FOXBORO -- Thursday will be a day Joe Cardona will remember for a long time.
The Patriots long snapper will receive a Super Bowl LIII ring at night, which came following being promoted to Navy Lieutenant in front of his teammates at Gillette Stadium prior to the final minicamp session.
Captain Select Mark Price was his promotion officer and he's also the Patriots' team doctor, so it was a complete Patriots/Navy connection. It's even more special considering it took place on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
“Getting promoted to Lieutenant, it is a big accomplishment personally," Cardona said to WEEI.com. "It hasn’t always been easy to balance my two careers, but just to get to share it with my teammates was a big deal for me -- to share it with the people that I am working day in and day out with.”
He added: “With each rank you get you get more responsibility and more is expected of you. I am going to continue to do the very best that I can off the field.”
Bill Belichick, who has strong Navy ties, noted it took place on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
“Congratulations to Lieutenant Joe Cardona on his promotion,” he said. “Obviously a day to remember our World War II veterans on D-Day. The 75th anniversary, that’s kind of a big one for us. I want to recognize all the things that they did.”
It was also a moment that stood out to quarterback Tom Brady.
"It’s pretty emotional, you know? You see someone who takes the oath like that and raises his hand, and it’s a big commitment Joe’s made," he said. "I think Joe does it very proudly and he does a great job educating a lot of us on what it means to him. I think we all appreciate that. So, we see the work that he does here for us, but also the work that he does for our country. I’ve talked to Joe a lot over the years about what his roles and responsibility are and I think everyone’s proud of his accomplishments. As proud as you are to win a Super Bowl ring, to advance in that part of his career is pretty amazing. So, to do both is really a great thing for him personally and nice to be able to celebrate and congratulate with him."
Related
