The Patriot Way

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Avatar for Cain
Written by
3 years ago

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.

But the Patriot Way can also mean that even someone with immense talent can be cut from the team if they fail to adapt to the culture.

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.

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Avatar for Cain
Written by
3 years ago

Comments

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.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I love your writiiinggg σσ

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3 years ago

I really like your writing way. It's really nice.

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3 years ago

Thank you.

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3 years ago

You're most welcome sir.😍

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3 years ago

I'm sure some people see Amaury as the star quarterback in your example. He is important but the IFP was a huge fumble. It could have been such huge boon to BCH if ABC got community input or had better communication. Even with good intentions, the IFP debacle definitely hurt my view of BCH's future. BSV splitting off hurt but at least it got rid of the bad apples. If there's another split, I think most of use are done.

The thing with the BCHN team is that they are also dedicated community members and I'm happy to see them come out with a collaborative attitude rather than an adversarial one so I am still hopeful about BCH's future.

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3 years ago

You could argue the BCHN team is the one being adversarial so it might just be a matter of perspective. But no matter how you look at it, I'd say they are definitely unproven.

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3 years ago

BCH believers are doing the best that they can so that everyone will know about it. And so be exposed on what BCH opportunities can provide. I hope it will do well in the future

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3 years ago

Most go sporting on weekends

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3 years ago

Okay

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3 years ago

It is good to hear your voice; keep doing what you do.

It is appreciated; take care and thank you.

$ 0.25
3 years ago

Thank you for the encouragement =)

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3 years ago

Thank you; you too. All the best,

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3 years ago

Nice article bro and who believes in bch are doing great btw i just posted some pictures you will definitely like it please have a seen❤️❤️🥰🥰

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3 years ago

BCH community will grow in future. More people will invest if they will have knowledge what BCh advantages.

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3 years ago

damn bruh, you had me at "The Patriot Way"; all wide-eyed 😳but then you ended with:

I don't wish to speak ill of other BCH community members who are doing what they believe is right [...] have yet to be tested and thus yet to prove themselves in the same way.

The arrogance of ABC supporters is truly astounding .. please consider NOT invoking the spirit of Bill B next time you feel the urge to climb up on your high horse (smh)

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3 years ago

I stand by what I wrote. I am backing the people who I believe have shown me their proof of work. I am not trying to disrespect those who oppose ABC, but to me the fact remains those people have yet to prove themselves in the same way. I respect you nyusternie. Why are you so anti-ABC and supportive of those who oppose them?

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3 years ago

Why are you so anti-ABC and supportive of those who oppose them?

why do see me as anti-ABC?? I regularly donate to their https://fund.bitcoinabc.org campaigns .. and yet, every time I criticize, I get labeled as being anti-ABC (smh) .. it's NOT all-or-nothing with me, sometimes I'll support ABC, sometimes I'll support others .. don't see anything wrong with supporting ALL sides when I believe it their position...

I'm a BIG fan of Amaury, i value his work and enjoy listening to his interviews .. I guess, I'm more annoyed by the attitude of those that are fighting on his behalf .. from @georgedonnelly to @Koush, his supporters come off as very arrogant (elitist) with a superiority complex that comes from, i don't know where..

fwiw, I'll state that imo, ABC != Bitcoin Cash

I stand by what I wrote

as you should! I respect your position with ABC, I just wish ABC proponents would respect the position of others .. doesn't seem to be the case though .. if you're not 100% on the ABC bandwagon, somehow you MUST be "clueless" as to what's going on..

whatever though .. in the end, we won't all agree, nor do we have to, just want to see us move forward with improving the protocol, even though that means some people don't get to make the "final decision" they feel entitled to .. DAA should be improved in the Nov hard-fork .. I know there are competing proposals, but something MUST be done (the current DAA sucks!) and it would be a shame for no action to occur simply because of a lack of consensus in the governance of Bitcoin Cash..

hoping for the best!

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3 years ago

Thanks for the response. I guess you are more sympathetic to ABC than I might have assumed. I also don't think ABC = BCH. I just feel safer with them at the helm. It also seems to me that too many people think ABC is seeking to destroy the network they helped build, which seems crazy. I understood the push back regarding the IFP, but in my eyes they didn't force anything, some miners asked for it, they put in the code so it could be voted on, and it was rejected. My frustration with some of the other teams is that rather than help ABC this whole time, they left the work for ABC to do until they got upset about the IFP and now they've decided to take things into their own hands. I'm also quite upset at the removal of automatic replay protection by the BCHN team. I went through the BCH/BSV split and that was not fun. Splitting my coins was stressful and I could easily see people losing money because of it. I guess I just don't see why BCHN would remove that code at all whether they intend to split or not. The replay protection is there to protect users.

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3 years ago

I just feel safer with them at the helm

i get that! of ALL the teams, it's quite clear (at least to me) that ABC has been the most consistent and reliable, particularly when it comes to the miners and securing the network..

rather than help ABC this whole time, they left the work for ABC to do until they got upset about the IFP and now they've decided to take things into their own hands

i just don't get this perspective, as though ABC is the ONLY team that's been working and adding value to BCH .. just because ABC is considered the MOST influential team, doesn't mean others haven't been putting in JUST as much work .. and it's got to be insulting to others (I presume), whom pour their heart and soul into their individual contributions, only to be dismissed, simply for NOT conforming to the ABC standard operating procedures .. imo, the IFP was the "straw that broke the camel's back"; i really don't believe people were just waiting around, twiddling their thumbs while ABC broke its back, for a chance at a cout d'etat..

I guess I just don't see why BCHN would remove that code at all whether they intend to split or not. The replay protection is there to protect users.

i honestly don't understand this well enough to comment, so I'm just gonna NOT..

I went through the BCH/BSV split and that was not fun. Splitting my coins was stressful and I could easily see people losing money because of it.

yeah, that would really suck if there was a split in Nov .. i dunno what's to come, but at least I've got my eyes wide open and I plan to add value to the community the best way I can...

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3 years ago

I appreciate you giving me your perspective. I know we can't all agree all the time, but I'm glad that many of us can behave like adults to help us achieve our common goals. I keep writing these types of articles because I just feel like there's been so much anti-ABC sentiment I want to give the perspective of someone who doesn't see them as being evil nor do I see myself as some cult follower. I will have no problem calling ABC out as well if I think they are doing something wrong. Hopefully the community makes it past all the drama.

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3 years ago

Sorry to hear you have had that experience with me. I thought you and I had a productive working relationship.

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3 years ago

That good

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3 years ago