In the eyes of Patriots followers, Bill Belichick is a winner.
Just hours after studies got here out Thursday morning that Belichick and Robert Kraft determined to mutually half methods, followers stopped by Gillette Stadium to mirror on how the now former Patriots head coach helped change soccer tradition throughout the area endlessly.
Fans expressed a bittersweet feeling that Belichick’s time in Foxboro has come to an finish.
A way of elation and gratefulness for all of the successes of the previous 24 years – six Super Bowl championships, 17 division titles and 13 convention championships – but in addition disappointment that he went out simply days after the worst season of his tenure concluded.
Peter Brodeur, a season ticket holder since 1999, traveled from his dwelling in Narragansett, R.I., to soak within the second contained in the Patriots Pro Shop, shortly earlier than Belichick and Kraft made their statements that they’d be separating.
Decked out in Patriots attire, Brodeur vowed his allegiance to the staff will stay robust identical to the way it did when Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay to quarterback the Buccaneers. No matter the place Belichick goes now, Brodeur mentioned he’ll all the time have a keenness for a way the pinnacle coach approached the job.
“It will be different not seeing him coaching the team and not seeing him in interviews after the game. It will be missed,” Brodeur mentioned. “He’s going to coach somewhere in the NFL and when he comes back he’ll get a fine ovation and then it will be down to ‘Well, let’s beat him’ because that’s the way it works being a football fan.”
Growing up, Brodeur mentioned he’d go to his grandfather who lived down the highway from the stadium close to Foxboro Common they usually’d spend weekends going to Patriots video games.
How did Belichick change soccer tradition right here?
“I remember going to games and getting 12 seats in a row for friends at $8 a piece. Now those 12 seats are thousands of dollars combined,” Brodeur mentioned. “He definitely moved the team in the right direction, and the right direction is to be a winning team. He did a fine job with it.”
Fans of all ages expressed an emotional connection to the staff, particularly those that’ve by no means recognized the Patriots with out Brady and Belichick.
Hadley resident Brooke Rochon mentioned she wished to drive out together with her mom from their dwelling in western Massachusetts to be across the stadium on the time Belichick and Kraft gave their statements.
“It’s just really sad,” mentioned Rochon, a freshman at Marist College in New York. “I love him as a coach and I think he did everything he could to give us one of the best dynasties that I could grow up with. Being a lifelong Patriots fan I am saddened, I thought he’d retire here.”
Going ahead, Rochon mentioned she needs the very best for Belichick, including she’s unsure who’d make the very best subsequent head coach and that Mac Jones must be given a second likelihood as beginning quarterback.
“It’s definitely going to be a huge adjustment,” Rochon mentioned of a post-Belichick period. “I mean he’s been here for so long – and these fans, some of them are here because of Belichick, because of the Brady era. It’s very hard to switch like that, especially losing them one by one, but I think over time it will be a fresh start. Everyone has rebuilding years and these will be ours.”
Football followers and pundits everywhere in the nation at the moment are left questioning the place Belichick will go from right here.The Commanders, Seahawks, Falcons, Chargers, Raiders, Titans and Panthers all have openings.
Brody Massi and his household flew out on a purple eye flight from Los Angeles late Wednesday night time for a youth hockey event in Rhode Island this weekend. The household stopped by TD Garden and Harvard Stadium earlier than trekking all the way down to Foxboro round midday.
Massi couldn’t assist however smile when enthusiastic about what the short-term future might maintain for Belichick and Chargers, who’re and not using a head coach after they fired Brandon Staley in mid December.
“I would be happy because I think he’s a really good coach – he won six Super Bowls. But I think he needs a good team around him and I think the Chargers have a good team,” Massi mentioned.
Hudson resident Judy Moreria watched Kraft and Belichick’s statements from contained in the Pro Shop, in awe that it’s throughout for the 2. She got here out seeking to buy ‘Do Your Job’ sweatshirts for her seven grandchildren.
“It felt like I was going to cry,” Moreira mentioned. “It’s like when one of the kids leaves the nest, going off to better things. You just wonder sometimes why someone puts that much effort and then turns around and says (‘I’m leaving.’) Tom Brady did it to us, too. For him to leave, it’s just another one leaving us after 24 years.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com