards), but overall, Brady's found more Super Bowl success while wearing white throughout his nine (nine!) previous appearances in the sport's biggest game.
TOM BRADY SUPER BOWL RECORD WHILE WEARING DARK "HOME" JERSEY
2-2TOM BRADY SUPER BOWL RECORD WHILE WEARING WHITE "AWAY" JERSEY
4-1
As a member of the Patriots, Brady wore white in wins during Super Bowl XXXIX vs. Philadelphia, Super Bowl XLIX vs. Seattle, Super Bowl LI vs. Atlanta, and Super Bowl LIII vs. the Rams. The one loss came in the aforementioned Super Bowl LII vs. Philadelphia.
Brady wore a dark jersey for four of his first five Super Bowls, winning the first two (XXXVI vs. the Rams and XXXVIII vs. Carolina) while losing the next two (XLII and XLVI, both against the Giants).
Outside of Super Bowl LII vs. Philadelphia, the color of Brady's jersey has just lined up with the alternating home team each year, with the Patriots wearing home jerseys in all other even-numbered Super Bowls and white jerseys in odd-numbered Super Bowls.
Yet for the second time in four years, Brady's team has opted to wear white, despite being the home team.
That may be because the Bucs have been rather successful in white this year. Tampa Bay went 9-2 when wearing white jerseys this season and postseason, compared to 3-2 in red and 2-1 in pewter. Also of note: the Bucs wore white in home games three times (vs. the Panthers, Chargers, and Packers), going 3-0 in those games. When they hosted the Chiefs in November, they wore red jerseys.
And so, the Bucs will be rocking the white jerseys and pewter pants for their most important game.
Whether that's due to superstition or just liking the way those white jerseys look, we can safely assume that Brady was not upset when he learned what he'll be wearing on Super Sunday.
