Being Tom Brady on Long Island

So what's it like to be Tom Brady, living the dream on Long Island? 

Not bad, even if you're not the New England Patriots quarterback looking for his sixth Super Bowl ring Sunday night.

Just ask Tom Brady, the truck driver in North Babylon. Or Tom Brady, the retired banker in West Islip, or his son, Tom Brady, the real estate agent in Westbury.

"It's a lot of fun," said Tom Brady, a retired subway operator from Levittown. "My kids get a kick out of saying, 'My dad is Tom Brady.' "

About three dozen Long Islanders on the state's voting rolls share the name of the top-tier Tom, who at 41 has led the Patriots in nine Super Bowl appearances, snagged four Super Bowl MVP awards and lost two championships to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. 

The Tom Bradys of Long Island often bask in the glory of the NFL's winningest quarterback.  

At times, the Brady Bunch get the royal treatment when they call for reservations at restaurants and hotels. When those times of mistaken identity happen, they feel — for a fleeting moment — the adoration that comes with celebrity two decades in the making. 

And the fun of it all ratchets up in the days leading up to the Big Game. 

Retired banker Brady likes to pull a few shenanigans when he travels to Boston — the Patriots home turf — to visit another son, Ken Brady. 

"I fib a little and get immediate seating and upgrades," said Brady, 75, who has an "I AM Tom Brady" shirt. "But I'm Catholic, so I go home and tell the priest."

Brady's son, Tom, third in a line of Tom Bradys, does a little name-dropping to get things off on the right foot with his prospective real estate clients.

"It starts a conversation," said real estate agent Brady, who — like the guy with the dimpled chin — is in his 40s. "It never gets old."

And he has a bag of stories to tell about his time off the job, too. One of the more memorable ones is from a Super Bowl party in 2012, when the Patriots faced off against the Giants.

Brady had the guts to wear his Tom Brady jersey in a room packed with New York fans. The verbal jousting heated up fast. At one point, the Giants guys told Brady that they would tear off his shirt and throw it into the fireplace.

"I had to tiptoe out of the room and get out of there," he said.

The Giants won 21-17. 

But that doesn't mean the namesakes are so wide-eyed that they don't realize Brady, because of his good looks and big bank account, has his fair share of detractors.

Consequently, the Tom Bradys of Long Island often find themselves having to defend their guy.  

“I like the guy. He’s definitely the greatest quarterback,” said Tom Brady, 27, an elevator mechanic from Floral Park. “I definitely defend my namesake.”

And in the land of the Giants and the Jets, the Tom Bradys are regularly reminded of where their allegiances should be — with New York. The Super Bowl showdowns between the Patriots and Giants became the stuff of legends for Giants fans and the long-suffering Jets are in the same division as the New England, the AFC East. 

"It's awful for us," especially around Super Bowl time, said Tom Brady, 25, the truck driver. When die-hard fans of the New York teams find out his name, they "shoo me away."

It doesn't matter. He wears his Tom Brady jersey anyway. 

Tom Brady of Center Moriches, a teacher, has put a little distance between himself and the man they call the GOAT, which stands for Greatest of All Time. Brady, 27, calls himself T.J. Brady, mostly because his dad is also a Tom.

But, he added, "I went to college in Massachusetts, and I would use it as much as possible. Just to see people react."

Long Island's Brady Bunch admire their namesake for more than his skills on the gridiron.  

"He's a great guy, he's great to his family," elevator mechanic Brady said.

Still, Brady won't be cheering for the future Hall of Famer to win Super Bowl LIII. He is 100 percent behind the Los Angeles Rams, his favorite team since he was a kid. 

"This is one of the first Super Bowls that I won't be rooting for him," he said.

Brady, the retired subway operator, will be backing the Patriots. 

"It's a lot of fun. I didn't expect it to last this long," said Brady, 63. "I hope he's a quarterback forever."

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FULL NAME Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.

OCCUPATION Quarterback

AGE 41

HEIGHT 6-4

WEIGHT 225 lbs

LIVES IN Brookline, Mass., and other mansions....

MEMORABLE SPORTS ACHIEVEMENT 5 Lombardi trophies 

PROUD ACHIEVEMENT 5 Lombardi Trophies

ROOTING FOR SUNDAY Um, duh

FULL NAME Tom Sidney Brady

OCCUPATION Retired banker

AGE 75

HEIGHT 6 feet

WEIGHT 174 lbs

LIVES IN West Islip

MEMORABLE SPORTS ACHIEVEMENT Pitched for the Hibernians in Babylon for 27 years

PROUD ACHIEVEMENT Having five kids and 11 grandkids

ROOTING FOR SUNDAY Patriots

FULL NAME Thomas Joseph Brady

OCCUPATION Elementary school teacher

AGE 27

HEIGHT 5-10

WEIGHT 200 lbs

LIVES IN Center Moriches

MEMORABLE SPORTS ACHIEVEMENT Won a race while on the track team in middle school

PROUD ACHIEVEMENT Becoming a teacher

ROOTING FOR SUNDAY Patriots

FULL NAME Tom Vincent Brady

OCCUPATION Commercial real estate 

AGE In his 40s

HEIGHT 5-7

WEIGHT 151 lbs

LIVES IN Westbury

MEMORABLE SPORTS ACHIEVEMENT Playing flag football in high school

PROUD ACHIEVEMENT Buying his own investment properties

ROOTING FOR SUNDAY Patriots "Big time."

FULL NAME Tom Owen Brady

OCCUPATION Elevator mechanic

AGE 27

HEIGHT 5-11

WEIGHT 210 lbs

LIVES IN Floral Park

MEMORABLE SPORTS ACHIEVEMENT Playing football and lacrosse in high school

PROUD ACHIEVEMENT Meeting my girlfriend

ROOTING FOR SUNDAY Rams

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.com@Scraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.