Tom Brady fell asleep before his first Super Bowl and woke up with minutes to spare before the team took the field

Tom Brady fell asleep minutes before his very first Super Bowl game in 2001.
Brady was killing time before the game began, and he laid down in front of his locker and "dozed off."
He woke up with a few minutes to spare, got dressed, and eventually led the Patriots to a Super Bowl win, his first of five.

Tom Brady has been in eight Super Bowls, trying for his ninth this year, but the big stage has seemingly never gotten to him.

In 2001, Brady filled in for the injured Drew Bledsoe and started for the first time for the New England Patriots, leading the team to the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams.

Brady recounted in an NFL Films documentary later on that before the game, he took his shoulder pads off and laid down in front of his locker. He noted that the Super Bowl is unusual because everything is extended, so pregame is longer than usual. He ended up falling asleep at his locker.

"I wasn't intending to sleep, but I think I dozed off for 20 or 30 minutes," Brady said in the documentary.

Brady said he woke up and game time was nearing. He changed and put his pads back on with 12 minutes to spare before the team ran onto the field.

Contrary to how it sounds, Brady said it wasn't necessarily a sign of how relaxed he was.

"I just felt good about where I was at," Brady said. "It wasn't like I was so relaxed, I didn't realize the importance of the game. I just felt like I was very prepared."

Brady even commented on it at the time ( via the Los Angeles Times ).

"Drew was [lying] right next to me," he said. "I laid down and was looking up at the ceiling, and I just fell asleep."

Brady was good enough to win in that game, completing 16 of 27 passes for 145 yards and 1 touchdown.