The New England Patriots are run by the iron fist of one Bill Belichick. During his tenure as the Patriots head coach he’s amassed success most can only dream of. Six Super Bowl wins and nine Super Bowl appearances are just some of his many accolades at the helm in Foxborough.
And when you win as often as Belichick has, you tend to have some very personal and unique habits. Also, your success allows you to basically do what you want around the facility as it pertains to hot tub etiquette.
Former Patriots star receiver and Super Bowl 53 MVP Julian Edelman has been making his podcast rounds lately, and recently he recounted his first conversation with Belichick and where it took place.
Edelman Recounts Frightening Hot Tub Interaction With BB
During the debut episode of his brand new “Games With Names” Podcast, the former Kent State Golden Flashes quarterback, who ran circles around opponents in the team’s option attack, went into detail about that fateful night.
Julian Edelman Once Awkwardly Finding a Naked Belichick in the Hot Tub is All of Ushttps://t.co/DVuTwLPnNC pic.twitter.com/FV9ZvPbqbf
— Barstool Memes (@barstoolmemes) October 3, 2019
“So I go somewhere in the facility and I just do happen to walk by the hot tub and coach is in the hot tub. Like, obviously I came in the room to go in the hot tub, but then we made eye contact and my natural instinct was to like turn around and like, like I was going to leave.
“But then I saw that he saw that I was in there and he got up and got out, and real, real big party foul by coach. I mean, we’re supposed to have shorts on. But I guess at 11 at night when you’re the GOAT of coaching, you go wherever you want. Free, free ball.
“So I had to hide my absolute face of terror after seeing what I saw and sit in the hot tub. I’m already extremely uncomfortable. I don’t know what to think when I, you know, I didn’t think that people went in hot tubs without some trunks, you know at a public facility, I accepted it.
“It’s coach you know, at the time he had, I think three Super Bowls. So, you know, as I was having conflicts in my head, wrapping up my hot tub session, I do everything in my right mind to try to get out of there without being seen for the second time by coach, get my stuff, shower, walking out of the building, it’s like 11:30.”
Is anyone really surprised that Belichick was in there in his birthday suit? You shouldn’t be. This is the same guy who stuffs the red challenge flag inside his dingy white game socks.
And when it’s time to throw it, he has to dig into that sock to get it out. Belichick probably does feel like he can do that, and he probably also figured no one else would be at the facility that late.
After that incident, it’s highly plausible that Edelman never returned for a late-night hot tub session again. Those hours were obviously coach’s personal time. Belichick is known to burn the midnight oil trying to come up with ways to gain his team an advantage.
Edelman Would Become Key Cog In Belichick’s Second Three Super Bowls
While Edelman wasn’t around for the Patriots’ first three Lombardi Trophies, the slot receiving dynamo was a huge piece of the next three. In fact, he was named MVP of the team’s last appearance on Super Sunday.
In Super Bowl 53, Edelman feasted on the Rams’ unwillingness to take away the middle of the field as he tallied 10 receptions for 144 yards in a hard-fought 13-3 New England win. He was clearly the best player on the field.
Edelman also showed out in his two other appearances in the Super Bowl, going for five receptions for 87 yards in that memorable, historic comeback win over the Falcons after trailing 28-3) He also showed well in the team’s dramatic comeback win over the Seahawks (28-24), tallying nine receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown, which proved to be the go-ahead winning score.
For a guy who was supposed to be nothing more than a return specialist and situational slot receiver, Edelman turned in a dynamite NFL career. And all it took was the inspiration — or trauma — of seeing his head coach in all his glory, to reach those heights.