Bill Belichick Revealed to Be Quite the "My Cousin Vinny" Fan in Defense of Patriots' Ball Treatment

Marisa Tomei rescues the New England Patriots during questions of integrity.

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Complex Original

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The Internet is an angry place. Right now, it's mostly angry about balls. Specifically how New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prefers them (for the record: Brady doesn't "squeeze the balls." He feels them. And before the AFC Championship game in question, when he "felt them, they were perfect"). The big question is whether the All American QB had someone deflate the ball pressure -- before a cold, wet playoff game -- to get a better grip. Brady's coach Bill Belichick, whose press conferences are usually full of bulldog scowls, held a presser to set the record straight: the coaching staff never directed anyone in the organization to deflate the footballs for any tactical advantage.

What does this all this have to do with My Cousin Vinnythe 1990's Joe Pesci comedy? We have no idea. But apparently the hardened coach has enough of a soft spot for Marisa Tomei's character in the film to name drop her in a press conference where his team's balls (and his integrity) are being put through a rigorous inspection.

In perhaps the funniest movie-fan pairing since Terrence Malick publically verified his love for Zoolander, Belichick likened his knowledge of football to Mona Lisa Vito's (Tomei) knowledge of cars: 


"I would not say that I'm the Mona Lisa Vito of the football world as she was in the car expertise area," he said. "And at no time was there any intent what so ever to try to compromise the integrity of the game or to gain an advantage—quite the opposite. We feel like we followed the rules of the game to the letter, in our preparations, in our procedures, alright, and in the way that we handled every game that we've competitively played in, as it relates to this matter."

I suppose that the slip differential interrogation scene in Vinny is similar to differentiating between psi levels of air in footballs? But, just imagine Belichick answering these questions with Tomei's ferocity:

That's some big city schoolin' right there! 

Tomei won an Oscar for her role. Belichick just wants to move on and try to win his fourth Super Bowl ring (versus the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday). Maybe the secret to Belichick's success isn't which hoodie he's wearing, but the Marisa Tomei comeback story. Like Tomei (who took a decade of grief for winning an Oscar for the comedy, before she was nominated again in 2002) Belichick, himself, had to re-assert himself after bottoming out with the Cleveland Browns in the 90s. Is Tomei Belichick's power animal?

It could be that. Or it could be that Belichick happened to see the scene on TV, just before the presser:

 

[via E! Online]

 

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