Bill Belichick Gives His Complete Thoughts On The Game Atmosphere With No Fans In The Stands

Everything in New England feels so different this year. New quarterback for the first time in 20 years, new uniforms for the first time in 21 years, no fans in the stands for the first time in 21 years, no Hightower or Chung flying around the middle of the defense, all that was enough of an adjustment for us to make. And now this? Bill Belichick, of “Subway” commercial fame, suddenly breaking character after decades of skirting the media’s prying eyes to give long winded answers like this? Jarring to put it lightly.

No veil of secrecy, no attitude for being asked a question he deemed to be dumb, just an in-depth dive into the brain of one of the great football minds to ever walk Earth. A man with decades upon decades of experience digging deep to recall anything he felt was relatable to the current situation at hand. And boy did he deliver. “Practice.” Message received, Bill. We hear you loud and clear.

PS - I really don’t think the fake crowd noise made for a much different viewing experience at home. Obviously it’s weird to hear a generic rumbling while looking at empty seats but for the most part it feels like a similar product on television at least. But what killed me all day was when refs would make a call against the home team and someone in some production room would immediately press a boo button. That’s the type of production value the NFL brings that the NBA could never figure out. Smashing a button to assume fans’ emotions to a call doing against them just so the good people at home feel a sense of normalcy is gold and deserves recognition. It’s also simply endlessly amusing to me that even in an empty stadium a ref still has to face a booing like they’re surrounded by disapproving ghosts.