He was Belichuckle.
Bill made a stab a humor. He teased a couple of Boston reporters, engaged in some friendly "Marco, Polo," and quoted Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
I expected him to wrap things up with, "I'm here all week, try the veal."
Let's go to the transcript. When Belichick was asked about the team's send-off at Gillette, he said, "It was a great morning. That whole lower bowl halfway around the field was pretty much filled. There was a light snow, so it was a little bit of a romantic setting there."
Whoa, stop right there. Romantic? There's a word we never expected to hear at a Super Bowl press conference. And from Belichick, no less. I could practically hear Dean Martin singing, "That's Amore." It was downright unsettling. Hearing Belichick describe a football stadium moment as romantic was like hearing Mitt Romney unleash a fusillade of f-bombs. It just didn't compute.
Judy Battista, who wrote a terrific piece on Belichick in yesterday's New York Times, interviewed your coach in Foxborough last week and said, "At one point, he used the word 'poetic.' Not quite as good as 'romantic,' but pretty good."
There was more strong stuff Sunday when Belichick was asked about how much he "disdains" meeting with the media every day.
"Not at all," the coach countered. "I think you have a job to do and you are our connection between our football team, our fans, and the people who have an interest in the game. I respect the job that you do and hope that you respect the job I do. I understand that sometimes I can't give you everything that you are looking for, but I do know that this is the conduit of information from the team to the fans, and the fans are what drive the game."
Professional and polite. A perfect response.
When Channel 4's Alice Cook recited her name and station before asking a question, Belichick teased, "Nice to get that in there, Alice." Later, when Bob Lobel launched into a lengthy query, Belichick stopped him and asked, "Is this going to be a softball?"
This is not to say that Belichick offered to diagram his playbook on an overhead projector. The coach is still playing it close to the vest, particularly when anyone asks about Tom Brady's high ankle sprain. But there's humor in his obstruction.
