We’re just 50 days from the opening game of the 2017 season, when the Patriots will raise their fifth banner and take on the Chiefs, as their fans unload two-and-a-half years worth of built up boos and jeers at the commissioner whose avoided all things New England like the plague since butchering the whole Deflategate saga.
With the positional previews out of the way it’s time to focus on training camp here on the blog, but first a look at the site’s very, very important signature stat — Bill Belichick’s hoodie tracker.
2017 provided one of the biggest plot twists ever for a site dedicated to tracking and analyzing what the head coach wears on game day. After much speculation what Belichick should and would wear in Super Bowl 51 he threw a giant curve ball.
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Yes, he wore the Hot Jacket, which he had gone 9-2 in during the regular season, but with one strange alteration — the Flying Elvis had been ripped off the jacket. And no, it was not simply inside out as many have wondered. It was torn off.
Why? This is something we’ll ponder for generations. Was it a message to the NFL? Or was it simply a frustrated Belichick, having no sleeves to cut off, turning his shears on something else? We might never know.
At the time it seemed this might mean the end of the Hot Jacket. Including the Super Bowl, Belichick is now 25-8 in the Hot Jacket since it’s introduction in 2013. It’s just nine games behind the legendary Gray Reebok Hoodie with the sleeves cut off, Belichick’s signature look and one which he hasn’t worn since Super Bowl 46 due to the NFL switching to Nike apparel.
Though Belichick is known for hoodies, the Hot Jacket has really become his fave over the last four seasons. Maybe we can blame climate change?
It would’ve been a shame to see the Hot Jacket’s demise as well, but fear not, this spring Belichick was spotted with a new Hot Jacket, with the Flying Elvis adorned on his left breast, loud and proud.
@CoachTomHerman and I are happy to welcome Coach Bill Belichick to Texas to speak to our Texas high school coaches. #ThisIsTexas #HookEm 🤘 pic.twitter.com/Cv0YUmBCEt
— Mike Perrin (@UTmikeperrin) April 7, 2017
Now we await the Patriots Pro Shop to release their annual Belichick Hoodie, something they’ve done every year since 2012 when the Nike switch happened. Belichick doesn’t really seem to care, and goes back and forth between the various hoodies.
The 2013 version, which he wore in Super Bowl 49, has become the tattered work horse, often worn on practice days around the facility. He wore the 2016 version four times during last year’s regular season, and in both playoff games prior to the Super Bowl before tacking back to the Hot Jacket.
But perhaps the most exciting news of all this is that this offseason I was able to track down a Hot Jacket on eBay, thus completing my Belichick Collection with every major piece of attire he’s ever worn, including the Gray Reebok Hoodie (with sleeves cut off natch). Yes, I talk the talk AND walk the walk.
Stay tuned for any all developments in Bill Belichick’s attire decisions. PatsPropaganda will continue to track this important stat, as this could be the year the Hot Jacket ascends to the top of the record books.
