There were many questions for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during his hour-long podium session at Super Bowl LI in Houston. Some of them were related to Roger Goodell and the NFL. One involved Julian Edelman and a cheeseburger.
But the best thing Brady got asked came courtesy of a young fan who approached the podium on Trent Dilfer's shoulders (as captured by Mike Reiss of ESPN on video below).
Brady caught the young man's eye and he delivered his question, a pretty good one.
"Many people say you're their hero, but who's your hero?"
Emotional answer from Tom Brady when asked if his dad speaks for him. Must watch. #Patriotspic.twitter.com/CtUkI0enx2
— Steve Buckley (@BuckinBoston) January 31, 2017
It's the sort of thing that you only get to see at media day but don't expect to actually see because the answer ultimately caught Brady off guard. He repeated the question before getting choked up while talking about his father.
"Who's my hero? That's a great question. Well, I think my dad is my hero. Because he's someone I look up to every day. And, uh ...
[long pause as Brady gets choked up]
"My dad."
What makes this exchange particularly interesting is that Brady and his dad have been in the news a lot lately.
Brady actually banned his dad from speaking to the media after the elder Brady decided to take a blowtorch to the NFL and Roger Goodell over the decision by everyone involved to suspend Brady four games over Deflategate.
Many believe that while Brady asked his dad to take it down a notch, he's perfectly fine with the message his dad is sending out there because it's how he feels as well. But Brady's going to take the high road instead of getting aggressive, at least before the Super Bowl.
Asked by NFL Network's Willie McGinest whether he was still bothered by the suspension, Brady said he had "moved on."
There's much more of this to unpack over the next week. But just know that Brady's emotions are running pretty high at the moment. He knows what all of this means and how much all of it matters.