Tom Brady is poised to add another improbable chapter to his two-decade career on Sunday when he leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
When the greatest quarterback in NFL history sets foot on the field at Raymond James Stadium, he will be setting a slew of new records – most of which already belong to him – that in all likelihood will never be beaten.
At 43 years and 188 days old, he will become the oldest player to take part in a Super Bowl. His 10th appearance in the NFL showpiece is also a new record, four more than his nearest rivals.
A win on Sunday would give Brady a seventh championship, another remarkable milestone that is hard to imagine being surpassed any time soon.
"I could never have imagined it would be like this. I don't think anybody could have," Brady reflected this week during a video call with reporters.
"The only reason I've got to the point that I've gotten is because of the people I've had in my life. My coaches, my team-mates, family, friends, all the people that have supported me.
"It's been an incredible team effort throughout my life on and off the field. "I've tried to play my ass off every week – and I'm still trying to do it."
By now the plot points of Brady's career have become the stuff of NFL folklore.
He entered the NFL to little fanfare, chosen by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.
Upon arrival in New England, he was ranked way down the Patriots' quarterback pecking order, a gangly freshman with everything to prove.
Yet Brady slowly but surely began thrusting himself into the reckoning as a starting option, driven by a relentless work ethic and competitive spirit that have become the hallmarks of his career.
Team officials would get calls late at night to inform them that Brady had arrived at the team's training facility, to practice by himself.
When an injury to Drew Bledsoe in September 2001 saw Brady elevated into the starter's jersey, he seized his chance.
He kept his place for the Patriots for the remainder of the season and led the team to a first ever Super Bowl win in February 2002.
That win marked the start of a two-decade reign that would see Brady and coach Bill Belichick's Patriots emerge as the dominant force in the NFL, encompassing eight more trips to the Super Bowl, five of them victorious.
While the personnel on those championship-winning teams evolved over time, the one ever-present remained Brady, who year after year, season after season would confound predictions that his career was in decline.
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Gallery: Chiefs beat 49ers at Super Bowl LIV
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes lifts the Vince Lombardi trophy after their win over San Franccisco 49ers at Super Bowl LIV in 2020. Reuters -
Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes celebrates at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. USA TODAY Sports -
Chiefs' Frank Clark celebrates with the Vince Lombardi trophy. Reuters -
Kansas City Chiefs players celebrate an interception in the final minutes against the 49ers. EPA -
The Kansas City Chiefs celebrate after winning Super Bowl LIV. AFP -
Kansas City Chiefs' Derrick Nnadi. Reuters -
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo after the game. AP Photo -
Kansas City Chiefs players during the game. AFP -
Kansas City Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif in action. AFP -
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle carries the ball. AFP -
Chiefs' Daniel Sorensen tries to stop George Kittle of the 49ers. AFP -
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel carries the ball. AFP -
San Francisco 49ers' Tarvarius Moore intercepts the ball thrown to Chiefs' Travis Kelce. AFP -
Kansas City Chiefs' Kendall Fuller intercepts a pass intended for 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Reuters -
A fan is escorted off after running onto the field. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports -
Kansas City Chiefs' Damien Williams scores a touchdown. AP -
San Francisco 49ers' Richard Sherman fails to stop Chiefs' Damien Williams scoring a touchdown. AFP -
Kansas City Chiefs Damien Williams runs for a touchdown. EPA -
Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams scores a touchdown. USA TODAY Sports -
Colombian singer Shakira performs during the half-time show. AFP -
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is pursued by San Francisco 49ers' K'Waun Williams , Dre Greenlaw, and Fred Warn during the second half. AP -
San Francisco 49ers' Tarvarius Moore, on the turf, clutches the ball after his interception. AP -
Kansas City Chiefs' Tyreek Hill catches a pass. AP -
Kansas City Chiefs' Tyreek Hill fails to catch a pass. AP -
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is sacked by San Francisco 49ers' DeForest Buckner. AP -
San Francisco 49er' Tarvarius Moore intercepts a pass. USA TODAY Sports
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"Guys come, guys go. Everything changes. Except one thing – Tom," is how former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann puts it.
Brady's collection of Super Bowl wins included the 2017 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons, when he led the Patriots to the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, overturning a 28-3 third quarter deficit for a 34-28 overtime win.
Another Super Bowl appearance followed in 2018, when he finished with 505 passing yards in a losing effort to the Philadelphia Eagles, before his most recent victory, a dour 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in 2019.
That 2019 win over the Rams, at the age of 41, seemed like a logical place to call time on his career.
Instead, after a difficult 2019-2020 season with the Patriots, Brady stunned the NFL by opting to leave New England for his swansong in Tampa Bay.
With Covid-19 torpedoing most of the pre-season, denying Brady the chance to properly acclimatise to his new surroundings, the odds on a Super Bowl run were stacked against the quarterback.
However, the Bucs recovered from a shaky-looking 7-5 record to reach the playoffs, where Brady's poise once again helped deliver wins over Washington, New Orleans and the Green Bay Packers. All at the age of 43.
His quarterback opponent on Sunday will be Patrick Mahomes, who has been virtually unstoppable since establishing himself at the Chiefs three seasons ago.
Mahomes, who is 44-9 as a starter, took home Super Bowl MVP honors last year after leading his team to a gutsy, come-from-behind win over the San Francisco 49ers to end the franchise's 50-year title drought.
Now he says the team is hungry for more. "The thing I'm most proud is that no one has become satisfied," Mahomes told reporters on Wednesday.
"No one has become happy with winning one Super Bowl championship," he said. "Everybody is trying to make themselves better every single day and not trying to take a day for granted. You don't have that in every single organization or every single locker room.
"It comes with the culture [general manager] Brett Veach and coach [Andy] Reid have instilled in us, and that's to get better 1 per cent every single day. That's why we're in this game and have a chance for another Super Bowl championship."
