Zach Ferreira won't ever forget the moment Bill Belichick walked past his outstretched arm at Ford Field in Detroit.
The Meme Lords of the Internet won't let him forget it either.
"It's kind of crazy because it didn't seem like a big deal when it first went viral," the 14-year-old Ferreira told NESN.com during a phone interview Tuesday, recalling the moment from Sept. 23, 2018. "I thought it would be a one time thing, but every time it pops up, it's crazy to see."
Zach, who was nine years old at the time, was the young fan Belichick breezed by when the New England Patriots head coach took the field for "Sunday Night Football" against the Lions. Belichick was captured swiftly walking past Zach and his then 14-year-old friend, Matthew Noonan. The video immediately went viral.
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More than five years later, it's still one of the most recognizable memes on social media, let alone in New England. You know which one it is. It has primarily resurfaced every time the Patriots have been connected to a free agent, but that's not the lone instance.
Andy Ferreira, Zach's father, recalls the moment fondly. The Ferreira's were in Detroit to visit Andy's friend, who worked for the Lions organization. It was how Andy and his two sons, along with a few other friends, were able to get onto the field pregame. It's also why Zach and Matthew were disguised in Lions gear despite the fact both have grown up in Plainville, Mass.
The video resurfaced on social media Monday, which prompted Andy to respond and share it was Zach and his son's friend, Matthew. Andy told NESN.com he made a conscious decision in 2018 not to bring as much attention to it as he surely could have. Sure, at the time the video was everywhere. But the stars of the show were relatively unknown save for one social media video shared by the NBC Sports Boston's Camera Guys. It's probably not over the top to think they could have been on late-night talk shows and ESPN. Belichick and the Patriots were on their way to the franchise's sixth Super Bowl, after all.
When asked about the decision not to promote it more at the time, Andy said he didn't want to put his friend, the Lions staffer, in a tricky spot and didn't want to put too much on Zach's plate.
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Now, with Belichick's future in New England up in the air and the boys five years older, Andy took to social media to share a positive story about the future Hall of Famer. Because while the internet ran with theories that Belichick made two young fans cry, Andy stressed that is far from the truth.
"We didn't think anything of it in the moment. The dads kind of giggled about it because it's just typical Belichick," Andy recalled. "But the kids didn't care, there were 20 or 30 other players and coaches who did the same thing earlier."
Andy added: "He (Belichick) got such a bad wrap because of that 15-second clip of like blowing off two little kids that people should know there's more to the story. While we were never in 1,000 years offended by it or expecting anything, he more than made up for it."
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When Belichick and the Patriots caught wind of the clip, Zach and Matthew were invited to Gillette Stadium. They met Belichick on the field before the Patriots faced the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 23, 2018. Belichick took a picture with the two of them, and he even signed a photo Andy captured a few months earlier at Ford Field.
Belichick told the two young Patriots fans: "Sorry I missed you in Detroit."
"That's the one part I remember the most," Zach said in reference to Belichick's message. "I was kind of speechless. I didn't know what to say when he came up to us."
That's the one part I remember the most.
Young Patriots fan Zach Ferreira on meeting Bill Belichick
The Boston Globe's Christopher Price held a poll in 2021 and asked a simple question: What is the best Bill Belichick meme of all time? Belichick's walking out of the tunnel meme, the one which featured Zach and Matthew, garnered 46.5% of the first-place vote. It earned more votes than the photo of Belichick sipping orange juice, which was captured by then-Boston Herald reporter Jeff Howe in March 2015, and Belichick peering through his binoculars during the 2018 NFL Draft Combine.
You've almost certainly seen those, too. And chances are you won't forget them.
Neither will Zach or Matthew.
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But fortunately for them, they'll always get to say they were the ones who went viral with Bill Belichick on "Sunday Night Football." And they'll always have the internet as proof.
Featured image via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
