BY AUGUSTUS PFISTERER
Staff Reporter
“If I had to sum up my experience of meeting Tom Brady in one word, it would be unforgettable,” said junior Megan Uhrynowski.
On July 30 at Gillette stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Uhrynowski attended a closed practice, open only to season ticket holders.
After the practice, members of the team started circling the field, signing autographs, and greeting die-hard fans. Uhrynowski felt this was the moment when her biggest sports dream came true.
New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady was walking by Uhrynowski when he suddenly stopped after hearing her call out, “Tom, sign my arm and I’m going to get a tattoo tomorrow.”
Brady made his way over to Uhrynowski, smiled, then chuckled and proceeded to sign her arm. However, little did anybody know, this was part of Uhrynowski’s plan all along.
“My softball coach, Gary Sherrick, gave me the idea to get the tattoo on my arm. He said if Brady or Gronk were to come near us, I should get them to sign my arm and then get it tattooed after the fact. I really didn’t think either one of them were going to come near us, but luckily, Tom Brady did,” said Uhrynowski.
Still in shock from what had happened, the next day Uhrynowski went to a local Stratford tattoo parlor to follow up on her promise to Brady by getting his signature tattooed on her wrist.
“At first my mom and dad were not happy that I wanted to get the tattoo, but I basically forced them to let me get it. After the fact, they accepted it and thought it was really cool. They said they would have done the same thing if it was someone they loved as much as I love Brady,” said Uhrynowski.
According to historyoftattoos.net, 36% of Americans between the age of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo.
That day, Uhrynowski posted a photo to Instagram to show her followers what she had just done. She never could’ve imagined what was about to happen next.
“I had no idea that it was going to blow up like it did. I got the tattoo simply because I am a huge Patriots and Tom Brady fan, and I thought his signature as a tattoo would be awesome. I thought it was really cool that it went viral and will definitely be something I remember forever,” said Uhrynowski.
According to collinsdictionary.com, the term “going viral,” is described as an image, video, or link that spreads rapidly through a population by being frequently shared with a number of individuals.
Soon after seeing the picture, news outlets came calling.
“I don’t even know the exact number of media companies that reached out to me. There were too many to count,” said Uhrynowski.
Not only was Uhrynowski getting attention from the local news channels and surrounding towns, the photo began to reach national platforms.
“Some of the major ones that published a story were CBS, NBC, News 12, People’s Magazine, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Boston Globe, ABC, The Daily Mail, and many more smaller media companies,” said Uhrynowski.
Uhrynowski feels as though she learned a lot throughout this experience and the attention gained.
“One big takeaway that I have from this whole experience is that life is too short to not enjoy the moments, memories, and things that mean the most to you,” said Uhrynowski.
“Meeting Tom Brady, getting the tattoo and having it go viral will be something I will never forget,” said Uhrynowski.
