Saturday, July 18th, 2020
If you're a sports fan in the US, you're probably familiar with the New England Patriots. Led by their quarterback Tom Brady, they have made the playoffs in 17 of the last 19 years, the Superbowl in 9 of the last 19 years, and won the Superbowl a staggering 6 times in that same span. Over the past two decades, no other team in any sport has come close to matching the Patriots' level of dominance. So what sets the Patriots apart, why have they been so successful for so long?
I think the answer that sums it up best is what's known as The Patriot Way. A phrase the media came up with to describe the culture of the Patriots organization, a culture defined by winning.
The Patriot Way starts with their head coach, Bill Belichick. He is known throughout the league for being a master at strategy, a ruthless leader, and relentless when it comes to winning.
The Patriot Way is about everyone on the team acting like a pro, always being on time, working your ass off, and getting your job done on game day. As a result of this culture, players who might have been notorious for misbehaving would come to New England and get their act together and perform at their ultimate peak.
In fact, many of the biggest names in Patriots franchise history are people who were not highly touted. I'm talking about people cut from other teams, or rode the bench before arriving in New England. Even Tom Brady himself was a sixth round draft pick selected 199th overall in the 2000 draft.
The point I'm trying to make is that I think the Patriots are successful because the organization is run as a true meritocracy. Sure, other NFL teams can pretend they're run like a meritocracy, but not like this. Bill Belichick has proven time and again that he will ruthlessly cut a player if he doesn't think that player is going to help him win football games. He isn't interested in a player's contract, or his pedigree, or his feelings. He cares about winning.
Compare that to a team where the head coach is always being questioned by his assistant coaches. What if the star quarterback thinks he knows better? What if the star wide receiver cares less about winning and more about elevating his own status on the team so he can sign a bigger contract when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season?.
Obviously a team that is divided isn't as strong as one where everyone is on the same page and shares the same goals. Where petty squabbles and insider drama leads to a divided locker room. Unfortunately, sometimes there's nothing that can be done about that kind of situation. In the end the coach might be fired, players might get traded, and the organization might decide to blow it all up and start the rebuilding process.
I don't know what the future holds for the BCH community. I don't know if BCH can survive another split, so I genuinely hope one can be avoided, but the odds aren't looking great.
Regardless, I still believe this community has the potential to surprise the other teams out there, and a big reason I believe that is because we have Amaury Sechet and his team at Bitcoin ABC.
For the record, I am not paid by Bitcoin ABC. I am not their PR man, or their sock puppet. Some have said I sold out, but if I was writing these articles only to make a quick buck, I'm smart enough to know that a takedown of Amaury would be the way to go. You don't think I could have earned myself one of those $1000 tips during the IFP days, maybe even a couple of them?
I only write what I believe in. This isn't to suggest others have acted falsely, and I am not questioning anyone's integrity, but I think those who say Amaury isn't important to this project are just flat out wrong.
As a BCH user and holder, I have a vested financial interest in seeing this project succeed, and I find it hard to understand why anyone rooting for BCH would want to take the reins away from Bitcoin ABC and hand them to a team that has yet to truly prove itself. They are not like Bitcoin Core, and they have given no indication of becoming like Bitcoin Core.
Amaury Sechet, Jason Cox, and Antony Zegers have proven themselves to be nothing but professionals over the last three years despite all the challenges and difficult circumstances they've faced.
I don't wish to speak ill of other BCH community members who are doing what they believe is right, but I will say I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my investment in the hands of a group of people who have yet to be tested and thus yet to prove themselves in the same way.
Instead I choose to put my faith in the people who have demonstrated to me time and time again that they are some of the smartest people in this space, people who have dedicated the last several years of their lives to work full-time on BCH and nothing but BCH, who have been here from the start and have refused to go away, or give up, or ever acted in a way that would make me question their intentions.
In fact, many of the biggest names in Patriots franchise history are people who were not highly touted. I'm talking about people cut from other teams, or rode the bench before arriving in New England. Even Tom Brady himself was a sixth round draft pick selected 199th overall in the 2000 draft.
The point I'm trying to make is that I think the Patriots are successful because the organization is run as a true meritocracy. Sure, other NFL teams can pretend they're run like a meritocracy, but not like this. Bill Belichick has proven time and again that he will ruthlessly cut a player if he doesn't think that player is going to help him win football games. He isn't interested in a player's contract, or his pedigree, or his feelings. He cares about winning.