Since the turn of the century, New England Patriots fans have been, by far, the most fortunate sports fans in the country. Prior to 2001, they had never felt the joy of a Super Bowl victory, only the pain of two crushing losses in 1985 and 1996. It feels weird thinking that for many years New England fans were a laughing stalk due to their team’s struggles. They are now viewed as the most dominant franchise in sports, thanks in large part to Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and of course, Tom Brady.
What the Patriots have accomplished is truly unprecedented and it’s safe to say that we’ll never see anything like this run again. First off, their win in Super Bowl XXXVI was one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NFL as the Patriots took down the Rams, who were known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Brady was looked at as nothing more than a game manager, a guy who only got a chance because of an injury to Drew Bledsoe earlier in the year. Fast forward about 17 years or so, and Brady is now viewed undoubtedly as the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. With five rings under his belt after defeating the Atlanta Falcons last year, he surpassed Joe Montana for most Super Bowl wins in history. At age 40, it’s absurd what this guy is doing, not to mention that it doesn’t appear that he’s even close to being done. He’s played 16 full seasons in the NFL. In 2000, he was only a backup, and in 2008 he missed the season due to a torn ACL. He’s now headed to his eighth Super Bowl, which technically means he’s reached the big game in 50 percent of his career seasons—an unreal stat.
Belichick could arguably be an even more important piece to this spectacular run. Sometimes referred to as “the genius,” Belichick time and time again has found the right players to thrive in positions no one else would’ve ever thought. In the era of free agency in the NFL, it’s obviously been tough for teams to construct rosters with enough good players to be competitive because everyone wants to get as much money as possible. Belichick, on the other hand, has been able to find diamonds in the rough, who are cheap but can produce as well as anyone else at whatever the position is. For example, Brady was a sixth round pick and now the best to ever play. Julian Edelman was a seventh round pick and a quarterback in college, and is now a complete stud wide receiver.
Besides putting players in the right places to succeed, Belichick’s coaching is what’s most impressive. For example, in the 2014 Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, Belichick was essentially the man behind the scenes who won the game. In practice, Belichick wanted the defense to practice defending a goal line slant. Malcolm Butler misread the play once and was late getting to the ball the second time. When it came time to make a play in the big game, Butler was there and made a game saving interception.
Kraft is the man who really allowed all of this to happen and turned the franchise completely around. He put trust in Belichick, which has for sure paid off and then some. A sixth Super Bowl win would put them up there with the Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson Chicago Bulls. As fans, we should appreciate what they’re doing and realize this could be the last time, although it appears that it will never end. No matter when it ends, though, Belichick and Brady’s greatness will last forever.