ATLANTA • From smashing a golf club into the ground in frustration as a boy to pulling off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, refusal to accept defeat has been a recurring theme of Tom Brady's life.
In the eyes of many, the New England Patriots star has long settled the debate of whether he is the greatest quarterback the National Football League (NFL) has ever seen.
Nearly two decades at the pinnacle of his sport have yielded five Super Bowl titles and an array of records that, in all probability, will never be beaten.
Brady, 41, could become the oldest quarterback in history to win the NFL's championship game this morning (Singapore time) when he leads the Patriots against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII - his ninth - itself another record.
In an era of ever-shorter NFL careers - the average shelf life of a quarterback is just over three years, according to a 2016 Wall Street Journal study - Brady has added Father Time to a long list of his vanquished opponents.
Brady, who won the first of his five Super Bowl rings in 2002 when the Patriots upset the then St Louis Rams, admits he finds it surreal to still be chasing titles 17 bruising years after his first. "No one ever imagines these things," he told reporters in Atlanta.
"The goal when I was a kid was to be a professional athlete. And I've been a professional athlete for a long time. I couldn't have asked for anything better."
The cornerstone of his career - a white-hot competitive streak - has burnt with a vengeance during the Patriots' journey to the showpiece at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Irked by the suggestion that the Patriots were a dynasty in decline, Brady has framed the five-time Super Bowl champions as unlikely underdogs, uniting supporters around a rallying cry of "We're still here".
"It's just part of who I am, part of my DNA," Brady said. "Those motivations run deep. When I get them scratched at, it's great motivation for me. It's just a part of who I am.
"Some people are born with great height. Some people are born with great size or great speed. Some people are born with things that are more intangible.
"I think competitiveness and the ability to compete has been an attribute for me and my whole family.
"It started when I was young. My parents always encouraged me to shoot for the stars. I still feel that way now. People say, 'You're 41, what are you doing? Why are you still playing?'. But I still feel like I'm shooting for the stars."
Learning to manage his competitiveness wasn't always easy though.
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Talking points
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BRADY'S DESTINY WITH HISTORY
For Tom Brady, a sixth Super Bowl title would give him more than any other player and, at 41, make him the oldest quarterback to win the championship, surpassing Peyton Manning, who was 39 when he led the Denver Broncos to victory over the Carolina Panthers three years ago.
OFFICIALS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
After an egregious missed call that would have put the New Orleans Saints in prime position to secure a trip to the Super Bowl at the expense of the Rams, the officials working the NFL's title game will do their best to stay out of the spotlight. The referee selected to lead the officiating crew for the Super Bowl is John Parry, a 54-year-old American who has worked at the championship game in 2012 (referee) and 2007 (side judge).
EXPERIENCE VERSUS YOUTH
The Patriots-Rams clash represents a match-up of experience versus youth and nowhere will it be more evident than at the all-important quarterback position. The age difference between the Patriots' Tom Brady (41) and Rams' Jared Goff (24) is the largest gap between opposing starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl history. REUTERS
He recalled throwing a tantrum on a golf course when his father, Tom Brady Sr, took him to play nine holes en route to a San Francisco Giants baseball game.
"On the sixth hole, I hit a bad shot and took my club and started slamming it into the ground," Brady said.
"My dad marched me off the course and back to the car and said, 'If you ever do that again, I'm never bringing you here again. I'm never taking you to baseball again, you're never playing sports again'.
"Man, I was crying. After the baseball game, my dad said, 'We're going to go back and play golf again, and you're going to play it right'. I learnt a great lesson that day."
Those childhood lessons have served Brady through his college and professional career.
Two years ago, Brady's never-say-die mentality saw him haul the Patriots back from a 28-3 third-quarter deficit to win Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, the biggest comeback in history.
By now, the story of Brady's emergence in the sport is part of NFL legend, ritually retold with each new Super Bowl appearance.
He was the 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 draft, but he worked his way up from fourth-choice quarterback before assuming the starter's jersey from the injured Drew Bledsoe.
That breakthrough season ended with his first Super Bowl win in 2002, and gave a glimpse of the player he would become.
His opposite number that day, former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, said Brady's ability to deliver under pressure has become his calling card. "When the game's on the line, he plays his best football," Warner said. "For me, we're living in the era of the greatest quarterback in the game."
Brady, who has spoken of playing until he is 45, has no interest in engaging in discussion about his place in the pantheon of greats.
"What's important to me is playing my best game on Sunday," he said. "I'm not thinking about anything beyond this. Teams don't want an average quarterback. I've got to be better than that.
"They want a great quarterback. And that's what I'm trying to do this week."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
