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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is often seen being very serious on the sidelines or saying very little while standing on a podium in front of a lot of journalists who would love some better answers.
It’s just how the cut-off hoodie wearing coach goes about his business, which has proven to be a successful way to do things considering how many Super Bowl rings he has in his possession.
Fans of the other 31 teams don’t like the Patriots at all and are quick to rip Belichick for being a surly son of a gun. Which is fine, success breeds jealously.
But do you know what? The six-time Super Bowl champ actually likes to have fun, as he showed this past weekend in Philadelphia.
Have you seen this video of Belichick announcing during his postgame speech in the locker room his players earned themselves a “Victory Monday” following their win over the Eagles? That meant that he was giving the team the day off and they didn’t have to report to the facilities until Wednesday when they will begin prepping for Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
The players went nuts in the locker room, as it was their first “Victory Monday” of the season. Belichick throws these out there during each season, which proves he’s not the grumpy grinder who works his guys until they can’t be worked anymore. He gets that in order to be successful you have to give a little and he sure seemed to have fun telling his guys to take the day off.
Are the Patriots struggling on offense? Yup, they are. But Belichick didn’t seem overly concerned about things in that video. In fact, he looked pretty darn happy having fun with his guys.
Then moments after he made that announcement he went to his postgame press conference and trolled Lane Johnson and the Eagles by saying: “It looked like everyone had fun out there today.”
That, of course, was a shot at Johnson, the Eagles’ offensive lineman who said after the Eagles’ Super Bowl win that players in New England don’t have any fun.
Listen, I get it. Belichick often seems like he’d rather be anywhere else than standing up and taking questions about his football team. His answers are often short and his demeanor is often that of somebody who knows that late night food they wolfed down is not going to last very long inside their system.
But he’s one of the most old-school coaches in the league, a man who has been consumed by football for most of his life and loves talking about the history of the game and the stars who changed the game. Ever hear him gush about Lawrence Taylor? It’s awesome.
Bill Belichick, underneath it all, is a fun guy.
A fun guy with a lot of rings.
And a lot of jacked up hoodies.
Monday’s biggest winner: Max Kellerman.
First Take, like all morning sports shows, is virtually unwatchable and I don’t understand how anyone chooses to sit there and listen to people yell about topics they don’t really feel that passionately about. But on Monday, Kellerman did a great job of shutting down Stephen A. Smith’s comments on Colin Kaepernick’s workout. This video is worth a watch.
Quick hits: Mahomes airs it out… Estadio Azteca field was a mess… Fun NASCAR polls… And more!
– Patrick Mahomes casually threw a ball 70 yards while warming up for Monday night’s game in Mexico City.
– The field at Estadio Azteca was an absolute mess for MNF and fans ripped the NFL over it.
– Our Michelle Martinelli conducted her annual NASCAR Superlatives investigation and polled drivers to see what they think of each other. This is some fun stuff.
– Jets TE Ryan Griffin had a mesmerizing sticky hands TD celebration on Sunday that you’ll end up watching on a loop.
– Jeopardy! had an incredible announcement yesterday as three legends are going to square off in a primetime showdown.
(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)