Tom Brady might have finally revealed his secret to lasting so long in the NFL, and apparently, working hard, being pliable and living on a diet that consists solely of plant-based foods is only part of the equation.
According to the 41-year-old quarterback, the other equally important part of the equation is the pregame rituals that his wife, Gisele Bundchen, has him go through. In the days after the Patriots' 13-3 Super Bowl win over the Rams, Brady described some of those rituals.
First, Brady noted that Gisele makes an 'altar' for him at every game.
"I've learned a lot from my wife over the years," Brady said. "She's so about the power of intention, and believing things that are really going to happen and she always makes a little altar for me at the game, because she just wills it so much. So she put together a little altar for me that I could bring with pictures of my kids."
Brady is a father of three, so the fact that he has pictures of his kids isn't really that surprising. However, Brady does have a few pregame rituals with his wife that probably won't be copied any time soon by any other NFL player with their spouse.
"I have these little special stones and healing stones and protection stones and she has me wear a necklace and take these drops she makes and say all these mantras," Brady said.
If you're starting to think that this sounds kind of crazy, Brady actually had the same thought when this all started.
"At first, I was like, 'this is kind of crazy,'" Brady said. "And then, about four years ago, we were playing the Seahawks and she said 'You better listen to me: This is your year, but this is all the things you're going to have to do to win,' and I did all those things, and by God, you know, it worked."
Thanks to that 28-24 win over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, Brady is now completely on board with all of Gisele's pregame rituals, even if they are a little bizarre.
"I stopped questioning her a long time ago," Brady said. "I just shut up and listen."
Apparently, Gisele has an uncanny ability to see the future. Not only did she tell Brady that 2014 would be his year, but she also predicted that the Patriots wouldn't win the Super Bowl in 2015.
"In 2015, it was early January and she said, 'You know how much I love you?' And I said, 'Yea,' and she said, 'I just want to let you know, this is not going to be your year,'" Brady said. "And of course, we lost, so I said, 'What does [2016] look like.' And she said, '[2016] is going to be your year.'"
Of course, the Patriots ended up winning the Super Bowl during the 2016 season when they came back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Falcons 34-28 in Super Bowl LI. Gisele might want to start her prognostication website, because apparently, she's getting really good at these predictions.
"So it was early January this year and I said, 'Babe, I'm asking, do we have a chance [to win it all]?'" Brady said. "And she said, 'Yea, but you're going to have to do a lot of work and you're going to have to listen to me.' So man, I listen to her."
After the Patriots win over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, Gisele let Brady know how lucky he was to marry a 'witch.'
"Right after the game, she said, 'See, I did a lot of work. You do your work. I do mine,'" Brady said. "She said, 'You're lucky you married a witch, I'm just a good witch.'"
If any NFL quarterbacks are reading, you now know the secret to Brady's success: You just need to find a 'good witch' and marry her.
Anyway, Brady and Gisele definitely seem to be enjoying the offseason already. Here's a picture of them that Brady shared on Valentine's Day.