FOXBOROUGH — They all came out. They had to. It was for Tom Brady.
That was the message spoken again and again on the red carpet outside Gillette Stadium Wednesday as former teammates arrived for the legendary quarterback’s induction into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame.
How many? Broadcast Mike Tirico, who hosted the proceedings, put the number at over 100. Former Patriots receiver Deion Branch relayed a mind-boggling number.
“I think I heard it was about seven, eight hundred guys, alongside with all the fans, his family, all his friends,” Branch said. “We’re not his friends, we’re his brothers. So we had to be here.”
Teammates new and old called it a “family reunion” for the franchise, with Patriots teams from 2000-2019 all represented.
That’s in addition to the thousands of fans who filled up the stands at Gillette Stadium on a Wednesday night in the middle of June.
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Why? Because it was Brady. He won six Super Bowls here, he shattered records here. But more than anything, he won the hearts of teammates and fans.
As Drew Bledsoe put it, “If he was a jerk while he was doing all this, the turnout would be very different.”
It’s one thing to see Brady’s buddies in attendance like Rob Gronkowski or Julian Edelman. It was another thing to see guys like J.R. Redmond, Bobby Hamilton, Stephen Neal, Logan Mankins, Lonnie Paxton, Charlie Weis,Bill O’Brien, Matt Patricia and Wes Welker in attendance.
They all had an impact on the Patriots franchise. Not all of them ended their time in New England on a happy note. Heck, look at Welker. He left the team on a sour note and currently coaches for an AFC East rival. He still showed up.
Here’s how Brady’s former teammates all summed it up:
Former tight end Rob Gronkowski: “We got so many ex-players that I played with here. That just shows the greatness that Tom Brady brings to the table. He’s the only guy that can basically bring every single team back from 2000 to 2018 to the year he finished and bring everyone back and just have a good time and get back together and tell stories. Tom Brady’s the only guy that can do that.”
Former quarterback Drew Bledsoe: “It’s great to be here to honor Tom. But it’s also like a reunion, get to see some guys I haven’t seen in a long time. We’re all here to honor our buddy, so it’s really fun.”
Former defensive lineman Vince Wilfork: “He’s more than a teammate. This is family. Yesterday getting together, it’s guys we haven’t seen in over 10, 15, 20 years and all of a sudden, it’s like a reunion. Tom is the only one who can do this for us. So we wanted to basically come here and show the support and also be able to share those memories that we all share together and just support Tom and let him know how much we really cared about what he’s done for us and how much fun we had with him and what a great teammate he was.”
Patriots chairman Robert Kraft: “People are coming from all over the country just to be here. Lonnie Paxton from San Diego with his kids and wife.”
Former receiver Deion Branch: “Reunion is the most important piece. We’re here for Tom, all of the guys, all of they guys. I think I heard it was about seven, eight hundred guys, alongside with all the fans, his family, all his friends. We’re not his friends, we’re his brothers. So we had to be here.”
Former cornerback Aqib Talib: “The GOAT, man. He’s the only one who can do this, the only one who can get everybody together like this.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore: “He’s great because he’s touched so mant people. He’s a great teammate to everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest guy on the totem pole or the lowest guy. He knows how to get to everybody, talk to everybody. It’s no surprise he had all the success he had.”
Former receiver Julian Edelman: “He’s a genuine person. Even when I’m talking to other people, like ‘I hate Tom Brady’ or fans or something, anyone who meets him, you just feel his aura that he’s a really genuine person that is sweet and loving. He’s a killer in between the lines. He’s a standup dude.”
