BLOG: The Masters of Football

Over the past 18 years, the New England Patriots dynasty was built and sustained on the backs of three men. Now, if you were to believe what ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham propose in his latest work of fiction … oh I mean article … for ESPN, he may lead you to the notion of a plot between Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft, and Tom Brady which will crumble the Patriots dynasty.

Sounds like a great novel for the summer 2018 beach reading list.

However, there is no doubt that the Patriots franchise has been made up of three men, Kraft, Belichick, and Brady. It’s been argued, time and time again, which one of them gets the credit for the success of the franchise. But it’s tough to divide a pie equally three ways, mathematically speaking, someone will always get a bigger slice.

All three have their quirks and little idiosyncrasies that define them. Kraft is the man who had the guts to trade a first round pick for a guy who spent less than 24 hours as the New York Jets’ head coach and, apparently, was “a man in emotional turmoil.” Belichick, the type of guy that takes a flyer on a sixth-round quarterback despite already having three on the roster. Then there’s Brady, never having an easy experience is the story of his life. Could start on a winless high school team. Having to fight for playing time at Michigan, not being picked until the 199^th pick to today, being hated for being too good.

While all three of them are great as individual people in the world of football, what truly made them was being together. Kraft, Belichick, and Brady are “The Deathly Hallows” of the NFL.

To those unfamiliar with the New England Patriots of literature, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, I will explain. Towards the end of the seven-book series, the protagonist encounters the “Deathly Hallows,” three objects, when all are possessed together, make one the master of death.

These objects – the elder wand, the resurrection stone, and the cloak of invisibility – are powerful objects by themselves, but when combined make them greater. That’s the New England Patriots right there. That’s Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and Robert Kraft. Three men who alone by themselves are extraordinary men, but when fate put them all in the same room they became the “Masters of Football.”

Below is "The Story of the Three Brothers" from Harry Potter: