Wall Street Journal: Bill Belichick Smiled Seven Times This Season

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a mumbling, taciturn grump when it comes to speaking with media. But what about those rare instances when he doesn't look like he'd rather be anywhere else? A visibly happy Belichick is a rarely occurring natural phenomenon, like a blue moon or Halley's Comet. Fortunately, someone looked at the tape and counted those moments.

According to the Wall Street Journal—or some poor Wall Street Journal intern who sifted through 16 boring press conferences—Belichick smiled seven times in all of his postgames. He even laughs once! For context, one postgame for Pete Carroll provides nine smiles.

There is, however, an incredibly pedantic qualm. This study only looks at postgames, not including Belichick's media availability during the week. It's an important distinction, because a few days before Christmas, Belichick definitely smiled for at least a couple of seconds when talking about his favorite holiday tunes. He even said the songs put "a smile on my face." Big claim! That's a total of eight for the season, now.

[ WSJ]

Photo: AP