Brady vs Mahomes: Is Super Bowl LV the Official Changing of the Guard?
Storylines encompass viewership in sports. In my opinion, a football field is one of the best stages in the world for a sports narrative. One storyline is dominating the buildup to next Sunday’s matchup between the Buccaneers and the Chiefs.
The GOAT vs The Kid. The Old vs The New. Tom Brady vs Patrick Mahomes.
You can phrase this storyline in whatever fashion that your heart desires, but there isn’t one football fan in the world that isn’t intrigued by this Super Bowl plot.
Tom Brady’s career is coming to an end. The legend is 43 years old. Patrick Mahomes NFL tenure is just beginning. The 25-year-old will headline the league for years to come.
Two Different Generations Share the Spotlight
When Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl in 2001, Patrick Mahomes was only 5 years old. Mahomes grew up watching Tom Brady dominate with the New England Patriots.
Everyone has always wondered how old athletes would compare to players in today’s game. In Super Bowl LV, NFL fans don’t have to wonder. The past and the future will meet in the main event of this year’s NFL season.
Tom Brady will try to add more rings to his vast collection. Patrick Mahomes will attempt to continue etching his name in the NFL record books at just 25 years of age.
Brady is the greatest of all time, but time doesn’t stop moving. Patrick Mahomes is the future of the NFL. Mahomes has done more than many 25-year-old NFL quarterbacks in league history, but he still hasn’t removed himself from Tom Brady’s shadow.
Is the End Near?
Tom Brady will make his tenth Super Bowl start on February 7th. Brady has been a starting quarterback for 20 of his 21 NFL seasons. In 2008, he had a season-ending leg injury in Week 1.
This means that Tom Brady has started 19 total seasons in the NFL, and he has led ten teams to the Super Bowl. Nine of those appearances came with the New England Patriots. This past offseason, Tom Brady made the move to Tampa Bay.
Plenty of people ruled out the 43-year-old, but he proved the media wrong once again. Brady has won six Super Bowls in nine appearances. He is a three-time league MVP and a four-time Super Bowl MVP.
Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. There is no denying this fact. However, all great careers must come to an end. Brady has beaten the age stereotype, but he will face the future in Super Bowl LV.
Another One
Patrick Mahomes is the future of the NFL. Despite this, he still isn’t the face of the league. Mahomes is heavily promoted by the NFL, but the league still belongs to the GOAT.
This could all change next Sunday if Patrick Mahomes celebrates his second Lombardi trophy on the Buccaneers’ home turf.
Mahomes won Super Bowl LIV in 2020 and was named the MVP of the game. In 2018, he was the NFL MVP and a First Team All-Pro selection. Mahomes is able to make throws that seem impossible from the eyes of spectators.
Is Super Bowl LV the Changing of the Guard?
This could be the final time that Tom Brady plays for a Super Bowl. I’ve thought this in his past two trips to the big game, but he continues to prove me wrong so who knows?
At 43 years old, it’s hard to think that Brady will keep up his level of play for more than another year or two. Brady’s track record has made him the face of the league.
There are voices around the NFL saying that Super Bowl LV will be a transition of power from the old to the new. I don’t think this is going to be the case.
The NFL belongs to Tom Brady and it will for decades to come. The league will not forget about the GOAT. If Patrick Mahomes sends Brady out on his back, his legacy still won’t disappear.
Patrick Mahomes may have star power, but he isn’t Tom Brady. The young buck still has a lot to prove in order to be mentioned in the same conversation as Tom Brady. This might be Tom Brady’s final Super Bowl ever, but in no way is this game a changing of the guard.
Tom Brady is the NFL, and this won’t change when he hangs up his cleats for good. Brady’s past two decades of dominance have created a legacy that will headline the NFL forever.
