It is just about 50 days away from Tom Brady making his FOX Sports analyst debut when he calls the September 8 game between the Browns and the Cowboys with partner Kevin Burkhardt. Brady was one of the topics that came up during Maggie & Perloff on Infinity Sports Network when they welcomed Sports Illustrated media columnist Jimmy Traina to the show.
Perloff asked Traina about his recent podcast interview with Brady he did in mid-June. “What was your impression…he seemed kind of like a cool guy, easy to work with. What’s your sense so far in your limited time talking to him?”
“I don’t understand any of the negativity towards Tom Brady because we saw that once he got out of New England, he does have a very good personality. I’ve never heard a bad word about Tom Brady as a person. His teammates love him.
“I think he’s going to be a great broadcaster because I think if you’re the greatest player who’s ever played or the greatest quarterback who’s ever played, you’re seeing things that no other person sees. And if he can bring that across to the viewer, that’s going to be a really good viewing experience. So, I’m looking forward to him in the booth. I think he’s going to be good in the booth.”
Traina went on to talk about having interviewed Brady once before, “like 100 years ago,” and said it was a very positive experience.
“He couldn’t have been nicer,” he said. “I mean, nicer to me than C-list athletes. So, I get people don’t like Tom Brady because he’s had so much success and he’s beaten every team. If you’re a fan of any other team but the Patriots, he’s destroyed your team for 20 years. So, I get the hatred of him from that standpoint. From a personality standpoint, where’s the negativity? Where’s he a bad guy? I think we’ve seen nothing but positives out of Tom Brady from a personality standpoint.”
Traina later talked about the agreement Brady signed after being asked if he thought the seven-time Super Bowl champion would last the full 10 seasons. He reiterated something he had said before which is that it is hard to predict anyone would last ten years in a position without something coming up so his direct answer to the question is ‘no,’ but he doesn’t seem to think there is a scenario where it is a short-term endeavor for Brady.
“So many things can happen,” he said. I don’t see him going into coaching. He’s got this weird, bizarre ownership thing with the Raiders, who knows what that’s about. But listen, I think he’s going to be really, really good. I don’t know him enough personally what his personal life is like to say, yeah, he’s doing this for 10 years.”
