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How Joe Cardona went from almost-pilot to Patriots long-snapper

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If Joe Cardona had his way coming out of the Naval Academy, he would’ve flown planes, not snapped passes on field goals and extra points. But fate and some timely advice from the U.S. Armed Forces steered Cardona to Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

The Patriots long snapper, who also serves as a lieutenant with the Naval Reserves, joined “The Quick Snap” podcast on Veterans Day and said his father’s career in avionics inspired him to pursue a career in a cockpit first and foremost.

“I wanted to go be “Maverick” [from the Top Gun movies],” Cardona said, saying he grew up idolizing the Tom Cruise character from the original 1986 film Top Gun.