'You mad bro?' - Reliving the spat between Buccaneers teammates Tom Brady & Richard Sherman
sherman" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Richard Sherman and Tom Brady are now teammates. The former Seahawks cornerback signed for the Buccaneers on Wednesday, and it has rekindled old memories between Sherman and Brady. Once upon a time, Sherman was a member of the Legion of Boom. The vaunted Seahawks defense of the early 2010s helped launch Sherman and his teammates into the stratosphere.
They took no prisoners, they were brash and arrogant, and they backed it up on the field. Perhaps nothing encapsulated that better than when Sherman shouted into Brady's face, 'U Mad Bro?' after the Seahawks downed the Patriots 24-23 in Seattle. That moment sent Sherman and the Seahawks into the spotlight. They've not left it since.
From the man himself: Richard Sherman is a Buc. They pushed for two weeks and got it done. twitter.com/rsherman_25/st…
Sherman announces his arrival to Tom Brady.
Sherman's moment signaled a change in the NFL. Before that, no one ever considered the Seahawks a viable threat or championship team. Many mainstream media outlets shunned the team in the far north-west corner of America.
Sherman's brash and brutish attitude changed that forever, and it set the Seahawks on course for a Superbowl they would eventually land in 2013-14. The media initially recoiled violently against Sherman and the Seahawks.
This was Tom Brady. Tom Terrific, the boy next door, made good. Noted pundits and analysts criticized the Seahawks and accused the team of not playing with the right spirit. They branded the Seahawks and Sherman as thugs.
Brady never bit back and lashed out at Sherman. He understood Sherman's grind and desire to become the best. Sherman was a mid-round draft selection from Compton, California. He went to Stanford University and left with a 3.9 GPA. None of that could've happened without Sherman possessing a volcanic amount of determination and fire.
The two shook hands and embraced the next time they met at Superbowl 49. Sherman is back in the NFL and is on the Bucs because of Brady's influence. The future Hall of Famer wanted to join after the seven-time Superbowl champ reached out to him.
“I’ve had enough conversations and came to a decision I’m going to play for the Tampa Bay #Buccaneers.”
Richard Sherman says he had conversations with the #49ers and #Seahawks but decided to join the Bucs after they and Tom Brady himself showed interest. twitter.com/rsherman_25/st…
There was never a spat and certainly no frostiness between these two great players. Sherman and Brady share mutual respect because the same goals and fire drive them. Brady knew that. He's learned that since the very first moment Sherman got into his face, and that's why he wanted him on the Bucs.