As the festive season approaches, NFL legend Tom Brady has shared a heartwarming moment with his daughter, Vivian, hinting at his Christmas celebrations with his kids.
While he’s often been seen ruling the field, both as a player and in his new role as a pundit, a glance at the former New England Patriots star’s Instagram stories on Wednesday revealed a plethora of red hearts and smiley emojis.
Taking to the social media platform, Brady uploaded a post of his daughter hanging an ornament on a Christmas tree, where twinkling lights and pretty decorations are on display. It may only be a snapshot of his family life behind closed doors, yet it’s reassuring to see how the 47-year-old is balancing such commitments after football.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion, however, has previously admitted that he’s far from perfect when it comes to parenting, refusing to shy away from the struggles he’s experienced as a father.
Sharing his eldest son, Jack, with ex-partner Bridget Moynahan, Brady also co-parents his second son, Benjamin, and daughter, Vivian, with his former wife, Gisele Bundchen.
In terms of athletic lineage, Jack seems to be following in his father’s footsteps, much to Brady’s pride. “Unfortunately he jumps as high as I do. But I tell him, ‘Dude, you’re gonna be a stud,’ he shared about his son at the Fortune Global Forum in New York City last month.
“I said, ‘Wait till you hit your growth spurt, you’re gonna be jumping higher, you’re gonna be dunkin’. And whether he does or not, who cares? But I want him to know that his dad’s got his back.”
But despite his commendable never-say-die attitude and unquestionable support for his children, Brady doesn’t shy away from discussing his parenting challenges. Parenthood is tricky, and nobody knows it better than arguably the greatest quarterback of all time.
“Being a parent is probably the hardest job all of us have,” Brady said, acknowledging the imperfections in his approach to raising Jack, Benjamin, and Vivian. “And we screwed up a lot and I’ve screwed up a lot as a parent.”
Despite his less-than-perfect aspects of fatherhood, Brady’s aim is to be there for his children as much as his parents were for him, recalling his own folks, Galynn and Thomas Brady Sr., who supported him unwaveringly back when he was just a backup quarterback on his freshman team.
They never stifled his aspirations and in the end, that support would help nurture an NFL legend. But Brady isn’t just imitating his parents’ supportive ways; he’s actively cheering on his son’s basketball pursuits.
Despite his seven Super Bowl wins, to him, the greatest title is simply ‘Dad’. Catching Brady in the stands, rooting for his son with the same enthusiasm that millions have shown him, is perhaps the ultimate victory for the former NFL star.