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Brady was obviously upset too, but after seeing his children, he realized he couldn't let them see his frustration. You put your emotions aside and deal with their emotions, Brady tells Mens Health in our September cover story. I said guys, look, Daddy doesnt always win. That isnt the way life is."
Brady knows his kids were more upset that the loss was their father's than that the loss was ... a loss. Not all three children share Brady's sports enthusiasm, a reality that Brady said he's had to adjust to.
Jack is a lot like me: he loves sports, Brady says. He just wants to try hard. He never wants to disappoint his dad.
Jack is Bradys first child, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan. The 12-year-old still spends time with his half-siblings, Benny (9) and Vivian (7), whom Brady had with wife Gisele Bndchen.
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[When] Benny came along, I thought he would be just like Jack, Brady remembers. So I was like Cmon, lets do this. And he was like Nope. And I was like What? Brady says Gisele helped him understand Bennys different disposition, which reminded Brady more of her than himself.
[Vivian] is just like me: super simple. Jack is just like me: he holds a lot in. Benny, he lets it all out.
Brady says he had to adjust. It was hard for me because Id never had to do that. I was like what do you mean? Hes a boy. He should just do all these things that I do.
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Brady, Gisele, and Vivian after Bradys most recent Super Bowl victory.
When Brady was a kid, his father, who worked as an insurance salesman, would come home in suit and tie and then hit Brady ground balls. Brady would wait for him at home. Then the two would walk up to the park. Whenever he did that it meant the world to me, Brady says. Just being there and being available. I try to do that with my kids.
Brady has learned that his kids preferred form of entertainment, however, isnt always catch with dad. Movies are just as important, even for sporty Jack. Jack, for instance, loves Jumanji. Since he knows his father is on DM terms with The Rock, he asks for some insider news: is Jumanji 2 almost done filming?
Jack would rather hang out with [Dwayne Johnson] than me, Brady says, laughing.
Brady says that the Super Bowl loss was an instructive moment for him as a father. And he knows it wasn't just about sports.
"You either gave it your best effort or you didnt," he says. "If you dont give effort, I dont care what you do in life, you'll always come up a little short." All Brady asks is that his kids give it their best. And be themselves. [Kids] are going to be what theyre going to be. As parents you realize that. Theyre going to be their own selves, not what you want them to be.