Brady even talked about the game

INDIANAPOLIS

Tom Brady seems to have a dream life, what with his three Super Bowl rings, his supermodel wife and his princely bank account.

But his mood briefly darkened Tuesday when he recalled one dream gone horribly wrong.

"I remember waking up in Arizona the next morning after an hour of sleep thinking, 'That was a nightmare; that didn't happen,' '' he said.

No such luck. The Patriots' 17-14 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII was all too real, and it remains the lone blot on Brady's Super Bowl resume.

Untrained psychologists have spent the past 10 days trying to figure out what effect that memory might have on Brady and his remaining teammates.

No one really knows. But there seemed to be an unspoken message in Brady's demeanor during his hour kibitzing with reporters at media day on subjects from Madonna to his surfboard to the shrimp cocktails at St. Elmo Steak House.

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With the exception of his brief return to that dark night in the desert, he was at his cool, glib best, doing everything but standing up and announcing to the assembled throng: I have been here before, many times, and I will not be rattled by the moment, or by the Giants, or by 2008, thank you very much.

Or maybe he was just in a good mood. Whatever. He rolled with every journalistic punch, playing the good sport in his fifth visit to the Super Bowl's annual circus.

Let's take a random stroll through his podium session, shall we?

When someone wondered about the coolest thing in his "sweet life,'' Brady executed a quick turn, so to speak.

"Last night, I got to drive down a one-way street in the opposite direction to go to dinner to park,'' he said. "That was probably the coolest thing. I was driving to the restaurant and a cop saw us and said to pull right up.''

That was at St. Elmo, where Eli Manning also dined Monday. And how did Brady enjoy the restaurant's famous shrimp cocktail? "It was delicious, thank you,'' he said.

What about Brady's sort-of guarantee at a pep rally Sunday before the team departed New England? He said he hoped there would be more people at the victory party than at the send-off.

First he said his words were mischaracterized, then he asked the questioner, "Where are you from?'' When told he was from New York, Brady said: "Aaah! That's the problem right there. Nice outfit. Is it Halloween?''

Wait, huh? Oh, Brady already had moved on from the New Yorker to another exotic creature, a guy dressed in a cape as Nickelodeon's "Pick Boy."

On it went. Brady fielded two questions from the Jets' favorite Mexican TV journalist, Ines Sainz. He recalled his three older sisters painting his nails. He told a guy with a camera attached to a band around his head that he has the same camera on his surfboard. "Very cool.''

He joked with Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel about his monumental beard, then chided him for strip sacking him during the season. "Stay out of our backfield!''

"Extra'' host Maria Menounos wore a Brady jersey, said she hates the Giants and wondered, "What are you guys going to do to make sure we beat them on Sunday?''

Then it was back to questions from reporters not wearing Brady jerseys. Favorite Madonna song? " 'Vogue,' that's a good one."

What advice does Brady get from his wife, Gisele Bundchen? "Throw the ball quickly. She doesn't like it when I get hit very often.''

Brady was startled to hear fans at Lucas Oil Stadium react to his comments -- especially Colts-related ones -- not realizing they were listening on an audio feed. "This is just cool,'' he said.

What would he think about Peyton Manning going to the Jets or Dolphins? "I would certainly hope he's not in our division.''

He was asked only three direct questions about the Giants. He said Eli Manning is "a great quarterback'' and that the Giants' defensive line surely will "try to take my head off.''

There you have it. Four days to go. Sweet dreams, Tom.