Cinderella Pats Have Come A Long Way
For Years, N.E. Team Was Underdog With No Stadium
POSTED: 10:58 a.m. EST January 29, 2004
BOSTON -- With their 2002 Super Bowl victory, the New England Patriots were a "Cinderella" team, one that rose from being perennial underdogs to the top of the NFL. Now, the Pats are proving to be a true powerhouse team -- one that seems to have finally overcome its humble origins.
"They were destiny's darlings," Boston Herald sports columnist Steve Buckley said," . . . [Now] they are the team to beat."
Dick Johnson, curator of the Sports Museum of New England at the Fleet Center, said the very means in which the Patriots were founded sealed their fate as the perpetual underdog.
"They started their existence with a $25,000 fee paid to enter the American Football League as the last team to join the league in the autumn of 1959," he said, adding. "That's an incredible underdog story."
Before the Patriots' recent upsurge, the team was known as "the NFL's laughing stock," or "wandering children," Buckley said, because of their lack of a stadium until the 1970s. During the Patriots' early years in the 1960s, the team played at Fenway Park, Boston University Stadium, and even a home game in Birmingham, Ala., among others, Buckley said.
Over the years, however, the Patriots have managed to go to the Super Bowl three times. They won in 2002 against the St. Louis Rams, but lost to the Chicago Bears in 1986's Super Bowl XX massacre, 46-10. The Green Bay Packers also took the prize in 1997's Super Bowl XXXI rout, 35-21.
But after their 2002 win in New Orleans, the Patriots continued to shine.
"The very fact that this is their second trip to the AFC championship in three years . . . they have been a year in-year out power to be reckoned with . . . they're not the little train that could anymore," Buckley said.
Johnson noted that the Patriots success has been a long time coming, especially because of the competitive sports environment where the team plays.
"There's no city quite like Boston in terms of the mosaic of different sports," he said. "The Patriots were always the stepchild, the orphan . . . they didn't really meet the same stature of other clubs here . . . it's been a long time coming, it's been sweet the past few years."
Crediting a single person or entity with the Patriots' success is difficult. Many factors have contributed.
Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots since 1994, and his son and vice-chairman Jonathan Kraft, were cited as important factors in the Patriots' turnaround.
"They brought the management skills used in the paper industry [Kraft founded International Forest Products] and applied it to the Patriots," Johnson said.
Kraft was also responsible for the building of Foxboro's Gillette Stadium, the new home of the Patriots. Giving the Patriots a state-of-the-art stadium was important to the Patriots' success. Buckley noted that it was not only Kraft, but also another famed Patriots head coach and quarterback that caused the stadium to be built.
"Kraft, [former head coach Bill] Parcells and [former quarterback Drew] Bledsoe built that stadium," Buckley said.
One of the most important transactions carried out by the Krafts was trading a number-one draft pick for coach Bill Belichick with the New York Jets in 2000. While Belichick was an important addition to the Patriots, Johnson noted that all of the coaches under Kraft's ownership (Belichick, Pete Carroll, and Bill Parcells) have been able leaders.
"It was the best trade for a number one pick," Johnson said of the Belichick trade. "[The Patriots] got a coach who has more than delivered the goods, one of the great coaches in local sports history."
"He's the reason. He's the architect. Clearly, he's got a great track record . . . in football, coaching is of supreme importance," Buckley said of Belichick.
Unlike in other sports, football coaches are responsible for "creating" a team's offense and defense and Belichick has done an admirable job of doing that, Buckley said.
Belichick's style is also somewhat different from other coaches in the NFL, Johnson said, a style that includes, "no bragging, no boasting, no predicting anything."
Many would give a great deal of praise to quarterback Tom Brady, who has a Cinderella story of his own, rising to the top after being an obscure 199th pick in the 2000 draft. He stepped up to a leading role after Drew Bledsoe was injured.
"I think that he's the right quarterback on the right team," Buckley said of Brady, "He's heading towards becoming one of the great quarterbacks in history."
Johnson also commended linebacker Tedy Bruschi, defensive lineman Richard Seymour and kicker Adam Vinatieri for their important contributions, as well.
"It always seems maybe his field goals aren't the farthest or the prettiest, but they go through . . . Adam has always been on the money in the clutch," Johnson said of Vinatieri.
Still, the question remains: will the Patriots' success last or will this Cinderella story soon come to an end?
Johnson said the team could hold its place, "as well as any other team in the NFL."
He added, however, that the Patriots' triumph this year would make it more difficult for continued success next season.
"The NFL is designed for parity," he said. "Every time a team has a great season, their schedule [for the next season] is created as such so that they are playing against the tougher teams . . . that's just how the cookie crumbles."
Before the Patriots' recent upsurge, the team was known as "the NFL's laughing stock," or "wandering children," Buckley said, because of their lack of a stadium until the 1970s. During the Patriots' early years in the 1960s, the team played at Fenway Park, Boston University Stadium, and even a home game in Birmingham, Ala., among others, Buckley said.
Over the years, however, the Patriots have managed to go to the Super Bowl three times. They won in 2002 against the St. Louis Rams, but lost to the Chicago Bears in 1986's Super Bowl XX massacre, 46-10. The Green Bay Packers also took the prize in 1997's Super Bowl XXXI rout, 35-21.
But after their 2002 win in New Orleans, the Patriots continued to shine.
"The very fact that this is their second trip to the AFC championship in three years . . . they have been a year in-year out power to be reckoned with . . . they're not the little train that could anymore," Buckley said.
Johnson noted that the Patriots success has been a long time coming, especially because of the competitive sports environment where the team plays.
"There's no city quite like Boston in terms of the mosaic of different sports," he said. "The Patriots were always the stepchild, the orphan . . . they didn't really meet the same stature of other clubs here . . . it's been a long time coming, it's been sweet the past few years."
Crediting a single person or entity with the Patriots' success is difficult. Many factors have contributed.
Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots since 1994, and his son and vice-chairman Jonathan Kraft, were cited as important factors in the Patriots' turnaround.
"They brought the management skills used in the paper industry [Kraft founded International Forest Products] and applied it to the Patriots," Johnson said.
Kraft was also responsible for the building of Foxboro's Gillette Stadium, the new home of the Patriots. Giving the Patriots a state-of-the-art stadium was important to the Patriots' success. Buckley noted that it was not only Kraft, but also another famed Patriots head coach and quarterback that caused the stadium to be built.
"Kraft, [former head coach Bill] Parcells and [former quarterback Drew] Bledsoe built that stadium," Buckley said.
One of the most important transactions carried out by the Krafts was trading a number-one draft pick for coach Bill Belichick with the New York Jets in 2000. While Belichick was an important addition to the Patriots, Johnson noted that all of the coaches under Kraft's ownership (Belichick, Pete Carroll, and Bill Parcells) have been able leaders.
"It was the best trade for a number one pick," Johnson said of the Belichick trade. "[The Patriots] got a coach who has more than delivered the goods, one of the great coaches in local sports history."
"He's the reason. He's the architect. Clearly, he's got a great track record . . . in football, coaching is of supreme importance," Buckley said of Belichick.
Unlike in other sports, football coaches are responsible for "creating" a team's offense and defense and Belichick has done an admirable job of doing that, Buckley said.
Belichick's style is also somewhat different from other coaches in the NFL, Johnson said, a style that includes, "no bragging, no boasting, no predicting anything."
Many would give a great deal of praise to quarterback Tom Brady, who has a Cinderella story of his own, rising to the top after being an obscure 199th pick in the 2000 draft. He stepped up to a leading role after Drew Bledsoe was injured.
"I think that he's the right quarterback on the right team," Buckley said of Brady, "He's heading towards becoming one of the great quarterbacks in history."
Johnson also commended linebacker Tedy Bruschi, defensive lineman Richard Seymour and kicker Adam Vinatieri for their important contributions, as well.
"It always seems maybe his field goals aren't the farthest or the prettiest, but they go through . . . Adam has always been on the money in the clutch," Johnson said of Vinatieri.
Still, the question remains: will the Patriots' success last or will this Cinderella story soon come to an end?
Johnson said the team could hold its place, "as well as any other team in the NFL."
He added, however, that the Patriots' triumph this year would make it more difficult for continued success next season.
"The NFL is designed for parity," he said. "Every time a team has a great season, their schedule [for the next season] is created as such so that they are playing against the tougher teams . . . that's just how the cookie crumbles."Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
