Last night, for the second time in 100 days (98 days to be exact), a professional sports team from the city of Boston defeated a professional sports team from the city of Los Angeles for a world championship. In other words, the NFL football team that I hate the most (which also happens to be the NFL football team that I admire and respect the most) - the New England Patriots won their record-tying sixth Super Bowl championship, beating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII by a score of 13-3. Just in case you are wondering, 98 days before the Patriots beat the Rams, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 World Series.
It has been an amazing run for the Patriots. Whenever sports commentators talk about the Patriots, they use terms like dynasty and historic. The franchise has played in more Super Bowls (eleven) than any other team, winning six of them and losing five. Head Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have won all six of those Super Bowls, winning their first in 2001. They have played (and lost) in three others, losing the New York Giants twice and the Philadelphia Eagles once (last year). That makes a total of nine Super Bowls that Coach Belichick and Brady have coaches and played in, respectively, together! Tom Brady has now won more Super Bowls than any other player in the history of the NFL. Coach Belichick already held the record for the most Super Bowl wins as a head coach, but as of last night he became the oldest head coach in the history of the NFL to win the Super Bowl. He still has fewer overall NFL league championships than Coach George Halas of the Chicago Bears (7 total wins), though there are many that believe that he will surpass even legendary Coach Halas in the next couple of years. He has no plans on retiring soon!
One could easily argue (and many have) that Coach Belichick will one day retire as the greatest head coach in the history of the NFL, and almost everyone believes that Tom Brady is already there as the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL. These two individuals are the constants. So, how do the continue to win, year after year? What is the secret to their success? In a word? Culture.
I have written about the Patriots winning culture before (see my previous posts, "The Patriot Way" from February 5, 2017 and The Patriot Way Redux from January 7, 2018). I would ask, "What more evidence do you need to convince you?" Remember, Coach Belichick and Tom Brady are really the only two (as far as I know) consistencies between their first Super Bowl win together in 2001 and their sixth win last night. There is no question that the Patriots have a talented roster, year in and year out. However, one could argue that the Los Angeles Rams had more talent last night than the Patriots. One could also argue that the Patriots rarely are the most talented team in the NFL, yet they continue to find ways to win, over and over. It all comes down to culture.
Here are two really great examples of what I am talking about. A few weeks ago, an article appeared on Inc.com entitled "Tom Brady Says the Same 4 Words to Every New Player on the New England Patriots, and It's Pure Genius". The story first appeared in an article by Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Basically, whenever a new player walks into the locker room at the start of the year on the first day of practice, future Hall of Fame quarterback, the GOAT ("Greatest of All-Time"), and the player who has now won more Super Bowls than anyone, EVER, walks up and says, "Hi. I'm Tom Brady." In other words, Tom Brady, who at age 41 is older than every other player in the locker room, treats every new player as an equal. There are no superstars. No one gets special treatment. Here, on the Patriots roster, everyone is the same. Culture.
The next article also comes from the Washington Post and is entitled, Bill Belichick makes Tom Brady study punt coverages. It helps explain the Patriot's reign. Coach Belichick continues to emphasize special teams play (kicking and punting). Adam Kilgore says the following about Belichick, "He treats special teams not as something that happens between offense and defense, but as a full third of the game." He goes on to say that Belichick, "uses them to promote solidarity. He demands correct execution down to excruciating detail." Every week, the team does a full session studying special teams film. And when I say "the team", I mean the whole team. Everyone, including quarterback Tom Brady, spends time watching game film of special teams play. Does Brady complain? Absolutely not. Belichick sends a clear message that he expects everyone to know the game plan from start to finish and that all three phases of the game (offense, defense, and special teams) need to be played flawlessly if the team has any chance at winning. Brady sends a clear message that no one is more important than anyone else. Here, on the Patriots, everyone contributes and no one gets special treatment. Everyone is the same. Culture.
It's really very cool when you think about it. Unfortunately, it has to be the New England Patriots. And too bad for the city of Los Angeles. Last night makes it twice.
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