FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis bleeds Pittsburgh Steelers black and gold, but as he boarded an airplane Tuesday for the long return trip from Israel to the United States, he reflected on spending a week with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and laughed.
"I told my wife [Trameka], he has a new fan," Bettis said. "My phrase was 'I'm a friend of him, not of them.'"
That's how strongly Bettis, whose Steelers teams had several high-stakes games against the Patriots during his career, felt about what unfolded from June 13-21.