The New England Patriots touched down in Houston on Monday, kicking off a whirlwind week leading up to Super Bowl LI.
The Patriots went through this same process just two years ago, but there’s one notable difference this time around: Deflategate is not the biggest story in the nation.
The deflated-footballs controversy that dominated headlines for 18 months finally was put to bed before the season, and while the team’s — and, more specifically, quarterback Tom Brady’s — quest for revenge on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell remains a hot storyline, Patriots players no longer are bombarded with daily questions about it.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick certainly is thankful for that. Belichick said Monday in an interview with WEEI’s “Dale & Holley” he was relieved to go through a Super Bowl week without having to discuss “science experiments.”
But that doesn’t mean the week will be devoid of distractions for New England. Belichick and Brady surely will be asked about their friendship with President Donald Trump, and the whole team will begin the week by enduring the media bonanza that is Super Bowl Opening Night.
“Yeah, I think we all know this is a circus without the trapeze and the dancing elephants,” Belichick told “Dale & Holley,” via MassLive.com. “It’ll be the media night unlike any other, except at this event. But we’ll embrace it and enjoy it. It’s just part of the week.”
The Patriots’ portion of Opening Night (formerly known as Media Day) is scheduled to run from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
