Alexander Rossi will be cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Super Bowl LV for one reason: Tom Brady. He draws inspiration from the quarterback largely because of how successful Brady has been despite his lengthy 21 years in the sport.
“Tom Brady finds a way to win games regardless of the surrounding situations, and I think that is more impressive than his obvious innate ability and the records that he holds,” Alexander Rossi said in a video clip posted to the IndyCar Twitter account prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Rossi will enter his sixth IndyCar season in 2021 driving for Andretti Autosport. Prior to coming to race in America’s top single-seater division, he spent two years racing in Formula 1. Rossi won IndyCar’s “Super Bowl” -- the Indianapolis 500 -- in his 2016 debut at the Brickyard during his rookie season.
MORE STARPOWER: Justin Timberlake joins Music City Grand Prix ownership group
“What’s so impressive about Tom Brady’s success is just the longevity,” Rossi said. “Me, being an athlete in my own sport, you witness first-hand guys that have a lot of success and then there’s obviously the decline that comes naturally. And the fact that he has been able to sustain his level of performance and success for so long is just an inspiration.”
Shifting gears to the Super Bowl, 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion @AlexanderRossi is rooting for the @Buccaneers because of six-time champion quarterback @TomBrady.
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 6, 2021
Who is your pick for #SBLV and do you pull for the team or a player? pic.twitter.com/WJbsHLNARM
Rossi believes there are lessons to be learned from top-tier athletes like Brady, who has six Super Bowl championships - the most recent of which came in 2018 when his New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. Brady left the Patriots this year to quarterback the beleaguered Bucs and immediately steer them to Super Bowl.
“What he does to keep his level of competitiveness so high, that’s something I strive to emulate,” Rossi said. “I don’t know that I see any similarities between myself and a six-time Super Bowl champion, just because I don’t see myself at that level again.
“I came from Europe and kind of being in a reserve role in Formula 1, and he was a backup quarterback before he got his break. But I’m still looking for my first championship.”
