"I'm probably better served not to answer that question," he said. "Obviously, I make my home here in Baltimore, and I have met Coach [John] Harbaugh [of the Ravens] and gotten to know him a little bit, and I have great respect for him. I actually got to meet him and know him through Coach Belichick, and I know the respect that Coach Belichick has for him, and we have the same. You want to see your hometown team do well. I'm a season ticket holder with the Ravens. But I am very, very close with Coach Belichick, and I certainly want to see him do well all the time. Probably some people weren't real happy with me when the Ravens played the Patriots and I was on the Patriots sideline with a Patriots hat on. That's a close friend, and my friendships are critical to me. so I always want to see the Ravens do well, and I'm a big fan of Coach Harbaugh's and I have great respect for him and their franchise. But that day, I was on the Patriots sideline."

Pietramala acknowledged bearing the brunt of a considerable amount of grief from his players who are Ravens fans, but he said he has some comrades, too.

"I get it all the time," Pietramala said. "But [senior attackman] Steven Boyle is a Patriots guy, and [senior midfielder] Nate Matthews and [sophomore defenseman] Scott Matthews' dad is the team doctor for the Ravens. So we've got connections in both places. I value and take to my heart where I live now. I have very strong and fond feelings for where we make our home here in Baltimore. I love it here. It's where my wife is from and it's where my kids are going to grow up. But on that one day, that's my very close friend who has been very, very good to me. So hopefully, people can understand that."