PHOENIX -- Tom Brady is 37 years old -- fairly ancient by NFL quarterbacking standards -- but he continues to sound (and look) like a breathless boy.
"I loved playing sports growing up," Brady told the swirling masses at Super Bowl media day Tuesday. "I loved having a chance as a kid to go out there and play with my friends, so to play football in the street with the older boys was fun.
"To get a chance to play in the Super Bowl -- I never thought I'd play in one. So it's pretty unbelievable to be able to play in six."
A number of his teammates say he is the most competitive person they've ever been around. Defensive end Chandler Jones remembers observing that fire after Brady threw an incomplete pass in practice during Jones' rookie season two years ago.
"He went and yelled, and he chucked his helmet to the ground," Jones said last week in Foxborough, Massachusetts. "And I was like, 'Calm down, it's just practice.'
"Tom wants to be perfect. And not just on the field, but even in practice and even in the film room."
Cornerback Kyle Arrington has felt the sting of Brady's fierceness even in the comfort and safety of the locker room.
"He could be playing a game of Uno, and he's going to be in your face," Arrington said, laughing. "He's the ultimate competitor."
When cornerback Brandon Browner arrived as a free agent from Seattle during last offseason, he quickly discovered Brady's work ethic.
"We have the option to do 20 straight 80-yard dashes or split them up, 10 and 10," Browner said. "And when I got here, that was tough for me. He wanted to do 20 straight every time -- no break. He was always within the top three or top five guys finishing in the sprints."
Brady sat down recently for a revealing, wide-ranging conversation with ESPN's Chris Berman.
"I always wear my emotions on my sleeve," Brady conceded. "You usually know exactly how I feel by looking at my face. And I think being on the field, you can be really who you are. And I think that's the best part of playing sports is who you are out there. There's no faking it.
"It's just that's what you are and that's what you get an opportunity every week to show people that you love what you do and hopefully you can do it at a high level."
Brady is not afraid to instruct and critique his troops, sometimes vehemently and in plain view. Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell knows this.
"Every time we make a big play in practice, he's firing up," LaFell said. "Every time we go two minutes against the defense, he's out there really fiery, trying to get on top of us and make plays and compete."
The reward, when a drive ends in the end zone, however, might be worse than any public humiliation.
"It's like he's running over," LaFell said. "And he slows down all calm, like he's going to shake your hand. And just, out of nowhere, he just explodes and head-butts the mess out you. The Buffalo game got me pretty good."
Brady has won more NFL playoff games, 20, than any quarterback in NFL history, but scoring touchdowns never gets old.
"Well, I get pretty excited," Brady explained. "There's a lot of reasons to be excited. We get to play football for a living. So when we get into the end zone, I'm pumped up. And I think that's one of the ways I express it. It's a game of emotions."
As fullback James Develin said, Brady's got a stronger neck than you might think. Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, for better or worse, seem to be on the receiving end of some of Brady's biggest hits.
"Unfortunately, I have," Edelman said. "It's fun. I mean, you put all this work in in the offseason, training camp, spring ball. You execute plays in the game, and you get fired up. Tom's one of those guys that just gets fired up. It doesn't feel good, but at the time, at the place, that's the least on your mind is how it feels."
Arrington doesn't know how Edelman and Gronkowski survive.
"I wouldn't like to be on the receiving end," Arrington said. "I mean, that might be a concussion waiting to happen."
Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui: "Luckily adrenaline kicks in and takes most of the brunt of the hit. But if you're not expecting it, not ready for it -- [there's the] potential [to see] stars."
Wide receiver Danny Amendola, who has received a few helmet-to-helmets from Brady, says those head-butts are surprisingly intense.
"It's scary sometimes watching," he said. "You think you should be pulling away from that as it's coming in. I think you've just got to embrace it -- and just head-butt him back."
Among Brady's many gifts, physical and intangible, speed is not one of them. The footage from his combine run in 2000 has become the stuff of unathletic legend. Brady, all legs and arms, was clocked at 5.28 seconds, a time that in retrospect, might seem exceedingly generous. By comparison, Peyton Manning -- hardly a speed merchant, himself, was clocked at his combine at 4.8. Aaron Rodgers checked in at a timely 4.71.
"I think I'm still the slowest guy on the field," Brady said. "I'm just maybe moving a little better than I used to."
His teammates are unimpressed.
"Speed and Tom Brady in the same sentence?" Arrington asked. "Nah, I mean he gets the job done when he needs to. I won't recommend he runs often, though."
Amendola was sarcastic, saying, "He's fast as lightning. He's so quick and shifty. He's nimble. He's light on his feet -- like a cat."
That last part actually might be right. It seems as though Brady's had at least nine lives. Those six Super Bowls are unprecedented for a quarterback. A win over Seattle would give him four Lombardi trophies, equaling his boyhood hero, Joe Montana of the 49ers, and the Steelers' Terry Bradshaw.
"It's hard to think about those things," Brady said Tuesday. "I've just been fortunate to be on some great teams. Those guys are unbelievable players. They were so great for this league. They were great teams.
"The reality of football is a contact sport, and your career can end at any one point, so it's a blessing to be able to be here. It's a blessing to make it through a full season and not get injured. I think the one thing I learned -- I had a tough injury [torn medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee] about six years ago -- and even when we lose now, I walk off the field going, 'Well, at least I get a chance to go out there and do it again.'"