FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With a desire for comfort over fashion, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has made the hooded sweatshirt a top-selling item over the past two decades.
Sometimes the sweatshirts are fresh out of the box. And other times they look like what Belichick wore Wednesday morning in his regularly scheduled video conference for media members covering the Patriots in advance of their Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Cut sleeves. Countless holes. Ripped neck.
It was classic Belichick, who looked like he had been grinding on work all night and whose "style" was most recently spoofed as part of a humorous Subway commercial.
When it comes to Belichick and his hoodie, Mike Dussault of Patriots.com and "Pats Propaganda" is the official source.
Dussault keeps a running database of Belichick's hoodie of choice on game days and he reports this version that the Patriots coach was wearing Wednesday was last seen when Belichick wore it in Super Bowl LII (a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in February 2018).
Because Dussault's database goes back to 2000, Belichick's first year as Patriots coach, he was quickly able to identify that the sweatshirt Belichick wore Wednesday first surfaced in the 2013 season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
"Looks like it took a lot of punishment since then," Dussault said.
Here's a look at what others on social media are saying about Belichick's midweek fashion statement:
Bill Belichick not yet ready to retire this sweatshirt. Respect. pic.twitter.com/N66A6bpKpl
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 23, 2020
Who wore it better? Bill Belichick or The Brooklyn Brawler? (Credit @David_A_Cohen) #Patriots #NFL pic.twitter.com/csB93Qm1LC
— Peter Stringer (@peterstringer) September 23, 2020
I'm just waiting for the Cam vs Belichick fashion show pic.twitter.com/GUIWrqmBIh
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 23, 2020
Feb 2020 Sept 2020 pic.twitter.com/A5J4JN97vZ
— Ande Wall (@AndeWall) September 23, 2020
When you have to defend a remote swamp structure from zombies at 8:00 and do your Wednesday press conference at 8:30 pic.twitter.com/a8iB3s8C8h
— Dale & Keefe (@DaleKeefeWEEI) September 23, 2020
2019 vs 2020 pic.twitter.com/acwwQjvqHJ
— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) September 23, 2020
Matt Chatham, who played with the Patriots from 2000 to 2005, tries to explain what he believes is Belichick's reasoning for wearing this particular sweatshirt.
I love that Belichick did this, there are no mistakes with stuff like this...he knows the players will see it. Back late off a West Coast loss on SNF, surprise 2-0 team coming to town. It's a f'ing work week, baby. The grind didn't just start on Wednesday. Message sent. pic.twitter.com/pRO6XWRR66
— Matt Chatham (@chatham58) September 23, 2020
