SALEM — Anyone who went to Salem State College last night thinking Bill Belichick was going to reveal a few trade secrets about the New England Patriots was sorely disappointed.
In fact, anyone who went there hoping the Pats' coach would discuss anything remotely topical — like maybe the Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants or the still swirling Spygate controversy — also was disappointed.
But none of that seemed to matter to the 3,200 faithful — many wearing team sweat shirts and hats — who packed Rockett Arena and created a traffic jam on Canal Street that looked like Route 1 in Foxboro before a Patriots game.
They loved The Coach.
Belichick got a standing ovation when he appeared on stage that rivaled anything given to the former U.S. presidents and world leaders who have graced the Salem State Speaker Series.
All he had to do was mention the name of a Patriots player — Troy Brown, Randy Moss, Tedy Bruschi, anybody — and it was met with more applause, whistles and cheers.
The closest Belichick came to making news was his wardrobe. Gone was the gray hooded sweat shirt and in its place were a black suit and red tie.
He even showed game films to the crowd, who cheered at great plays from last season. The biggest cheer was for a preseason practice film showing defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, surrounded by the entire team, catching a punt one-handed.
A lot was at stake, Belichick said. If he caught it, the team got the night off; if he dropped the ball, they had to run twice as many sprints.
The audience at Salem State roared with laughter when Wilfork caught the ball and then sprinted off the practice field followed by his delirious, dancing teammates.
"We won 18 straight games last year," Belichick said, "... (but) when Wilfork caught that punt, that was one of the high points of the entire season."
Belichick's one-hour appearance was really aimed at the young people in the crowd. He drew parallels between football and life and stressed the importance of teamwork and individual responsibility.
It was an evening full of fatherly advice.
"Do what you love," he said, "and be ready to put everything you have into it."
The coach even got a few cheers when he said: "There's no 'I' in team. ... There is an 'I' in win and what that 'I' stands for is individual responsibility."
This was not a night for the media. There was no press conference and not even audience questions at the end. The only questions were submitted in advance and screened. There were seven, none controversial, and one was about golf.
The closest Belichick came to controversy was an allusion to the Spygate scandal, when he was fined a half-million dollars for videotaping New York Jets' coaches giving signals during last season's opening game. He mentioned it only to praise Patriots players for following his advice to ignore the media and concentrate on the next game — a 38-14 win over the San Diego Chargers.
"That was a great lesson for us and what a team can do when it comes together and focuses on one goal," he said.
Above all, this was a night for the fans, who seemed to love just being in the presence of Belichick, who has given them three Super Bowl championships and the first undefeated regular season in more than three decades.
When the coach finished speaking, he told the crowd how much he enjoyed being at Salem State and how much he appreciated their support. They replied with another standing ovation.
"It was completely worth it," a college student said as he exited with the huge crowd.
"What else were we going to do?" his buddy said. "Study for finals?"
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