FOXBORO — Only Tom Brady could draw tens of thousands of fans to Gillette Stadium on a mid-June night in the middle of the NBA Finals.
The Patriots honored the greatest player in NFL history with a one-of-a-kind celebration Wednesday night.
Nearly every available seat was filled, including hundreds that had been set up on the Gillette game field. A who’s-who of Patriots greats made the trip back to Foxboro for the occasion — more than 100 in total, including the much-anticipated return of Bill Belichick — with many joining Brady on stage to fete the legendary quarterback.
The ceremony culminated with New England fast-tracking Brady into the Patriots Hall of Fame, retiring his No. 12 and announcing plans to construct a statue in his honor.
“You guys affected every part of my life,” Brady told the packed crowd, tears in his eyes. “I love you, and I’m very grateful.”
Here were the 12 most memorable moments from an unforgettable night for Patriots fans:
1. The red carpet
Scores of teammates and coaches from every stage of Brady’s 20-year Patriots tenure turned out to celebrate the QB.
From Drew Bledsoe to Malcolm Butler to Tully Banta-Cain. Stephon Gilmore to Jarvis Green to Jonas Gray. Matt Cassel to Marcus Cannon to Mike Compton. Randy Moss to Malcolm Mitchell to Sony Michel. Wes Welker to Ben Watson to LaAdrian Waddle.
Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski were there, of course, as was teammate-turned-Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo.
“I can only express my love and gratitude to you guys for what you’ve meant to me,” Brady said in a red carpet interview.
2. Starting ‘em young
The Patriots’ rookies obviously never played with or against Brady, but nearly of them were in attendance, wearing their own personalized jerseys. That included first-round pick Drake Maye, whom the Patriots hope can return them to respectability behind center.
“TB12, ultimate competitor, and that’s what I’m trying to get through to the guys in the locker room,” Mayo said in an on-stage address that opened the proceedings.
One of the few current Patriots who did overlap with Brady — his former backup, Jacoby Brissett — also sported a jersey at the ceremony: Brady’s No. 12.
3. “Allow me to reintroduce myself”
Brady used to take the field to Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement.” It was fitting, then, that that was the song of choice to kick off this celebration — with Jay-Z himself traveling to Foxboro to perform it live.
4. The worst backup ever
Bledsoe — one of the stars of the Brady roast — delivered one of the lines of the night when he joked that Brady was “the worst backup quarterback in the history of the NFL.”
“You never understood that when I got healthy you were supposed to go sit the hell down,” he quipped.
5. All love for Moss
One of several player panels featured Brady’s all-time greatest pass-catchers: Edelman, Gronkowski, Moss and Welker. The crowd gave Moss — whose 23 touchdown catches from Brady in 2007 still stands as an NFL record — received a standing ovation, moving the Hall of Fame wideout to tears.
“I apologize because this is really not my night, it’s 12′s night,” a visibly emotional Moss said. “But I thank you.”
Edelman and Gronkowski received similarly thunderous applause.
“I love you guys,” Edelman said, choking up.
6. Game respect game
Brady’s rivals also joined in the fun, with eight of them expressing their appreciation for Brady in a tribute video. Charles Woodson, Ray Lewis, Eli Manning, Jason Taylor, Ed Reed, Michael Strahan, Patrick Mahomes and Richard Sherman all were featured, with Lewis, Manning and Mahomes drawing loud boos from the Gillette crowd.
Brady’s No. 1 foil, Peyton Manning, made a surprise in-person appearance, joining Brady and host Mike Tirico on the stage for a 10-minute chat.
Manning shared a story about him and Brady linking up for a throwing session during the 2009 offseason — and swearing to secrecy the high schoolers who served as their receivers.
“We said, ‘If you tell anybody that Tom Brady and I are working out together and that we’re friends, then we’re going to kill all of you,’ “ Manning said.
7. Belichick arrives
After a musical interlude by Kenny Chesney, Belichick made his first appearance at Gillette Stadium since his head-coaching tenure ended in January.
Patriots fans welcomed him back with a rousing, minutes-long ovation.
“I love you New England, love you Patriot fans and love Tom Brady,” Belichick said. “… This is such a warm welcome. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to come back here.”
8. Belichick’s best of
Belichick opened his remarks by saying he didn’t want to be “redundant” by listing off Brady’s career accomplishments — then proceeded to do just that.
Among the moments he highlighted: Brady’s overtime touchdown to Troy Brown in Miami, his five-touchdown quarter in the snow in 2009 and his seam pass to Gronkowski that set up the deciding touchdown in Super Bowl LIII.
“It was a tremendous honor and privilege for me to draft Tom and to coach him for 20 years,” Belichick said. “… Everything he brought to the team, it was really an honor for me to be involved with that.”
Belichick said his weekly 1-on-1 meetings with the QB were “some of the best days that I had as a coach in my career.”
9. No. 12 retired
Following a Neil deGrasse Tyson-narrated video filled with cosmic imagery, team owner Robert Kraft officially retired Brady’s jersey number, making him the first Patriot to receive that honor since Bruce Armstrong in 2000.
“Tonight, I promise that it will never be worn again,” Kraft said. “The No. 12 is now officially retired.
10. Brady immortalized
Kraft announced the Patriots will honor Brady with a 12-foot bronze statue, which will be unveiled during the upcoming season.
“The first Patriots statue ever commissioned,” Kraft said before presenting Brady with his red Patriots Hall of Fame jacket.
11. Brady’s thanks
Brady closed out the night by thanking his family, teammates, coaches, Patriots ownership and the fans. He teared up while saluting the offensive linemen he played behind. He also jokingly apologized to his agents for taking “all of those team-friendly deals” and cracked that Edelman “paid (him) $10,000 to mention him by name.”
“I am Tom Brady,” he said, “ and I am a Patriot.”
12. “It was us”
Brady’s message to Belichick: “It wasn’t me. It wasn’t you. It was us. … Let me make this crystal clear: There is no coach in the world I would rather play for than Bill Belichick.”
