Stop me if you have heard this before, but Tom Brady won the Super Bowl this February. This time, it was with a mostly new cast of characters, save Rob Gronkowski, of course. The two former-Patriots took to their new home stage in Tampa on Sunday, Feb. 7, played like they have so many times in the past and won.

One of my favorite post-game celebrations involved rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. celebrating with his father amongst the confetti. Winfield Sr. spent 14 years in the NFL but never made it to the Super Bowl. His son, conversely, won it all in his first season. The sheer joy on both of their faces as they embraced and celebrated made the world stand still for a few minutes.

After his storied tenure with the Patriots, Brady is no stranger to victory. Many of his new Buccaneer teammates, however, experienced the joys of winning for the very first time. The Bucs had not won a Super Bowl since 2003, going 18 years between championships. So, on the Wednesday after the game, the team celebrated their 31–9 Super Bowl LV victory over the Chiefs on the water, partaking in some noteworthy festivities.

And then came the boats. Similar to the celebration that the Tampa Bay Lightning held a few months back, the Bucs took to their boats along the Hillsborough River. Fans, donning fewer masks than could be desired, gathered along the river to see the team and cheer them on from various viewpoints. As the first team in NFL history to both play in and win a Super Bowl at their home stadium, the city of Tampa had a lot to celebrate, pandemic be damned.

Perhaps my absolute favorite celebration involved star linebacker Devin White and his horse, Dream. Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht gave White the green light to take a celebratory lap around Raymond James Stadium, and the video evidence is amazing. 

“Man, if we get the ‘W’, I don’t care what they say. I’m pullin’ the horse out, I’m pullin’ the Lombardi trophy and I’m ridin’ around that whole stadium,” White said before the game. Licht responded to the video of White and Dream in the stadium on Twitter, saying, “You earned it, cowboy! Giddy up!”

A parade on water, similarly to one on a horse, leads to certain risks. However, with top-notch receivers, you would expect few drops. This was true with the Lombardi Trophy, which was seen flying over the water from Brady’s boat into the waiting hands of Cam Brate and Rob Gronkowski. His carelessness with the trophy, which is a formality for him at this point, caused an uproar from the Lombardi creator’s daughter, who asked for an apology from Brady on Twitter. Godwin’s phone wasn’t as lucky as the Lombardi trophy, as wide receiver Scotty Miller dropped it in the water during the celebration. Miller had two drops in the 2020 season before Wednesday’s blunder, but this one likely stings the worst.

Once Tom Brady heals from his Avocado Tequila hangover, he has a minor surgery to look forward to. The videos of Brady stumbling off of his boat and clamoring about Waffle House were certainly surprising given that he has never eaten a strawberry in his entire life. What a life he lives. 

One certainty is that this surgery should not lead to any setbacks in Brady’s career. Although the surgery was originally described as a little clean-up, it is now evident that the surgery will do a bit more to repair his left knee. Seen in a brace during the boat parade, Brady seems to be nursing some sort of injury that may be more serious than the team is letting on.

Whether you love or hate the Buccaneers and Tom Brady, one thing for certain is just how impressive their 2020-2021 campaign was. They beat the Washington Football Team, the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers to journey from the Wild Card Round to the big game. With the oldest coach to ever win the Super Bowl in Bruce Arians, and the most diverse coaching staff to win yet, the Bucs proved to many that they have what it takes to win in the National Football League. Gronk and Brady both already declared that they would be playing in the NFL again next season, so who is to say that the Bucs can’t do it all again next year.