National Football League

Gisele email: Pray for Brady

Published Feb. 2, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Tom Brady may be the quarterback in the family, but his wife is the one throwing Hail Marys.

In an email, supermodel Gisele Bundchen implored friends and family to pray hard for her husband to win Sunday's Super Bowl against the Giants.

"I feel Tommy really needs our prayer, our support and love at this time," Bundchen wrote in the message sent out to Brady-clan insiders.

"My sweet friends and family," the email began. "This Sunday will be a really important day in my husband's life. He and his team worked so hard to get to this point and now they need us more than ever to send them positive energy so they can fulfill their dream of winning this Super Bowl."

The Brazilian added, "So I kindly ask all of you to join me on this positive chain and pray for him, so he can feel confident, healthy and strong. Envision him happy and fulfilled experiencing with his team a victory this Sunday. Thank you for your love and support. Love, G :)."

Reached via email, Bundchen said Wednesday, "I am surprised that you received this email; it was a private note only sent to close friends and family."

Asked about the email Thursday, Brady said: ''I don't know anything about that, so I don't know what it is.''

Asked if his wife had given him any advice, he said: ''Throw the ball quickly. She doesn't like it when I get hit very often. My guys up front do a great job of protecting me.''

The last time the two teams met in a Super Bowl, in 2008, came shortly after the Patriots' power couple started dating but before they tied the knot in 2009.

Bundchen's pleas for prayer make her sound a lot less confident in the Pats' chances Sunday than her "Tommy."

Earlier in the week, he brazenly told a crowd of Patriots fans at a pep rally in Massachusetts, "We're going down there, and we're going down there for one reason ... hopefully, we'll have a lot more people at our party next weekend."

That boast sounds like the kind of arrogance the Patriots engaged in before Super Bowl XLII four years ago, when they trademarked "19-0" in anticipation of completing an undefeated season with a championship win over the Giants.

That win would never come to pass, with Eli Manning leading Big Blue to a 17-14 win over Brady and Co.

Earlier in the week, Brady said Bundchen gave him some advice before he headed off to Indianapolis. "Throw the ball quickly," he said she told him. "She doesn't like it when I get hit very often."