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Belichick grew up a Colts fan

David Butler II / USA TODAY Sports

Over the last seven seasons, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have terrorized the Indianapolis Colts, but that's not how the old ball coach envisioned things going once upon a time.

Belichick, a native of Annapolis, Md., said he actually grew up cheering for the Colts when they played in nearby Baltimore. When discussing his relationship with the Colts' Monday night opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, Belichick revealed he was once a big fan of the team that formerly occupied the Maryland metropolis.

"Where I grew up, the Colts were my team," Belichick said, according to a team transcript. "In Annapolis we were fortunate because from a football standpoint, I mean at that time, there weren’t many games on TV but we got the Colts and the Redskins. But it was kind of all Colts for me."

The four-time Super Bowl champion went on to gush about his childhood around the Colts, and Baltimore as a sports city in general. Belichick's father worked for over thirty years as a scout and coach for Navy, who play out of Annapolis.

"Those great Colt teams of the 50s, late 50s and 60s, I could give you a starting lineup on both sides of the ball, all of those guys," said Belichick. "I got to meet many of them through the years, Johnny Unitas, and Alex Sandusky working my dad’s football camp and things like that, meeting the coaches up there.

"So that was really a dream for me to be able to just wear the horseshoe helmet on my shirt when I worked for the Colts. That was a great source of pride and I learned an incredible amount that year working with coach (Ted) Marchibroda and the Colts organization."

Regardless of his former fandom, Belichick's Patriots are on a seven-game winning streak against the Colts.

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