A Q&A with Tom Brady

Tom Brady interview: Star quarterback opens up about a variety of topics

On Wednesday afternoon, I had the chance to speak briefly with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady at an Under Armour event in New York.

SI.com: You did a "Funny or Die" video for Under Armour recently where you showed a different side of yourself and did a lot of screaming and yelling. How was that experience for you?

Brady: It was a lot of fun. I'm much more comfortable and confident running out on the field in front of 70,000 people instead of standing in front of a camera trying to say some lines. The people who do that as a profession are very talented because it's certainly not easy. It's something I do maybe once a year, and when I do it there are no expectations. I just have fun with it. I was just being an a--hole like my normal self. My teammates see that all the time. For me, it was easy to do that.

SI.com: That video made the rounds in the blogosphere. Do you read sports blogs/sites at all?

Brady: I used to have a lot more time on my hands. I don't get as much time on the Internet these days. But I do love sports, so when I'm on the Internet, I'm on SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com. Those are my websites. When you have two busy kids running around the house, returning e-mails is a task, let alone surfing the web.

SI.com: Are you aware that your hairdos always are great fodder for the sports blogosphere, Hot Clicks included?

Brady: [Laughing] Does that make your job a little easier?

SI.com: It always makes my job easier.

Brady: Good. Then I'll keep it up.

SI.com: I think the last time Hot Clicks had fun with your hair was a few weeks ago when you went to a fashion ball. You were rockin' a faux hawk, I believe.

Brady: Yeah, it was. Just a little different haircut.

SI.com: When it comes to the hair, do you go with what [wife] Gisele [Bundchen] likes or do you make the decisions on your own?

Brady: She likes pretty much what I like. She leaves it to me. Every man should know, if you're comfortable and you like it, you should do it. Everyone always worries about what the girls think, what the guys think. If you like it, do it. To me, if you're trying to impress a girl, get a date, they're gonna like that more because you're a confident guy. That's what it comes down to.

SI.com: Is there anything bad about being married to a supermodel?

Brady: [Laughing, followed by long pause] Um, it's a marriage, so I have a life partner. Like most marriages, there's a lot of give and take.

SI.com: You mentioned you have two kids. There are rumors that you guys are having a third. I don't know if you want to get into that or not.

Brady: I like working on it.

SI.com: Since we're talking family, do you think about how many more years you'll play? Your kids are young, so I'm sure you want to see them grow up and you've been playing long time. Do you ever think about retirement?

Brady: Well, I love doing it. I don't want to wake up and be bored. That's probably my greatest fear is to have nothing to do. What better job is there than to play quarterback for an NFL team, and certainly one that I've been on for a long time and had success with? I don't plan on giving it up any time soon.

SI.com: You're not on Twitter. Would you ever join?

Brady: My fear with joining is that I bore people. And I don't want to do that. If I have something to say, I want it to be meaningful. I think that's what's kept me away from it. And I'd feel pressure [to tweet].

SI.com: Do you really wear Uggs?

Brady: Damn right I do.

SI.com: Have you gotten your teammates to wear Uggs?

Brady: Damn right I have.

SI.com: Are you aware that someone this week made a video of you singing Call Me Maybe?

Brady: Someone sent it to me this morning.

SI.com: What did you think?

Brady: I've had a lot of ridiculous haircuts. That's what I realized.

SI.com: Your teammate Wes Welker is getting married this weekend. Are you going?

Brady: I'll be there.

SI.com: Can Tom Brady blend in at a wedding and enjoy himself or do people constantly have their eyes on you?

Brady: At that particular wedding, I'll definitely blend in because it'll be my pals and buddies of Wes.

SI.com: Will you dance at the wedding?

Brady: Hell yeah, I'll dance.

SI.com: Are you looking forward to seeing Rob Gronkowski dance? He's sort of known for that.

Brady: I've seen him dance plenty of times. On pools, on tables, everywhere.

SI.com: Does he ever wear a shirt in the locker room?

Brady: [Sad, defeated voice] Oh, God. No... No.

SI.com: What were your thoughts on the video that came out of Gronk dancing and partying after the Super Bowl?

Brady: Everyone's blowing off steam. It was unfortunate we were in a public place. I wish we, as players, had a private place to go. He's a great guy. He loves football. What he's accomplished over two years has been remarkable.

SI.com: That last pass to Gronkowski in the Super Bowl, do you think he was going to catch it?

Brady: You know, it's interesting because this is the first time someone's asked me that question. I threw it and when I let it go, I knew we were gonna have a chance. The ball got batted up in the air and I saw it tip 60 yards away from me, but then I got knocked down, so I fell to the ground and I saw the ball get deflected. Unfortunately, though, I looked over and saw the bad guys running on the field.

SI.com: You've won a lot of Super Bowls, but does it hurt to lose two to the same team? The Giants aren't in your division or conference, so they're not a rival, but...

Brady: We play them every year in the preseason. Geographically, we're very close, so yeah, there's something to losing to them twice in the Super Bowl in the most meaningful game of the year and the most meaningful game of our lives. You think about some bad memories from games you lose and there's that blue uniform with white numbers. That's what you think about it.

SI.com: We talked about the Giants ...

Brady: Is that all you want to talk about? The Giants?

SI.com: Actually, I was going to ask about the Jets.

Brady: Oh, my second favorite team.

SI.com: The Jets seem like they're going to try to tone things down this year. Do you think Rex Ryan and the Jets can tone things down?

Brady: We've had some trouble with them. Last year, we beat them twice. The year before we split and they beat us in the playoffs. So they're a good team. I got a lot of respect for that team. They play hard. They're well coached. It's a heated rivalry. There's no love lost between the two teams.

SI.com: You can't have two more opposite guys than Bill Belichick and Rex Ryan. Do you think you could play for Rex Ryan?

Brady: I'm just glad I play for Coach Belichick.

SI.com: You're here to promote Under Armour's new "Spine" sneaker technology, which makes for the lightest shoe ever.

Brady: It's a new product that's being launched next month. This is an apparel company that's getting in the shoe game. It's a big task. It's an innovation that's come out the last year for the athletes that wear Under Armour. It's great technology. They're real comfortable shoes. They're durable, they're stable. They're light. All important things when you're performing.