Bill Burt
The biggest roar from the Boston Garden's standing-room-only crowd during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, outside of the basketball game, was for Bill Belichick.
It's a ritual every home game when the in-house camera crews search for A-and B-list celebrities, then show them on the Jumbotron.
The fans went into a frenzy when Belichick and his significant other were shown, sitting about five seats from the Piston bench. When Belichick realized the camera was on him he waved, lifting the noise level two more decibels.
One could come up with two possible perspectives from the ovation:
1. Boston fans are beyond repair. Winning at all costs is obviously their Modus Operandi. They are an embarrassment.
2. Boston fans get it. This is one of the most overblown stories in the history of sports. And, when push comes to shove, everyone else is jealous.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I pick Door No. 2.
The most recent bashing session came from Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, who did what it seems everyone else has done with regularity the last seven months — trash Belichick
It was deemed a "great" column because he had the "guts" to go after one of his own.
Of course, Ryan's premise was "spygate," yes, the same spygate Belichick was tried for and convicted of back in September. And Ryan used the dangerous word, "cover-up," to describe Belichick's most recent antics.
Cover-up?
What am I missing here? Belichick admitted guilt. He was fined and the Patriots lost a first-round draft choice. Where is the "cover-up?"
Ryan and the rest of the country missed the boat here. Their problem was Matt Walsh was a fraud and the real cheater. It was he alone, without any prodding, that witnessed a few moments of the Rams' Saturday walk-through before Super Bowl XXXVI.
Walsh didn't deliver what he promised. There was no tape. Worse, there was no due diligence done on who Walsh was before everyone believed his claims.
But back to Belichick.
I have been placed in the "Kool-Aid camp" when it comes to Belichick. That I believe everything he says and does and have given him carte blanche when it comes to his shoddy treatment of the media.
That is laughable.
Here are my thoughts on Belichick: I believe he is probably the greatest football coach that ever lived. If he can win four or five more Super Bowls I will call him one of the greatest franchise architects, too, right up there with the likes of Red Auerbach.
When it comes to football, I plead ignorance. I don't know who really made a mistake when an interception is thrown or ball is tipped. I could guess, but I'd probably be wrong.
Belichick is not above criticism.
He is in this predicament because he doesn't play the game of "I ask a question and you give me the answer I need."
He could give more information or storylines to ESPN and Sports Illustrated staffers who fly in from thousands of miles away. It would help his cause immensely. But he doesn't.
That's his choice and he has to live with the consequences, which means he rarely if ever gets the benefit of the doubt.
I like Belichick. I like him because, to paraphrase one of his most common torts, he is who he is.
He has conviction. He has core values when it comes to running the Patriots organization and they really haven't changed since our first press conference with him back in January of 2000.
Yes, he is a sore loser. His press conferences after his last two losses, to the Colts in the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl in Phoenix, were not good. A few more accolades for the competition probably would have helped his persona. He, for some reason, chose to remain cranky.
To be honest, several million New Englanders still are not over the loss to the Giants. And as one ex-Patriot told me, "Bill will never get over that loss. He understands what it would have meant to his legacy."
Belichick doesn't say, "I love my players," which is the biggest lie in sports. And he doesn't say Junior Seau is playing great when Seau is playing below average, which of course hurts our storylines.
Belichick, contrary to his "alleged" Nixonian side as Ryan put it, has a soft side. Doug Flutie's drop-kick and Vinny Testaverde's touchdown pass streak are examples.
There are probably dozens more, but he they will remain private probably forever.
What was disappointing about Ryan's rip job was the cheap shot at Belichick's personal life, which he called "tangled."
That is a slippery slope. My guess is the percentage of "tangled" personal lives in the media is equal to that of NFL head coaches, if not higher.
Why not stick to the subject matter?
You know why? Because there is no subject matter here.
This is old news, spygate.
But for those that don't like Belichick or the Patriots, it was another opportunity, and it seems the nation has taken advantage of it.
As much as ESPN's analysts rally against the Patriots accomplishments, filming opposing coaches signals was probably a waste of time.
Football coaches wasting time on some obsessions? Belichick has thousands in his company.
In the end, we in the media want everything. We want access and we want championships.
Former Patriots coach Pete Carroll gave us access but no championships. So he was shipped out of here.
You want to know the funny thing. If Bob Kraft fired Bill Belichick today, there would be a dozen teams ready to hand over their franchises to him, lock, stock and barrel.
Will the Patriots "dynasty" be tainted forever, as Ryan implied?
I doubt it. I believe this black mark on the Patriots will eventually turn gray and then disappear a few years from now.
Time has a way of healing wounds. So do a few more championships. And if I had to guess, I'd say with Belichick leading the way the latter will be here before the former.
E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.
