Patriots: Tom Brady breaking White House absence streak for Bucs feels bad

The year 2020 was one to forget for Patriots fans.

Not only did New England stumble to their worst season in 13 years, but Tom Brady, who left the team in free agency that offseason, took the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl, where they toppled Patrick Mahomes and the undermanned Chiefs in convincing fashion.

Luckily for the fan base, the Patriots, after a groundbreaking offseason, look poised to compete with the upper-echelon teams again.

Whether that gets them back into the playoffs in a loaded AFC remains to be seen, but we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.

Before that, however, we have another gut punch to deliver. You know how Brady won six championships with the Patriots and hadn’t made the celebratory trip to Pennsylvania Avenue with his teammates and coaching staff since 2005?

In another indirect slap in the face to New England, the 43-year-old broke his White House absence streak with the Buccaneers on Tuesday.

Tom Brady making his first celebratory White House visit since 2005 should offend Patriots fans.

Brady, of course, didn’t join his Patriots teams at the White House following his last three championships in 2015, 2018 and 2019. After the most recent win in the uniform, the Pats decided as an organization to not visit then-President Donald Trump. We’re not sure what prompted Brady’s absence in 2015, but in 2017 he revealed he was enjoying quality time with his mother.

If you can believe it, George W. Bush was president the last time Brady made the trip to Washington DC. Taking that into account, we fully sympathize with Patriots fans who were offended by this news. In Brady’s defense, however, this was his first year with a new team, one that hadn’t had a winning season since 2010 and hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2006.

Throw in the the fact that the Buccaneers haven’t won a Super Bowl since 2002, which marked their last playoff win before this past season, and you’ll realize Brady didn’t really have a choice in the matter. As the undisputed leader of Tampa Bay’s locker room, how would it have looked if he stayed behind while everybody else went ahead to be celebrated by President Joe Biden?

Certainly not great. For someone who’s striving to capture his eighth title in 2021, making the journey to the nation’s capital will only prove to benefit the Bucs down the road. That doesn’t mean fans in New England shouldn’t feel a certain way that he broke his streak with his new team, though. Just understand the forever Patriot likely wasn’t trying to ruffle any feathers in Foxborough.

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