The new dynasty Patriots

Every sport has times when one dominant team wins the championship year after year. The Chicago Bulls of the 1990s are one of the more popular ones, as Michael Jordan would lead the Bulls to two three peats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship. Other famous dynasties include the New York Yankees, the Boston Celtics from 1957 to 1969, and the Miami Dolphins from 1971-1973.

The one similarity about all these dynasties is they usually have a superstar who led the team. The Bulls were led by the arguably greatest basketball player ever, Jordan. The Bulls' team was known as Jordan's team. The Dallas Cowboys teams from 1992 to 1995, that won the Superbowl three out of four years, were led by a potent offense. They had Hall of Famers quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin. The last Yankees dynasty had shortstop Derek Jeter, closer Mariano Rivera and other highly paid superstars. The fact that the Yankees always had the highest payroll allowed them to consistently advance and become a dynasty.

However, recently buying and having superstars on your roster does not definitely translate into postseason success.

The newest dynasty does not seem to use this concept of superstar led teams. The New England Patriots, looking to win the Superbowl for the third time in four years, have become a dynasty over the last few years with a relatively unheralded team.

The Patriots win with consistency and an excellent coaching staff. They are led by a genius coach Bill Belichick and assistant coaches nearly as talented. The assistant coaches, Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis, are always candidates for other head coaching positions. Weis has been offered the head coaching position at Notre Dame University. Crennel could be offered the Cleveland Browns coach as soon as next Sunday, immediately after the Superbowl. Next year, there is a good chance that both will depart for their new head coaching positions.

While the coaching staff is great, the Patriots don't have many players who were drafted in the first round coming into the league. For example, one of the best players on the Patriots' offense is quarterback Tom Brady. Brady unlike his Superbowl counterpart, Donovan McNabb, was not projected to have a stellar career. McNabb was drafted with the second pick in the 1999 National Football League (NFL) draft. Brady was drafted in the sixth round, the 199 overall pick, of the 2000 NFL draft.

Brady, like all other quarterbacks drafted in the sixth round was supposed to play a backup role. The Patriots already had a talented starting quarterback with Drew Bledsoe and did not anticipate needing Brady to be the starting quarterback.

However, Bledsoe went down causing Brady to start and he proved his value. Bledsoe suffered from internal bleeding after a hit by Mo Williams in week two of the 2001 season. Bledsoe was injured for the rest of the season and Brady came in as the starter. The role as backup was not new to Brady as at the University of Michigan, he backed up Drew Henson. Brady led the team to an 11-3 regular season record and to the Superbowl. Ultimately, the New England staff was impressed by him and decided to let Bledsoe go. Starting in 2001, Brady has an undefeated record in the postseason, 8-0, and has commandeered the Patriots dynasty.

Several other players have exceeded their potential. Troy Brown, who now is a three way player on offense, defense and special teams, entered the league as an eight round pick in 1993. Several other defensive and offensive players have come together and worked as a team to make the Patriots the first football dynasty of the millennium. While, several other teams that appear to be the winners of the offseason with their extravagant signings, including the Washington Redskins, have not advanced far during recent years.

The team concept has emerged in sports this millennium. In basketball last year, the underdogs the Detroit Pistons were going against another all-star dynasty in the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers had made splashy moves during the off-season bringing in two future Hall of Famers, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Their starting five had four future Hall of Famers; everyone believed this would be one of the best teams ever. The Pistons had a solid, but unproven team. In the end, the teamwork of the Pistons defeated the individually talented but lacking-team-chemistry Lakers.

Surprisingly, professional baseball has had the same message. Major League Baseball (MLB) does not have a salary cap and thus, the teams that have the highest payrolls are expected to win. The New York Yankees, notorious for their spendthrift owner George Steinbrenner, have not won a World Series in over four years. Their constant acquisitions of expensive talent have not worked in the past few years. Meanwhile, other low budget teams such as the Florida Marlins have made runs at postseason success.