Happy birthday, Bill Belichick! And happy anniversary, Justin Tucker Rule!
The three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Patriots turns 62 on Wednesday—exactly three weeks after the NFL owners approved a proposal to raise the uprights on goalposts 5 feet. That change was proposed by Belichick and the Patriots, and it was inspired by a field goal that beat the Patriots when it went over the right upright ... or didn't, depending on who was looking.
How could Belichick, or anyone else, forget that game?
It was a Sunday night, Sept. 23, 2012, at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, Week 3 of the season and the third (and, as it turned out, final) week of replacement refs filling in for the locked-out regulars. The Ravens won 31-30 on that disputed field goal on the final play by the rookie Tucker.
Enraged at the call, Belichick raced across the field and grabbed the ref, later saying he was just trying to get his attention. The grab cost Belichick a $50,000 fine.
Two and a half years later, the Tucker Rule was passed. So that's something else Belichick can celebrate today.