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Former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady<\/a> gave a commencement speech Saturday to business school graduates at Georgetown University, urging them to fight through adversity as he often did on the gridiron. <\/span><\/p>\n Brady<\/a>, speaking at the McDonough School of Business commencement ceremony, recalled the most celebrated comeback of his legendary career<\/a>, when he led his squad back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons at the Super Bowl in 2017, one of six championship rings he earned with the Pats. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen the odds are stacked against you, when you\u2019re facing your own 28 to 3 moment \u2014 and believe me, it\u2019s coming <\/i>\u2014 you will have a choice to make: to quit or to fight your ass off,” Brady said, according to a transcript of his speech<\/a> posted to the Hoya website.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Success in those tense moments comes down to preparation, Brady continued. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou better have prepared yourself in advance to deal with the adversity you\u2019re gonna face in order to give yourself the best chance to succeed,\u201d Brady said. \u201cDown by 25, in the biggest game of my life, do you think I just stumbled randomly into my decision to keep fighting?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That resilience was built up over decades, he stressed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe previous 25 years of my life had prepared me for that moment,\u201d Brady said. \u201cJust as you guys have been meeting the daily challenges of being a student, I\u2019d been meeting the daily challenges of being an athlete every day, just for a chance to do something special.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But you can\u2019t win the day if you\u2019re too busy making excuses, he said. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery hard choice is a brick in the path toward the life you want,\u201d Brady said. \u201cBut every excuse is a brick in the wall that will stand in your way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He warned the graduates that they may feel a little overwhelmed at that first big job, surrounded by new hires who have just as much mettle as they do.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll be up against a lot of people from equally great schools who are just as smart and talented as you, and they want it as much as you do,\u201d Brady said. \u201cYou\u2019ll be asked to do things you\u2019ve never done before. To work long hours, harder than you ever have, with people you might not like \u2014 like guys from Duke.” <\/span><\/p>\n (Brady\u2019s head coach in New England, Bill Belichick, now coaches Duke archrival UNC<\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n Belichick, famously tight-lipped with compliments, got some ribbing during the speech as well, when Brady told the crowd that \u201cI had a coach for 20 years that told me how [expletive] I was every day,\u201d using a word that rhymes with city. <\/span><\/p>\n Brady added that it\u2019s important for the graduates to surround themselves with people who push them to excel, \u201ceven if one of those people is a cranky old coach who cuts the sleeves off his sweatshirt and screams at you all day, \u2018do your job.\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n And Brady seemed to channel Belichick\u2019s \u201cno days off\u201d mantra during his speech, telling the graduates that a demanding work environment is the right one.<\/span><\/p>\n What makes a workplace \u201ctoo hard is exactly the thing that makes it the perfect place for you, because it will offer you the greatest opportunity of all: the opportunity to face your own fears and doubts and develop the skills and abilities necessary to overcome any obstacle you\u2019ll face on the path to being successful in life,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n Brady is currently a part owner of the Vegas Raiders and also has a lucrative NFL commentary deal on Fox. <\/span><\/p>\n Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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