Bertrand: Brady Night was ‘fantasyland’

Marc Bertrand explained why Gillette Stadium was in fantasyland during Tom Brady Night, which included speeches from Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and perhaps too many former players, in hour No. 1 of Zolak and Bertrand.

Beetle: Listen, if you want the fairy tale — and that's what you're into, you're not into hearing anything bad and negative about the team or the people you love who played for the team and coached the team — then last night was for you because that's what that was. That was fantasyland that they were all living in. They were selling you on Brady was a Patriot, was always a Patriot, never left, didn't go anywhere, he told you, 'I'm Tom Brady. I'm a Patriot.’ As you heard in the clip that we played. That everything was great between Brady and Bill and ownership, and there's no animosity and there never was. I mean, that's what they were selling you on. Everybody took part in it. Robert, Bill, Brady. They all sold it to you last night. You want the fairy tale? You want the make believe? You’ve got plenty of it up there. That's what it was. Fantasy camp. 

Everything is great. Everything was hunky dory. We're going to pretend that Brady never left. We're going to pretend that it never fell apart after he left, that Bill's still the coach, and everything's cool. That's what that was. And if that's what you're into, then you got exactly what you went for. 'Yeah, of course, there was never a problem. He said he'd want to play for nobody but Bill.' Well, then why do you go to Tampa Bay?

That's what it was, in large part. And man, it was dull for much of the night. Holy crap was that dull. Give me the red pen. I will cut out much of this script, and we'll tighten this thing up, and you'll have a better time.

Tim McKone: There was a lot that could have gotten trimmed. 

Tom Morgan: Every single positional group meeting. Probably could have done without it.

McKone: Even Bill's speech could have gotten tightened up a lot.

Beetle: Yeah, that was rambling. He didn't have great direction. I don't think he gave a great speech.

Zolak: Oh, I thought Bill was good.

Zolak: Peyton was a little bit dry. The videos, like if you're not coming don't even do the Zoom video. It's nice, I get it. They're trying to accumulate as much content as possible. Who Tom played against, let's get all these players to do something like that.

Beetle: I thought there was big music act things. We got two songs. We got two songs. We got Jay Z for one song. Kenny Chesney for one song. That was it.

Morgan: Those guys are on retainer here.

Beetle: I mean, Jay Z has a contract with the NFL thanks in part to Robert Kraft making a deal with Jay Z to have a contract with the NFL.

LISTEN: Zolak & Bertrand recap Brady Night at Gillette Stadium

On Wednesday night, Tom Brady returned to Gillette Stadium for just the third time since leaving the Patriots in 2020. The first was as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021, the second was to honor his retirement from the NFL in the 2023 season opener, and then Wednesday Brady was inducted into the Patriots team Hall of Fame.

The ceremony, which lasted about three hours, in some ways mirrored the annual Patriots Hall of Fame inductions the team has done in the past on the steps of the plaza under the lighthouse of Gillette Stadium. There were multiple sessions of Brady's former teammates sitting with him in roundtable formats talking about their playing days.

MORE: Patriots Minicamp notebook

That included one with some of the defensive leaders from the Dynasty, (Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Vince Wilfork, and Devin McCourty), one with some players he shared the quarterback room with (Drew Bledsoe, Matt Cassel, Brian Hoyer) and Josh McDaniels, another with some of his top receivers (Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker).

At the same time, there were some new and unique elements fit for the moment of honoring Brady. Here's a look at the top moments of the night from the Tom Brady ceremony...

The full ceremony can be seen here.

The event kicked off with a bang. For years, Tom Brady entered Gillette Stadium to Jay-Z's 'Public Service Announcement' playing over the PA. This time, he walked in to Jay-Z performing the song live on stage. That brought a standing ovation and got the energy right to a 10.

The first real presentation of the night was an about five-minute video of Tom Brady Sr., Galynn, and Brady's sisters talking about when they were growing up, as well as Brady's first years in New England. Galynn Brady was emotional when talking about how the people of New England treated the entire family. They also showed Brady Sr. watching the clip from before Super Bowl LI Media Night when Brady answered a question about his dad being his hero.

The Patriots played a video of some of Tom Brady's notable formal opponents, featuring Charles Woodson, Ray Lewis, Eli Manning, Jason Taylor, Ed Reed, Michael Strahan, Patrick Mahomes, and Richard Sherman (which reviewed mixed reactions from the crowd) all congratulating Brady on his induction. Host Mike Tirico then said there was one former competitor who said he'd only talk about Brady if he could do so in person. Peyton Manning then took the stage, and discussed his rivalry with Brady, some of their more notable games, and their friendship off the field.

During the roundtable with the Patriots' receivers, Randy Moss was the first to speak. He tried talking about how he ended up with the Patriots, but only got through "a lot of fans here were just wondering what they were going to get..." before the fans cut him off with a massive standing ovation. Moss was visibly emotional, and when the applause ended he spoke about how strong the culture was in New England under Brady, Bill Belichick, and Robert Kraft.

Towards the end of the night, the Patriots brought Troy Brown and Deion Branch up to the stage. Brown told a story about when he knew he was "in the presence of greatness" about seeing Jay-Z when out with Brady. When it was Branch's turn, he gave four reasons he knew he was in the presence of greatness...

1. "We've got the best fan base in America"
2. "We have the greatest owner in America"
3. "We have the greatest football player ever to grace the field.
4. "And last but not least, Foxborough, welcome the greatest head coach of all time..."

That was the introduction for the keynote speaker so to speak, Bill Belichick. Belichick was welcomed back to Gillette Stadium with an applause that lasted almost five minutes.

The night ended with Tom Brady addressing the crowd. Visibly emotional at times, Brady started out with a few minutes thanking the fans, pointing out "what other fans would spend hours on Route 1 to get to a stadium in the middle of the woods?" He also thanked his family, hometown of San Mateo, agents, friends, Alex Guerrero, the Kraft family, Bill Belichick, other Patriots coaches and staffers, his teammates, and Bill Belichick.

He closed talking about consistency, dedication, and hard work as it relates to football and life. Finally, he closed with "I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot."

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.