At the NFL’s annual Hall of Fame ceremony in Canton, Ohio the other week, the greats of the game gathered to honour the incoming class of 2026. Among those being awarded the gold blazer signifying true elite status in the annals of the sport was Adam Vinatieri. Just the third kicker to be inducted, he was recognised for clutch kicking and last second heroics on the way to winning four Super Bowl rings, the first three of which were achieved with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
“Unfortunately, Bill couldn’t make it here today,” said Vinatieri in his acceptance speech.
“There’s a lot going on at UNC (University of North Carolina) right now. He may be on a recruiting trip looking for the next Lawrence Taylor. I thought it was because training camp already started. But in truth, it’s because he’s judging his girlfriend’s cheerleading competition.”
Vinatieri also complimented his old coach but the clip of him mocking 74-year-old Belichick’s May to December romance with Jordon Hudson was the one that went viral. As he knew it would. Although over-saturated, the market remains robust for jokes about the dourest, most successful coach in NFL history dating a cheerleader almost half a century his junior. It’s not all mockery and lampooning either. As the legendarily taciturn Patriot prepared to bring his UNC gridiron team to meet Texas Christian University at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, the coverage of him has been somewhere between caustic and pitying.
