With one day to go until the this year’s NFL draft, the star of last year’s virtual affair has made an appearance on social media: Bill Belichick’s dog, Nike.
Nike, an Alaskan Klee Kai, became an internet sensation during the 2020 broadcast of the draft. He was regularly shown by the cameras installed in Belichick’s house on Nantucket, and at one point even captured sitting behind the computer.
The rest is New England Patriots and NFL meme history.
“I’m doing lighting and next thing I know Bill had a couple of treats that were left over near his laptop,” Belichick’s girlfriend, Linda Holiday, said last year. “He stepped away from the table and all of a sudden he looks at me and he goes, ‘Look! Look at the table.’ Nike was just sitting there, waiting patiently. He knew his treats were there so that’s what prompted him sitting at the table. And he was just waiting patiently for the word to take his treats.”
Belichick himself also spoke about Nike’s newfound fame last spring.
“Linda did a great job with Nike. As you can see, he’s very personable, friendly, gets a lot of attention. I’ll give her the kudos on that one,” he said.
Nike became a star overnight, and the Patriots have repeatedly shared his picture on their own social media channels over the course of the last year. Now, his official Instagram account @theswooshdog has shared an updated image with the caption “Final preparations as I gaze into my magic ‘Bill’ ball! Let’s Go!”
Whether or not the dog makes another appearance during this year’s draft can be doubted, though. The Patriots will be back at running their operation out of Gillette Stadium after the Coronavirus pandemic forced the entire event into a virtual forum last year.
But — Who knows? — the draft always is the time for surprises.