Tom Brady is Thanos, and Admiral
A7XfanBen is Tom Brady
Warning: Self-congratulatory stuff ahead… I know how big my ego is around playing the game; I’m self aware of how silly it sounds haha. But I’ve won the Pirates CSG games that are most important to me and I love epic stuff more than any Pirates CSG fans I’ve seen, and I can’t help but notice amusing parallels to other things. 🙂
Silly fun post not to be taken seriously!
Spoilers Ahead
Last night (February 3rd, 2019), myself and many others witnessed a thoroughly unsurprising event. Tom Brady won his 6th Super Bowl ring, further extending his legacy as the greatest player in the history of football. As he always does, Tom proved the doubters wrong. After his previous success, especially the historic comeback against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, NO ONE should have been betting against Tom Brady. He is the god of football, and now there is simply no debating that.
Tom Brady is Thanos
With his 6th championship ring, Tom Brady now has as many Super Bowl rings as Thanos has/had Infinity Stones. At any time now he could do a snap and erase half of all people, or perhaps just half of the NFL. XD Tom is now 6-3 in his nine Super Bowl appearances, breaking a tie with Charles Haley for the most championships by a single football player and moving into a tie with the Steelers for the most championships of any TEAM.
Tom Brady and Admiral A7XfanBen
After winning VASSAL Campaign Games 1, 2, and 3, I became “the Tom Brady of campaign games”. This is because Tom was 3-0 in his first three Super Bowls, and now I am 3-0 in my first three non-solo Pirates CSG campaign games. You can see how I did it in my Epic Videos playlist. CG4 has begun, although it is likely to last FAR longer than any of the previous VASSAL campaign games.
There are a number of additional parallels between Tom’s Super Bowl legacy and my own campaign game legacy. CG1/2/3 were all played in a 2 year period from February 2016 (start of CG1) to March 2018 (end of CG3), which covers the three calendar years from 2016-2018. It took Tom only 4 years to accumulate 3 wins, similar to how it took me only about 2 years (and one month) to accumulate 3 wins.
Opponents
In terms of opponents, Tom was a massive underdog to the Rams in his first Super Bowl (SB). Xerecs and I faced off in CG1, the first-ever VASSAL campaign game. It could be argued that neither player was really a favorite or underdog. I did not control the best faction in the game, the Pirates, nor the French, another very competitive faction. I ended up winning as the Spanish, dominating the game in general. The Patriots were the favorites in Tom’s second SB, just as I would have to be favored to win CG2 against 2 other players. The Patriots were also the favorites in Tom’s third SB, just as I would be to start CG3 (as the most successful and experienced player in that game).
Margins of Victory
A more stark contrast lies in the margins of victory, which are necessarily opposite due to the nature of the radically different games. Tom’s Super Bowls are pretty much always decided by a tiny margin, often by 3 points. With the shortest VASSAL campaign game (CG1) requiring a full 3 months of play to finish, and with Last Fleet Afloat rules in effect, it’s inevitable that my CG wins would be lopsided at the finish. However, there were some close moments, notably when the Pirates nearly attacked the Spanish in CG1, when the Pirates had a points lead over the English in CG2, and when multiple factions had better starts than the Americans in CG3.
Thanos and Admiral A7XfanBen?
What if someday I get to 6 victories in Pirates CSG campaign games? Will I “retire”? Nope, I’m going nowhere! I also don’t like to think about what would happen in a “snap” comparison – by the time I win my 6th, it’s possible that half of the current community will be gone. 🙁 Let’s not let that happen!! 😀
What’s Next?
Tom has already stated that he will not be retiring, so a potential 7th ring is already in his sights. While CG4 and the Caribbean game slowly languish on, I have turned my attention to The Hourly Campaign, a solo campaign game, for want of players. Thanos will presumably look to defend his Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame.
The interesting thing about what lies ahead is that Tom lost consecutive Super Bowls and went a full 10 years before winning his fourth. Incredibly, something vaguely similar could happen with me, though of course I am confident in my abilities. It’s certainly possible I may not win CG4, which will likely take multiple years to conclude. Instead, I will try to break from this “Tom Brady and the Patriots” campaign game tradition and continue my undefeated streak. 😀
Click here to get your Tom Brady Thanos gear! If you want to beat me in a campaign game, you better buy some packs (This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated) to get started, cuz I’ve got a 500+ game advantage. 🙂 If you’re like me, the following video will motivate you to WIN. (not my video; full credit to GoobzTV on youtube) Finally, it looks like Joseph Vincent is going to make a sequel to his EPIC 5 Rings video. Edit: It’s here! Tom Brady – Six Rings (An original Documentary)
Here is my hype video for VASSAL Campaign Game 4. If I can win it in due time, I would be 4-0 in Pirates CSG campaign games.
Edit (11/24/2020): Adding this relevant video to this post; hopefully my best one yet.
Tom Brady is an amazing player who has accomplished something no others have. Most would be happy to win one super bowl, but six, wow! But don’t forget the coach who has been leading the team for each of those trips to the Super Bowls, Bill Belichick. Thanos? OK
@Keri Hicks: You’re absolutely right. He is truly unparalleled. And of course Emperor Belichick gets massive credit too. I just focus more on players than coaches because that’s what motivates me.
And yes, Thanos! XD I know not everyone is into specific movies, but the parallels, memes, and general epicness of the Tom Brady/Marvel storylines are just irresistible! 😀
Thanks for commenting!
Ben
I really dig the Brady/Thanos comparison, would’ve never put those 2 together like that. I’d like to think Brady wouldn’t wipe out half of existence after winning a 6th ring, but it would be a way to quiet all the haters he’s got lol, great read!
@Dereck: Yeah it makes a lot of sense! The funny thing is, the haters fuel Tom, so I don’t think he would wipe them out! XD
Thanks for the read and compliment!
Ben
Wow! You really know your Campaign Games. Congratulations on your winning I as the Spanish and dominating the game. I don’t play games of this sort, but it sounds exciting. I can’t imagine a came such as this going on for 2 years!
I found it interesting that you compared Tom Brady and Thanos. That was a very creative comparison!
Tom’s winnings 3-0 in his first three Super Bowls is very impressive. I can see where your 3-0 winnings in your first three non-solo Pirates CSG campaign games can easily compare.
Great job on the details!
Good luck to you on breaking the “Tom Brady and the Patriots” campaign game tradition and continuing your undefeated streak. 🙂
@Devara Garrison: Indeed, part of the reason I know them so well is because I played a bunch of huge games before CG1 in 2016. That early experience has definitely helped me win 3 in a row.
It can be very exciting. I remember getting an adrenaline rush when the Spanish declared war on the French in CG1. Quite an experience. At this point CG4 looks to become the longest-running VASSAL CG, since it started in April 2018 (10 months ago) and will certainly far eclipse the 10 month record held by CG2. I would definitely expect it to last at least 2 years, and possibly many more.
The Tom Brady/Thanos comparisons have been going on since perhaps last year, with the Infinity War movie happening when Tom had 5 rings. I’m just very happy and lucky that I’ve been a Patriots and Tom Brady fan for a while, and now I can make a fitting comparison in my own life and favorite niche. But yes, I’d like to remain undefeated rather than continuing the parallel at this point. 😀
Thanks for the comment and compliments!! 😀
Ben
Thanks for the quick response! I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do! It sounds very challenging. I generally like a good challenge, but I don’t think this would be my thing. I would probably enjoy watching someone else play it more than trying to play it myself. 🙂
Devara
@Devara Garrison: Thank you for the best wishes. Winning can be challenging, but at this point I suppose I really know what I’m doing with the campaign games. 🙂 I’ve also been playing Pirates CSG since 2011, with over 400 games played since then. I’m one of those people who like to play things they are capable of. I LOVE playing Pirates. Being a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, not in the cards at this point – so I watch Tom once in a while, which is epic and can inspire me to play the huge games of Pirates that I love so much. 😀
I do have a Games playlist if you wanted to see me in action haha. I also made a tutorial video for beginners.
Thanks again,
Ben
Great post. I love how you make the connection between Tom Brady and Thanos. The man just can’t seem to lose! Six rings sure is a lot and it will be very interesting to see if he will be able to win a 7th…and maybe even an 8th?
@Paul: Thank you! I have to admit, it’s one of my favorite posts I’ve made for this site. I hope Tom keeps winning Super Bowls and I hope I keep winning Pirates campaign games.
Tom has sustained his incredible production into his 40’s and has now made 3 straight Super Bowls from the ages of 39-41, so I wouldn’t doubt for a second that he can get more.
Thanks for the comment!
Ben
Im a huge saban fan! I live in the south so.. do you have a college football comparison for your success?
@Robert: Not that I know of, but I don’t follow college football anymore. I did root for Alabama for the 1-2 years I did watch (2009-2010), so there you go. 🙂
Thanks for commenting!
Ben