SAN MATEO — Turns out America might be tired of seeing Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.
It’s more widely known as "Patriots Fatigue" — a condition caused by appearances in half of the Super Bowls for the past 16 years by five-time champion New England.
Even the 40-year-old quarterback joked about it last week during his weekly Monday appearance on Boston’s WEEI sports radio network.
"I can understand that, because as a fan, you’d probably love to see other people in it and other people get chances, but … this team earned it," Brady said. "People don’t like that, then it’s their prerogative. They can do whatever they want."
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Plenty of NFL fans across the nation will root for the Philadelphia Eagles to pull off an upset Sunday in Minneapolis during Super Bowl LII.
Just don’t count among that group the majority of the students, faculty and coaches at his alma mater of Serra High in San Mateo — class of 1995.
"Anybody who is tired of it around here, I don’t know, I don’t get that," said Patrick Walsh, the football coach for the Padres since 2001. "I think it’s incredible and I hope he wins five more Super Bowls, unless the Niners play in it. And then I’ll be in a tough situation."
Indeed, New England tends to be the adopted NFL team at Serra around this time of the year, with five Super Bowl titles — and possible a sixth — in the Brady era.
"If the Niners aren’t going to be in it, I’d rather have no other team than the Patriots and root for the hometown guy," said Dean Ayoob, in his eighth year as athletic director.
"There’s definitely a buzz this week," he added. "He’s been doing this a long time and every year we get a new crop of students who haven’t really experienced what it’s like to have one of the alums in the Super Bowl."
Luke Bottari, a 16-year-old junior, is the current quarterback at Serra, where he plays home games at Brady Family Stadium.
"I tell people that I go to Tom Brady’s high school and they’re like, ‘Wow,’ " Bottari said. "I don’t feel embarrassed talking about it. I mean, take pride in it. He’s a legend."
"He has one high school, one college and one NFL team," Walsh said. "And we just happen to be that one high school, which is awesome. It’s a great fortune."
The 49ers passed up multiple chances to select Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft after his days at Michigan.
Instead, they took Giovanni Carmazzi out of Hofstra with 65th overall pick, one of six quarterbacks that went ahead of Brady before the Patriots snagged him in the sixth round with the 199th pick.
"It’s a pretty inspiring story just to see all the adversity that he faced his whole football career and how he didn’t let any of that stop him," Bottari said. "There’s that story of how he told (owner) Robert Kraft that he was the best decision the Patriots had ever made. And just him saying that shows the confidence that he has in himself."
"One of our core values is overachievement," Walsh said. "And just taking whatever gifts God’s given to us and maxing them out at the highest level independent of what people feel about us as individuals or as a team. And Tom Brady epitomizes overachievement and self actualization, dedication, all of it. And it’s all wrapped up into a local kid from San Mateo."
Less than seven weeks ago, Serra claimed its first-ever state football title.
That same weekend Brady faced a tough test on the road at Pittsburgh, so it’s understandable if he was unaware of what was taking place back where he grew up.
"He knew all about it," Walsh said. "He knew the stats, he knew the scores."
Brady sent text messages in support throughout the postseason, which after asking for permission Walsh proceeded to relay to the Padres.
"The kids would just be like, ‘Was that real?’ " Walsh said. "And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s real. That’s really him.’ So the thrill of knowing that Brady was following us was awesome for the kids."
"We were all so psyched every time Coach Walsh read us one," Bottari said. "It definitely sparked something inside of us. Like, ‘Wow, the greatest quarterback of all-time is watching Serra football.’ And it was a pretty amazing feeling."
It’s apparently not a recent trend.
Ayoob recalls how back in 2011, right before Walsh led Serra to its first Central Coast Section football title since 1990, the coach shared a text message from Brady to the team prior to the game.
"I got goose bumps when Coach Walsh was reading it," Ayoob said. "Because to have the greatest quarterback of all-time sending you a message before the biggest football game of your high school career is pretty awesome."
In reciprocal fashion, notwithstanding a few outliers, the Serra community and its football brotherhood will root for Brady and the Patriots on Sunday.
Walsh just needs to make sure he can get home and to the comfort of his couch in time for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS after wrapping up a youth flag football game for Next Level, an organization he founded in 2012 and is comprised of 8,000 kids in almost 20 locations across California and Nevada.
Don’t expect any fatigue to be involved.
"I’m personally one of those guys that loved Tiger Woods when he was dominating," Walsh said. "And just to have sustained success at that level is so unique. I think everyone should be honored that they have the opportunity to watch this happen. I gotta tell my kids about Michael Jordan. But, I mean, I can tell them to turn on the TV and watch Tom Brady — and they can see the greatest player of all-time playing this Sunday."
Walsh added: "He’s one of the great sons of Serra."