Tom Brady and Michael Strahan have been close for years and have various business partnerships together, but there's one thing Strahan might not be able to convince Brady to do: Travel to space.
In 2021, Strahan went to space as part of a Blue Origin launch. In an appearance on Brady's podcast on Monday, Strahan said the group did "a great job."
"They did an incredible job of prepping you, and we went through all the simulators over and over, eight hours a day for days," Strahan said. "It got to the point that when it was time to go, we weren't even nervous. It was kind of, 'Let's just do it. We've been practicing so much, I'm sick of practice. Let's play the game.'"
Strahan added that there were a few moments of doubt.
When the passengers boarded the craft, they had some time to decide whether they wanted to get off to safety. As the seconds ticked away, Strahan said he looked around to see if anyone was going to exit.
"Maybe I'll go with them," Strahan said.
But with two minutes and 30 seconds remaining before the launch, the craft locked everyone in, and Strahan was committed. He said he was glad he went, saying that there was "a certain level of calmness" when the decision was made.
"Once you take off and you're up there, I don't think I was really surprised by anything, but I was amazed by everything," Strahan said. "It took 12 minutes up and down. You think 12 minutes, it's nothing. We're going to be doing this [podcast] longer than it took me to go to space and come back. But when I replayed it in my mind—because it was so amazing and maybe because it's your first time and you just take everything in—it seemed like hours to me."
Strahan also enjoyed the experience of zero gravity.
"I did a cartwheel, man. I did a flip," Strahan said. "My big ass hasn't done a flip since I was probably 7 years old. Weightless, I'm dangerous."
The only remaining scary moment was when Strahan hoped the craft's parachutes would open. Strahan recommended the experience to anyone who has a chance to do it.
"It's worth it," he said.
Of course, Blue Origin flights aren't cheap, which means that "anyone who has a chance to do it" limits the pool to those who are as famous like Strahan, who went up as an honorary guest, or anyone who can afford from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions on a 12-minute trip to space.
One person who could probably swing either side of the equation, however, is Brady. Brady's co-host, journalist Jim Gray, asked him if he would ever consider it.
Brady sounded receptive at first, but he trailed off. Apparently, at age 45, facing a 300-pound defensive end doesn't scare him as much as the idea of traveling into the unknown.
"I don't know," Brady said, chuckling. "That's a tough call. I don't know, man. Probably not."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Tom Westerholm is a Sports & Culture Reporter for Newsweek. Prior to joining Newsweek, he was the Boston Celtics beat ... Read more
