In an introductory interview with Patriots.com, Michael Bennett had to get something off his chest. Now that he’s a New England Patriot, he can admit something fairly significant.
“I used to hate the Patriots,” the team’s newly-minted defensive end said. “I hated it because they would win so much. I hated it because Tom Brady’s hair was long. I hated that Belichick would wear sweaters. But now that I’m here, I love it. I love Tom Brady’s hair. I love being a Patriot, obviously, because it’s all about winning. It think everything about the organization is team-first and just about doing what we need to do and to get where we need to go as a group. I think I love that.”
Bennett won a Super Bowl XLVIII, but lost in Super Bowl XLIX to the Patriots in the following season. In fact, he got chippy with tight end Rob Gronkowski after one of the plays, with the two stars shoving after the whistle.
In all likelihood, that grudge is dead and buried now that Bennett joined the Patriots in a trade on March 8. The Patriots traded a fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire Bennett and seven-round pick.
Bennett’s move to New England might even inspire Martellus Bennet to rejoin the team. Bennett was on the Patriots for the 2016 season when they won Super Bow LI — and that was actually a point of tension between the brothers.
“I hated them even more,” Bennett said of the Patriots when Martellus was there. “He loved it, but the fact that he loved it made me hate it.”
Nowadays, the hate seems to have subsided.
