TAMPA, Fla. — Residents of Bahama Circle have planted on their lawns Tampa Bay Buccaneers yard signs with slogans that include: My neighbor is the G.O.A.T. GO BUCS.
The neighbor and G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time) in question resides at 58 Bahama Circle. His name is Tom Brady.
The neighbors also know he is the Buccaneers quarterback and will be appearing in his 10th Super Bowl on Sunday when Tampa Bay plays the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium.
“We’re so happy, excited,” exclaimed Marie Nazareth, who lives a short walk from the house in which Brady lives with his wife, Giselle, and their two children. “Someone mentioned they walk the dog at 6:30 (p.m.).’’
For the record, neither Marie nor Eric Nazareth said they’ve seen Brady’s dog, or could confirm Brady has a dog. But it’s impossible to miss his house, owned by Derek Jeter, the retired New York Yankee star.
It’s a 21,796-square foot mansion that, according to public listings, includes seven bedrooms, at least 8½ bathrooms and sits on a 1.2-acre lot set on the bay water.
The place is up for sale for $29 million, but Jeter apparently agreed to let Brady stay long enough to win a seventh Super Bowl ring.
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Nazareth, 61, walked by one recent afternoon and shook her head at the idea Brady was staying somewhere else during preparations for the Super Bowl.
“He’s there,” she said. “The lights are on at night. And look at all the cars.”
Three cars were visible despite a gate and hedges that obscured the view, especially from unwanted to visitors. Bryan Truex said people pull up on motorboats behind Brady’s house and yell over the sea wall for Brady to come outside.
Truex said he has told the raucous boaters to “bug off.”
“He deserves his privacy,’’ Truex said of Brady. “I don’t want them invading my privacy either.”
The racket does not appear to have detracted from Brady’s popularity in the neighborhood. The yard signs, handed out by a local auto dealer, reflect the excitement on the quiet circle of mostly luxury homes.
“(Brady’s) hard not to like when he’s got the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl,’’ said Brad Culpepper, the retired NFL defensive end who played for the Bucs from 1994 to 1999 and now lives directly next to Brady. “This team has struggled for a long time and you get the greatest quarterback of all time at 43, and you get to the Super Bowl. It’s quite amazing.”
Culpepper surely would know if Brady and Giselle have a dog and walk it at 6:30 p.m.
“They’re very nice, we see them,’’ Culpepper. “But beyond that, I wouldn’t want someone commenting on me.
“I know Derek very well, and my wife and I are extremely private for his sake about that. We extend the same courtesy to Tom.’’
A neighbor a few doors down politely declined to comment about Brady. Another neighbor said, “I have no comment other than that they are great neighbors.’’
The unwanted visitors will have to take their word for it.
