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Tom Brady has another team on his mind for repeating as champions in addition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs quarterback did a hype video for defending Stanley Cup hockey champion Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL, which has a semifinal series underway with the New York Islanders. The video first appeared on June 5 during the Lightning’s series with Carolina Hurricanes, won 3-1.
“All the Tampa Bay Lightning fans, let’s do this again Lightning,” Brady exclaimed in the video. “Let’s go for two people! Let’s keep Lord Stanley in the Bay, right where he belongs. Let’s get the Cup again! Go Bolts! Let’s go!”
The Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020, beating the Dallas Stars six games, 4-2, at the Edmonton, Canada, bubble in September. It coincided with Brady and the Bucs getting their season underway, which looked promising early as Brady led the team to a 3-1 start that month. Ironically, the Bucs opener at New Orleans coincided with the Lightning’s last playoff meeting with Islanders for the Eastern Conference Finals as ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported.
After the Lightning hoisted the Cup, Brady and the Bucs had ups and downs through October and November before reeling off eight consecutive wins to claim the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LV. After winning, the Bucs borrowed the Lightning’s idea of a boat parade amid COVID-19 restrictions.
That included Brady and the Bucs having fun with the Lombardi Trophy as NHL players famously do with the Cup. Lorraine Grohs, a daughter of the Lombardi Trophy silversmith, Greg Grohs, wasn’t a fan though.
Brady’s video appearance with Lightning wasn’t his only nod to the Bolts this season. He attended the Lightning’s games against the Columbus Bluejackets on April 22 per Mari Faiello of the Tampa Bay Times. “He posed for a photo with Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and family,” Faiello reported.
Brady Motivates, Gronkowski Stops Pucks
Brady has been far from the only member of the Bucs to support the Lightning this season.
Bucs tight end Rob Gronkowski put on goalie pads earlier in the spring to join the the Lightning at practice along with his brothers. The Buffalo, New York, native played until age 14 before playing basketball in the winter instead according to Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.
Gronkowski stopped a shot by Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy during shooting drills and said “stick to goaltending” jokingly according to Encina. The Bucs veteran had built a relationship with Vasilevskiy and Lightning center Alex Killorn before the season when they got together for video gaming before the season per Encina.
Barrett Brings the Hardware
Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett also came out to support the Lightning during the season. He brought the Lombardi Trophy with him, too, for the Bolts’ March 18 game with the Chicago Blackhawks. Barrett had just re-signed with the Bucs in free agency at the time.
Barrett had never attended a Lightning game before according to Faiello. He also had his family with him to enjoy it.
“It’s exciting,” Barrett said per Faiello. “There’s a lot of antsy people waiting for something big to happen all of the time and ready to explode when it happens.”
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