Competence

I'm going to take some time off from Red Sox fever to discuss Bill Belichick, the Patriot's coach. His accomplishments are obvious, 2 Super Bowls in three years, 21 straight victories, 18 straight regular season victories. Both of those streaks are records, and they aren't over yet. These are not the reasons I admire Belichick, they are just symtoms of something else which is much more important. Last Sunday, during his post game press conference, Belichick was asked "You tied a 70-year old record today for regular season wins. I mean that has got to something to you. Come on, say it does." His response was: "Yes. I'm respectful of what history says and what the situation is, but it is more important we beat Seattle and try to keep pace with the Jets. That is what our challenge is this week and then next week when the Jets come in here. So we are fighting, it is not about what happened last year, we are fighting right now for our lives in this division." This response, I think, is indicitive of his attitude. Nothing is more important than winning football games, with the ultimate goal being the Super Bowl. When I mentioned this exchange to my friend Mike, he pointed out something that I'd never noticed before. Belichick looks happier beating the Dolphins or the Jets than he does after winning a Super Bowl. Why? A division win brings him much closer to the playoffs. After he wins a Super Bowl, it just means he has to start over again. After his Patriots won the 2001 title, he was asked what he would do next. He said that he was 5 weeks behind every other team, so he had to start working. There are very few things that I find more admirable than this kind of attitude. One of the biggest compliments I can give somebody is that he gets things done. Obviously, football is just a game, but I think trying to transfer Coach Belichicks attitude to other things in life is something to aspire to.