Posted on February 8th, 2021 by
Thomas E Kennedy
Tom Brady, more than a great athlete, a great leader!
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. President
Tom Brady victory at the NFL Super Bowl LV
Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV!!
I am a big Tom Brady a.k.a. the G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of all time”) fan, and I have been for many years. I am from New England originally and Tom Brady was a 199th round draft pick by the New England Patriots, who went on to as a team won SIX Super Bowl Championships. Add to that last night’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl LV win, Brady now has a league record SEVEN Super Bowl wins.
A year ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the season with 7 wins and 9 losses, and the previous two seasons they finished both with 5 wins and 11 losses. I do not think anyone would have thought that either Tampa Bay would be Super Bowl Champions or that Tom Brady would be playing in the Super Bowl on that winning team.
What was different for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020 season to go in one year from 7 wins and 9 losses in 2019, to in 2020 have 11 wins and 5 losses, and on to be Super Bowl Champions? With the same head coach, and largely the same team. But this year you had a G.O.A.T. named Brady and his sidekick Gronk.
Bucs tight end Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski and QG Tom Brady at the end of Super Bowl LV
While I hated to see Brady leave the Patriot’s franchise there was no other team, I would have wanted him to play for than my second favorite team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What an extra bonus to have former Patriot’s tight end Rob Gronkowski (“Gronk”) come out of retirement to join his former QB Brady in Tampa Bay.
Tom Brady before the snap at Super Bowl LV
Let set the records straight, the Tampa Bay team was already a talented group of athletes and coaches before Brady got on the team. Sure, there were some changes that were made but these were accomplished athletes. No question Tom Brady can throw the football, but those skills alone do not win a Super Bowl Championship. What you began to hear from Bucs players (and what many of we long-term Brady fans already knew) was that Brady was not just a quarterback, he was another coach on the field. The young players were learning from him, the older players respected him. The team’s confidence grew with each game, even the losses. Brady is a great QB, perhaps the best in NFL history, but he is far more. Tom Brady is a great leader.
Bucs Head Coach Bruce Arians
Great leaders know it is not about them, it is about the team. Great leaders whether in business, military, politics, education, sports, or in life, help their teammates to believe that they can do more and go farther! They believe in their team and their team believes in themselves. That was most evident from the beginning of the 2021 Super Bowl game to the end. Tampa Bay played with confidence and with purpose. The result? They won the game by an impressive 22 points! The opposing team (don’t remember their name…) never made one touchdown.
While I have been speaking about Tom Brady, he was by far not the only leader on the Bucs team. Many other leaders contributed to the Bucs Leadership Team. Most notably this year is the Bucs Head Coach Bruce Arians, and Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles
Leaders are critical to success! What this Tampa Bay Buccaneers season has demonstrated are that great skills and talent, combined with great leadership are essential to have successful outcomes. Successful outcomes do not happen by accident.
Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!! And thank you Tom “the G.O.A.T.” Brady!
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Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the second annual Nature Coast Investment Practicum (NCIP) event for high school students. NCIP is a great public/private partnership in our schools for high school students real world investing experience by having students in their high school accounting class manage actual investment portfolios. The students or given parameters for purchasing and selling of stocks but must choose the right stocks by evaluating them and reevaluating them throughout the school year. The process is overseen by local financial planners who also help teach them along with their teacher sound investment practices and accounting principles. This program is currently at Citrus High School, but efforts are being made to expand it to all our high schools. As a result of the enormous success of the students’ portfolios, the money goes back into the initial account which currently has more than quadrupled. Profits from these investments are used to provide scholarships to students. Last night from the current class almost $5000 in scholarships were given out. This program would not take place if not for the Citrus County Educational Foundation and its directors. A special thanks to Scott Lee and CHS accounting teacher Mrs. Cooke.
