Forbes magazine September 19, 2005 "The Best Team in Sports - How Robert Kraft Built the Patriots into a Football Dynasty"

A bit of background on why I love the New England Patriots before I get to the Forbes article...

When I was kid growing up in upstate New York (late 60´s early 70´s) my dad used to take me to a professional sporting event once a year. One year it would be baseball (we were Yankees fans) the next it would be football.  He worked two jobs most of his life  - with few weekends off - and free time was limited so this annual trip was special to him and to me.  

One of the best trips I can remember was a bus trip we took to see the Buffalo Bills play the New England Patriots. My dad was a big New England fan, many years before the present day...ahem...Dynasty. The local Elks lodge rented a bus and put five brand new garbage cans - three for the dads (ice and beer) and two for the kids (soda, soda, and more soda) - in the aisle. Endless bags of chips and pretzels were the food mainstay. I didn´t understand why the dads had more garbage cans than the boys until I became a dad.

The ride up to Rich Stadium near Buffalo from Binghamton was eye opening to say the least. Mixing fathers and sons...beer and soda...for a 4 ½ hour bus ride creates a mural in one´s mind that is at the same time frightening - to most mothers - and joyous to most men and boys. I think we reached Buffalo in record time but I´m not quite sure if that was the bus driver´s doing or if it was the volume of sugar in my system.

The hotdogs and peanuts and soda flowed freely at the game. We all cheered on the Pats.

The Pats won and the ride home was just as fun...although I remember it being much quieter on the ride back. Perhaps it was the drop in sugar intake.

I tell you this story because the Forbes article on Bob Kraft and the New England Patriots article made me reflect on the joy that comes from being part of a team...whether it is family, work, social, sports, etc. Successful teams - large and small - work selflessly for the good of the team. As they say...no egos allowed.

Leadership on great teams... while mindful of individual needs always keeps a watchful eye out for what is best for the team over the long haul.

And sometimes that´s a long bus ride and a football game.

The Forbes article is a good one.

Answer to last week´s blog: Donald Trump