An Evening with Bill Belichick

When it was announced that the mastermind behind the New England Patriots' dynasty, Bill Belichick, was the next featured speaker in the Salem State College series, I knew that I had to be there.

After realizing that the tickets had sold out quicker than any speaker before, or so it seemed, I had to join the majority of students that had missed out on what should be a once in a lifetime experience.

However, as Sports Editor at The Salem State Log, I was fortunate enough to find my way into the lecture, in the top balcony with the rest of the local media. In accordance with Coach Belichick's contract, there were only local credentials in attendance. This wasn't the only thing Belichick had termed into his deal. Photography was only allowed for the first five minutes of the lecture, and only from your seat.

The capacity crowd at Rockett Arena was first greeted by new president of Salem State College, Patricia Maguire Meservey, Ph.D., R.N. She proclaimed that she 'deeply treasures' her new position as president of the college, and received a loud cheer from the crowd upon mentioning the Patriots' prefect 16-0 season.

Following the president was a short video collage of the Patriots and coach Belichick accompanied by Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". The video covered all the major accomplishments of coach Belichick's career, which are numerous.

Bill Belichick is a 33-year veteran of the NFL, and is the only coach in NFL history to win three Super Bowl titles in a four-year span. In 2007, Belichick led the Patriots to the fourth perfect (no losses or ties) regular season in the NFL's 88-year history, and the first since the NFL established a 16-game schedule in 1978.

He has led the Patriots to the Super Bowl four times in the last seven seasons, and he has produced five straight AFC East titles and six division championships in the last seven seasons.

Belichick's Patriots own the all-time NFL records for consecutive total victories, 21 from 2003-04, consecutive regular-season victories, 19 from 2006-07, and consecutive playoff victories, 10 from 2001-05. Belichick owns the second-best postseason record in NFL history, 15-4, and is the winningest NFL head coach since 2001 at 100-29.

Belichick has spent more seasons in the league than any other current NFL head coach, and in that time, he has been a part of five Super Bowl championship teams. His overall record of 105-40 with the Patriots gives him the most victories, and the best winning percentage, of any head coach in franchise history.

This man is truly a football genius, but his humor is probably what makes him such a great coach. After a roaring ovation, coach Belichick commented on his apparent 'genius',

"I've been called a football genius, but I've also been called a moron by my kids; when I forget to take out the trash or I let the dogs off the leash...so that kind of goes both ways."

Coach Belichick also offered some kind words about the City of Salem.

"We just finished the college draft last weekend and it seems like, in those later rounds, your always looking for those gems; similar to what Salem is to the state of Massachusetts." Take that Mass. Belichick thinks Salem is better than you. At least that's what he told us.

Next, Coach Belichick reminded students to "Follow your heart, do what you love, and take a shot at it." He warned that years from now the things that you want most will only be yours if you get out there and make it happen. He says that you have to "Give it a chance to work out."

Then, Coach touched on the old cliché, "There's no 'i' in team; but there is an 'i' in win." The 'i', he says, stands for 'individuals'. He says "if you want to win, then every one has to do their job, and go out there and out perform the competition..."

In the Belichick dictionary, under 'Leadership', it reads 'Attitude'. Attitude is the number one quality of leadership according to coach Belichick. A leader does the following things:

1. He does his job.

2. He puts the team first.

3. He works hard.

4. He pays attention to the details, trying to get everything right.

A perfect mold for a perfect player, according to Belichick. Coach goes on to talk about Troy Brown and his leadership on the Patriots. He says that Troy is a quiet captain, but he just goes out there and 'does his job', a leader in Belichick's book.

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