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Streets empty, hearts heavy: Boston mourns Tom Brady's exit amid the coronavirus pandemic

BOSTON – Empty streets, empty hearts.

On a day in South Boston annually dedicated to revelry and excess, the most sobering of St. Patrick's Day moments came around 8:43 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

Tom Brady announced on Instagram he'd be leaving the New England Patriots. That the news was expected didn't make it any less jarring. Tom Brady had become part of the backdrop around here, as much a part of the Boston scenery as the Prudential Tower and the Zakim Bridge.

Brady starting on Sunday was as predictable as a Kennedy in Congress, Guinness on tap and some idiot getting stuck on Storrow Drive during college move-in weekend.