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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Guardian sport and agencies

NFL great Tom Brady meets Birmingham fans in pub before match

Birmingham City co-owner Tom Brady, center, CEO Garry Cook, left, and director Matt Alvarez, right, in the stands before the Championship match at St Andrew's in Birmingham on Saturday.
Birmingham City co-owner Tom Brady, center, CEO Garry Cook, left, and director Matt Alvarez, right, in the stands before the Championship match at St Andrew's in Birmingham on Saturday. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

NFL great Tom Brady got to know some of the locals ahead of his first home match as minority owner of English soccer team Birmingham City.

Brady made an appearance at The Roost, a pub near St Andrew’s stadium, before Birmingham’s game against Leeds in the second-tier Championship on Saturday

A few hours earlier, Brady posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Any plans before kick off guys? See you at St. Andrew’s.”

“Tom Brady is here and he’s perfect,” tweeted Kelsea Ravenhill, 26, from Birmingham.

“The film crew, Tom Brady, his bodyguards all entered the pub for his Blues entrance and introduced himself to all our fans,” Ravenhill told the PA news agency.

“The place is rocking, completely changed the atmosphere, he is just a sports legend!”

Brady later went to the stadium, where he was pictured meeting mascots and signing jerseys.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion has partnered with the club’s holding company, US-based Knighthead Capital Management, and become chairman of a new advisory board.

Birmingham said Brady will “apply his extensive leadership experience and expertise across several components of the club”. That includes working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition and recovery programs.

Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. He retired in February, after Tampa’s loss in the playoffs.

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