Super Bowl Championship Ring on a Croatian Hand

When the 42nd Super Bowl ends on February 3. one of the rings intended for the winner will find itself on an Croatian-American.

The question that concerns Americans is who will win the NFL title, the New England Patriots or the New York Giants. Either way, a Super Bowl Championship Ring will be on the hand of one Croatian. The chief coach of the New England Patriots is Bill Belichick, whose grandfather and grandmother came to America from the surroundings of Karlovac, Croatia. Ivan Belicic came to America in 1897, and his grandmother Marija came a year later. When they crossed the ocean and sought citizenship, it was recommended that they change their surname to White, but they rejected that, and only changed it slightly. William Stephen “Bill” Belichick is the only child of Steve and Jeannette, and up until now he has three winner rings.

David Diehl, whose relations to Croatia are even stronger, is aiming for his first ring. Even though he has a German surname, and his father is German, his mother is Croatian. Diehl is very proud of his mother’s roots. A giant that is easy to recognize on the field is in question. Besides being huge, he has a large Croatian coat of arms tattooed on his bicep. His grandfather Ante Bekavac comes from the surroundings of Imotski, and his grandmother whose maiden name is Semanic, is from one of the Croatian islands. As a child, he attended the church of Saint Geronimo in Chicago, and was active in the local Croatian community. In interviews that he gave to the American media, he says that he always looked forward to breakfast with other Croatians in that region.

- I have often played at Croatian basketball tournaments, and was always in the church of Saint Geronimo for the feast day for the Assumption of Mary. Aunt Mirna brought me to tamburitza concert, and it was great, said Diehl to the American press.

There is an especially interesting story connected to his tattoo.

- I was at my friend’s house when I saw the emblem on the fridge. I liked the design a lot and decided to get a tattoo of it. The design is slightly different, but I like it a lot.

On February 3, when the match is over, one thing is certain. One Croatian will get a ring. The only question is if it will be the fourth for Bill, or the first for David.