If you are one of the many people who haven’t cut the cable television, you might want to set your VCR or DVR for to tape CNBC on Sunday 7PM ET. CNBC is going to air a special called Touchdown!: The Patriots And The Business Of Winning. Regular readers of this site, know that I’ve long been a fan of the Patriots.
I hope that CNBC gets into the decision making process the Patriots had to go through with resigning players. For instance the Patriots let fan favorite Adam Vinatieri go and sign with their biggest rival, the Indianapolis Colts. There’s a lot of other things that I’m sure CNBC will touch on like the cost of building the current stadium and how they did it without requiring season ticket holders buy personal seat licenses. The Patriots are also building a new Patriots Hall of Fame complex and I’d be interested to find out how that fits into their overall business model.
I know that throughout the show they’ll touch on how the Patriots find value where other’s do not.
For example, “where can you get the best value on videotaping equipment?”
Heh. Go big blue. Temporary transfer of allegiance is in place for Gang Green… as an alum of Ole Miss I am hoping for Eli to pull one of the greatest upsets of all time.
Seriously – the Patriots have redefined the winning formula in the age of parity. I never thought I would see a repeat of the Cowboys/49ers dynasties and yet here it is again. Bill Belichick is a good coach, but Scott Pioli – the “manager” of the franchise – is the real genius. There is a lot to be learned about team-building from the Patriots. I just hope it’s all invalidated after a Giants win in the Super Bowl…. :)
I think a big part of the Patriots’ enduring success is that they are willing to let go of their stars when they get too expensive. When you think of earlier Pats teams from the first couple of Super Bowl victories, you realize there are lot of great players who aren’t with the team anymore and went elsewhere. And the Pats are okay with that. They’re willing to take the hard look at a player’s value versus their cost and make a tough decision a la Vinatieri. Then they take the money and go look for someone hungry and cost-effective.
Most teams go through the cycle of having a “youth movement”, then maturing the team and adding a few pieces here and there as they go. Setbacks notwithstanding, the team learns how to win, becomes competitive, becomes a contender, and hopefully go all the way one or two years. By the time the team gets to that point, the players have been with the team for years and the fans know them really well. The players all start getting big contracts to reward them and keep them together to keep the run going, but the cap puts an end to that. Eventually there’s not enough money to go around so players start going elsewhere or retiring. Within a couple of years, we’re back to the youth movement.
The Pats, on the other hand, are in a constant state of renewal, but at a high level. The only constants through this dynasty are going to be Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Tedy Bruschi is just about done. Every other player is going to cycle out.