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Tom Brady won the Super Bowl for his ailing mom: 'She's my everything'

Tom Brady's biggest fan — his mother, Galynn — had to sit out her son's season due to illness, but she rallied for the big game on Sunday.
/ Source: TODAY

Tom Brady's biggest fan — his mother, Galynn — had to sit out her son's season due to illness, but she rallied for the big game on Sunday.

And he rallied for her, too, by winning it.

Galynn Brady, mother of Tom Brady
Galynn Brady, Tom Brady's mom, celebrates after the Patriots' Super Bowl win. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Before New England took its first snap against Atlanta in Super Bowl 51, Patriots owner Robert Kraft had a talk with the now-MVP.

"I spoke to him in the locker room before the game, and I said, we’ve got to win this one from your mom," Kraft told reporters after the team's come-from-behind victory. "I know how important his mom is, and she’s been going through chemotherapy and radiation, and this is the first game she’s come to. She came here."

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's mother Galynn
Galynn Brady has been fighting an undisclosed form of cancer for 18 months, according to reports. TANNEN MAURY / EPA

And that was more than enough to inspire a gritty performance from the five-time Super Bowl champ, who'd already decided to dedicate the game to her — win or lose.

Galynn Brady has been fighting an undisclosed type of cancer for the past 18 months, according to reports.

"She's my everything," Brady told Westwood One's Jim Gray in a post-game interview. "I just love her so much."

That devotion is mutual.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's mother Galynn
Brady's illness kept her from attending any of the Patriots' games this season. TANNEN MAURY / EPA

"I'm overwhelmed!" Galynn told WBZ-TV about the win. "I was just praying. All I did was pray, the whole game, just pray."

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Winning for her alone would have been enough, but the quarterback added that he was inspired by "all the girls in my life."

"My wife, my mom, my sisters, my daughter, my nieces — they're all here," he told Gray. "So it's just so special."

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Family means a lot to Brady, and there was another important member of his family at the game — his dad, Tom senior.

Days before the Houston showdown, a 7-year-old boy asked Brady who his hero was, and the Patriots slinger didn't hesitate with his answer.

"Well, I think my dad is my hero," Brady said simply. "Because he's someone I look up to every day."

Sunday night's game turned out to be a win for the whole Brady family.

Follow Ree Hines on Twitter.