What was happening in sports the last time Tom Brady wasn’t in the NFL

For the first time since the 2000-2001 season, Tom Brady will not be an active player in the NFL. His storied career is longer than many younger football fans have been alive, so we’ve grown accustomed to TB12 being under center. Let’s take a look back at what was happening in the world of sports before Brady’s NFL career began in September 2000.

American tennis fans remember the days when athletes like Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Sampras dominated the tour. Sampras did most of his damage in the 1990’s, and was slowing down a bit once the turn of century arrived. He defeated Patrick Rafter at the All England Club in the summer of 2000, which would be the last time he’d win that major.

The Los Angeles Lakers were locked into a tough series with the Indiana Pacers during the 2000 NBA Finals. Shaquille O’Neal fouled out of Game 4, and the Lakers needed someone to step up. A 21-year-old Bryant ran with the opportunity, scoring at will during the overtime period to give Los Angeles the crucial victory.

Sports fans all over the world have been enthralled by Lionel Messi’s performance with Inter Miami, including Beckham, who was on hand for the initial contest. Before Brady entered the NFL in 2000, Beckham was coming into his own as an English phenomenon, as he helped lead Manchester United to glory that spring.

The 2000 Olympics were remembered as one of the greatest sporting events ever, and one moment that made it so special was Norway’s upset of the United States in women’s soccer. The Americans had just won the World Cup the previous summer, but the Norwegians took the air out of their balloon with a stoppage-time goal that clinched them the gold.

Little did the tennis world know in 2000 that Venus and Serena Williams would go on to dominate the sport for the next two decades. Other players still had a chance to win Grand Slam events in 2000, which Pierce capitalized on at Roland Garros. She defeated Conchita Martinez in the final to secure the triumph.

Just before Brady entered the NFL, a legend of the sport called it a career. Marino hung up his jersey after a stellar 17 year run with the Miami Dolphins. Many of his records have since fallen, but he was regarded as the purest passer the game had ever seen up until that point. He threw 420 touchdown passes in his career.

The Toronto Blue Jays are happy to have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as a building block of their future, but back in 2000, it was his father who was one of the best hitters in MLB. The elder Guerrero was known as a free swinger, who made solid contact with pitches well outside the strike zone. Teams often opted to put him on base automatically, and he paced the league in that category that year.

The Texans weren’t even in the NFL when Brady started his NFL career, which is another anecdote to help contextualize just how long his tenure lasted for. Houston was awarded an expansion franchise after the Oilers left for Tennessee, and supporters had to find a name for the new team.