Belichick On Bon Jovi: 'He Had [Gillette Stadium] Rocking'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bill Belichick hasn't yet begun his work on the Atlanta Falcons, whom his New England Patriots will face in two weeks in Super Bowl LI.
It's only been a few hours since Belichick and his Patriots dispatched the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 in the AFC Championship Game, securing the franchise's ninth trip to the Super Bowl. Belichick didn't even know it was the Falcons they'd be facing until after New England's victory, but don't fret, their prep work will begin soon enough.
You can't blame him for soaking in that AFC Championship just a little bit, as Belichick is now off to his record seventh Super Bowl as a head coach. But the victory may not be his favorite memory from Sunday night.
That might be reserved for a postgame high-five with his good friend, Jon Bon Jovi. The head coach has had a long relationship with the rock star, which goes back to his days on the sidelines for the New York Giants. When Belichick blasts music during practice, there's a good chance there's a Bon Jovi tune -- or ten -- on the playlist.
The media is always hard pressed to get much out of Belichick, but talking about Jovi and his music is something Bill loves to do. Possibly even more than breaking down kickoff returns for 20 minutes. Belichick says their friendship dates back to his time with the New York Giants, with Bon Jovi a huge Giants fan.
"He's a great friend, been a great friend for a long time all the way back into the 80's," Belichick said on his Monday morning conference call. "We've shared a lot of great moments together including the 1990 Super Bowl in Tampa where he was in the locker room after the game still taking crazy pictures and stuff like that; great memories from there. It was great to have Jon here and I always appreciate his great support. Yeah, it was quite a moment, one that you usually don't see at a professional football game. Yeah, it was special."
Belichick said he was most impressed with the singing voices of New England fans when Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" played during Sunday's game.
"He had the place rocking last night," said Belichick. "Maybe more than we did."
Jovi love aside, Belichick was hard at work on Monday morning, breaking down film from New England's win over Pittsburgh. He told reporters the team will begin their work on the NFC champion Falcons later on Monday.
"We've only seen them a little bit this year on TV and haven't really had them in many crossover games. But obviously a very good and very talented team and a number of people down there in that organization that I know and have worked with and I have a great deal of respect for them. But we'll start digging into them before the day is over," he said.
Hopefully, Bon Jovi will be in Houston in two weeks, and he and Belichick can share another postgame high-five.