Say what you will about Tom Brady, but no one can deny his competitive spirit. While not especially fleet of foot, Brady seldom misses an open receiver. The New England Patriots quarterback owns all kinds of records, including six glittering Super Bowl rings. Such an all-consuming obsession with winning, however, comes with a price. Danny Amendola nearly found this out the hard way. The wide receiver joined the Patriots in 2013, and was soon initiated into the ostensibly friendly table tennis subculture of the fabled Foxborough franchise. "He [Brady] wanted to play some ping pong. I didn't really know how to go about it. I knew I was better than him," said Amendola. "I didn't want to beat him too bad because I wanted him to throw me the ball. I knew I was better." As Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recounts, Brady's competitive fire nearly put him in jail and Amendola in the hospital. "Amendola wound up winning, and winning pretty handily," recalls Breer. "Amendola hammered home the last point, and barely could turn around before he heard this whistling go by his ear. Brady’s paddle had come in hot and just missed him. Amendola, I’d heard, looked up expecting to see Brady laughing. Instead, he was getting the death stare." Amendola knew then and there he was working with a deadly serious competitor. "Needless to say, his competitive nature unleashed a broken paddle by the end of it," said Amendola. "It's the reason why we love him and the reason why he's the best quarterback." Brady and Amendola would go on to win two Super Bowls together, connecting for several clutch scores in both come-from-behind wins. For both of their sakes, however, it's a good thing Brady occasionally misses his target.

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