Bell Tolls: Perspective, desire drive Tom Brady to Super Bowl XLIX

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Tom Brady didn't come to Arizona to reflect on the past.

But he can't help it. One way or another, the past is part of this moment, too.

This is what happens when you've remained relevant for such a long time that you get another chance to win a Super Bowl at a place where you've lost a Super Bowl.

It happens because you're an old, wily veteran now, 37 and counting, and the quarterback on the other sideline in Super Bowl XLIX respectfully mentions you as a guy he looked up to when he was growing up.

Which reminds us: Russell Wilson, the magnificent young Seattle Seahawks star, has made it back to the Super Bowl for the second time in his three seasons, and no one can relate to that quite like Brady.

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At one time, Brady was that young, hotshot guy. When he helped the New England Patriots topple the St. Louis Rams 13 years ago, he was, at 24, the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

"That happened so fast in my life," Brady said this week. "I didn't really quite understand what was going on. At that time, I was just a young guy. There was only one week from the Championship Game to the Super Bowl."

Fast. Then he came back two years later and won again, making it two titles in three seasons as a starter. He followed that with a repeat title.

But he hasn't won a Super Bowl in 10 years.

Now he's here again, trying to become one of the oldest quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl. If the Patriots dethrone the Seahawks on Sunday, Brady would become the fourth-oldest, after John Elway's double dip and Johnny Unitas, to win a Super Bowl.

"When we went early in my career, it wasn't that I didn't realize how hard it was," Brady said. "I think gaining some perspective and experience — we've gotten to this point, we just haven't won this game, so this would be an incredible achievement — you realize how hard it is to win Super Bowls."

We get the point. He knew it was hard then, and that has been confirmed many times over.

Brady will start his sixth Super Bowl on Sunday, a record for quarterbacks, and it might be the last time. Nothing's promised next year or beyond. It has been three years since he's been in a Super Bowl.

"I still feel like this is my first," Brady said.

That's striking, because some Patriots swear that Brady is as passionate as he's ever been.

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In preparing for the Seahawks, a team that New England has played just three times since Robert Kraft bought the franchise in 1994, Brady contended that he's never watched as much film for an opponent. That seems impossible to fathom, but the point is that he's worked overtime on this task.

It's never easy, but so fitting that winning it all again challenges Brady to get the best of the NFL's best defense in recent years. The Seahawks are in the conversation with units that the Baltimore Ravens (2000), Chicago Bears (1985) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1970s) brought as the best of the Super Bowl era.

Brady, meanwhile, is trying to win a fourth crown that would tie him with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana — his boyhood idol — for most by a quarterback.

So there's this history vs. history thing working.

With a beefed-up defense, the Patriots are more equipped and balanced than they have been since their last Super Bowl victory — with only Brady and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork the only current players who were around back then.

All of the experience has undoubtedly hammered the point home to Brady that this is not an opportunity to let slip away.

As much as Brady can reflect on winning it all while being so young, he is also reminded of the consecutive Super Bowl losses to the New York Giants. Maybe that fuels his motivation like nothing else about now.

Losing a Super Bowl provides lasting memories, just like winning.

"I remember the feeling," Brady said. "I think in each of those two losses, we went out there are expected to play great. We went into those games with a lot of confidence, too, and just didn't make enough plays. This game, you hate to play anything less than your best, because you rack your brain for all the things you wish you could have done better to help the team."

He went on to mention how he's been haunted by a misread here, a bad throw there.

"Those are the things you deal with for the rest of your life," he said.

The good thing for Brady now is that he's got a chance to create some new memories — never to be taken for granted.

Follow columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

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