Bill Belichick doesn’t quite know what it means to be a “Swiftie,” but he might just be one.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the New England Patriots joined WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show on Monday morning to discuss his team as the ‘s preseason continues. But about 20 minutes into his appearance, the conversation took an unexpected turn away from football and toward .
Belichick, who has said in the past he isn’t the biggest fan of concerts, was asked if he saw any of the many performances in the Boston area over the summer. He had one in mind.
“Yeah, saw a little bit of Taylor,” Belichick replied.
The concert Belichick is referring to took place in May at the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium. Heavy rains interfered with that Eras Tour show throughout the evening. Swift still managed to perform for more than three hours despite the conditions, however. That earned the singer-songwriter some praise from Belichick, who knows all too well what being out in the New England rain is like.
“That was pretty impressive,” Belichick said. “She’s tough, man. She just stood out there and played right through it.”
Belichick is publicly known to be a fan of Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. Hill asked the 71-year old if he now also considers himself to officially be a “Swiftie.”
“Officially? I don’t know about that. I don’t know what officially is,” Belichick said. “What does that mean, like you have a sweatshirt or something?”
Hill pointed out that most devoted Swift fans know the lyrics to all her songs. That inspired Belichick, notoriously tight-lipped at most press conferences, to cite lyrics from Swift’s 2019 song “You Need To Calm Down,” which appeared on her 2019 album Lover.
“Well look, I’m definitely on the, ‘you gotta calm down,'” Belichick said. “That’s pretty good, like you gotta calm down. There’s a lot of times when that’s very appropriate. You’ve just gotta calm down.”
NFL Players Can’t Get Enough of Taylor Swift
Belichick is just the latest NFL figure to throw praise at Swift.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said on his podcast last month that he wanted to give Swift a friendship bracelet during an Eras Tour concert in Arrowhead Stadium. Kelce didn’t get that chance.
“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs she sings,” Kelce said to his brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce on their podcast. “… She doesn’t meet anybody, or at least didn’t want to meet me, so I took it personally.”
“She probably just hasn’t gotten over the Super Bowl yet,” Jason Kelce responded.
During a concert in Philadelphia earlier this year, Swift confirmed that she is an
Earlier in the summer, members of the New York Jets and New York Giants were excited ahead of Swift’s East Coast appearances. Giants head coach blasted Swift’s music during practice in May before taking his daughter to one of her concerts. Jets quarterback was asked accounts to name his favorite Swift songs, to which he replied, “Too many to count.”
The Detroit Lions posted a , which showed a variety of players rattling off their favorites from Swift.
“My first one, I’m gonna go with ‘Getaway Car,'” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “Number two, I’ll go with ‘the 1.’ Number three, I’ll go with ‘All Too Well.’ The 10-minute version.”