This may surprise you, but Tom Brady is a pretty competitive fellow.
Ultra-competitive athletes were the topic du jour Sunday night as ESPN aired its final episodes of "The Last Dance," which focused on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls.
So, after weeks of stories about Jordan's maniacal obsession with winning, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer shared a gem about Brady's similar "win at all costs" mentality.
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The story involves the legendary quarterback and then-Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, who according to Breer was a "fantastic" ping pong player and squared off with Brady on the table shortly after signing with New England in 2013.
Amendola wound up winning, and winning pretty handily. As the story goes, Amendola hammered home the last point, and barely could turn around before he heard this whistling go by his ear. Brady’s paddle had come in hot and just missed him. Amendola, I’d heard, looked up expecting to see Brady laughing. Instead, he was getting the death stare.
Amendola, Breer wrote, learned a "good lesson" about Brady after that experience: If you defeat the GOAT in anything, prepare to face the consequences.
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Of course, Amendola probably should have known this considering Brady's relentless desire to win everything (even beer-chugging competitions) and the temper tantrums he throws when he doesn't.
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That competitive streak has paid off for Brady, who led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason.
Amendola was in New England for two of those championships and was a trusted Brady target during the Patriots' playoff runs -- after Brady got over the ping pong incident.