As the parties start to slow down, New England Patriots fans such as myself are still celebrating and mocking the “haters” (looking at you, Max Kellerman). The Patriots, who somehow perceived themselves as underdogs this season, have done it again. To be honest, at times this season, I did question how far they would go. With losses to the Jaguars, Steelers, Titans, and the “Miami Miracle” (the Dolphins’ version of a Super Bowl – beating the Pats), nerves arose. But there’s one lesson everyone seems to forget at times: Never, ever, ever, count out the New England Patriots.

Being a Patriots fan is a pretty sweet deal. Many of us are accused of being bandwagoners. To me, it’s more than the wins. It’s the process that leads to the continued success that intrigues me. There are dozens of books written on either Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, both, or the whole team. Coaches in every sport cite Belichick as an influence, as someone to learn from. But there’s only one Belichick. We’ve seen that in the lack of success former Patriots coordinators have had when they became head coaches on their own. After former (and current) Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels was fired from his Head Coach position in Denver, Belichick checked in with him and taught him exactly how to learn from his mistakes and implement changes if he were ever to take a HC position again.

I’m not here to tell you Belichick’s life story and how he became as successful as he is. For that, check out “The Big Book of Belichick,” “War Room,” “Belichick and Brady,” and so on. If I started that here, I would end up as successful as I was with my four-page assignment in my Leadership course, where I overreasearched to the point of watching movies and re-reading books and countless articles online. For a four-page paper. The crazy part? There’s so much that I DIDN’T include in my research. There’s just too much information out there for four pages.

Every season, every Super Bowl win is legendary, from 1 to 6. How different was 6, aside from matching the NFL record for team wins and Brady being the most winning player of all time? The underdog mentality sure played a part. In reality, Brady likely knew that they weren’t truly a weaker team. They embraced it because they thrive on it. Brady prefers to hear out his haters and use their hate as fuel, rather than being called the GOAT. Max Kellerman, a consistent Brady and Patriots detractor, certainly knows how despised he is by Pats fans, but does he know how he pumps up the team? (He did see Elandon Roberts holding up a photo of him with a clown nose at the championship parade.) Owner Robert Kraft says he is “honored” by haters, as it is a “high-class problem” and he “hopes we can keep it going for quite a while.” Apologies to fans of other teams – with this promise and Brady saying he will “retire when he sucks,” this team isn’t going anywhere for at least a few years. But you shouldn’t be team “anyone but the Patriots.” You are living and witnessing greatness, a legacy that will not be matched again. Embrace it.

Now that I got to hype the team up, here are a few core lessons that I take away from Belichick that may not be as commonplace in coaching (but really, read a book or two):

“We’re on to ___________” is an oft-repeated line by Belichick in response to almost any question in a press conference. Always look forward. Past wins don’t matter. Past Super Bowls don’t matter. Focus on the game at hand – there’s no rearview mirror. Learn what you can and move on.

Prepare for any and every situation – I mentioned in a previous post that Belichick expected the players to be punctual for practice, despite there being a tremendous snowstorm the night before. The practice was actually intended to be outside, but the conditions got too harsh and they moved it in. Snow, rain, heat – the Patriots are prepared for any weather situation. Brady would deliberately practice with the sun directly in his eyes. Preparedness also includes plays – Malcolm Butler’s game-saving interception in Super Bowl XLIX was a route that was practiced – and Butler was actually beat.

This brings back the topic of punctuality and responsibility. No player can be late. For anything. Being responsible is part of your job as a player for the New England Patriots.

Do Your Job – well. This tagline is the culmination of who the Patriots are. Players know their roles and must execute. Everyone is allowed to fail, but the standards are high.

This includes the coaching staff and assistants – and part of their job is to stand up to Belichick and challenge him. He respects dissenting opinions and embraces any suggestions he believes in.

There is no such thing as a game-day player – this job is a full-time position, and members of the team should practice and live like every day is a game day.

Have players try out different roles, in order to enable understanding of the full game, and what your teammates and opponents go through – “every position, he’s a football player.”

On the way to the Patriots’ locker room, there is a quote on the wall, from Sun Tzu from the Art of War: “Every battle is won before it is fought.”

This could go on forever, but I’ll leave off with some quotes from the unofficial MVP of Super Bowl LI – the greatest comeback of all time – James White, for the Player’s Tribune.

“…the games are almost like a reward. During the actual games, we’re all just flying around and having fun. We go into every game knowing that the team we’re playing against is going to try to give us their best shot. And there’s no doubt that they practiced extra hard the week before to make sure they do. But as a team, we never go into a game believing that the other team had a tougher week of practice that we did. That’s because Coach Belichick demands the best out of you, and challenges you to give your best. It’s honestly not for everyone. But if you want to be great, that’s pretty much all you can ask for from a coach.”

“Both from a mental and physical standpoint, the way we prepare is so challenging that there’s really nothing that can happen during the game itself that will make us panic. Even a 25-point deficit in the Super Bowl.”

“Even when we were down, we all knew we had the opportunity to win the football game. Not because of luck, but because we felt like we were in control of the game based on our time of possession, even though we were behind on points. We knew the turnovers were killing us, but we aren’t a team that usually turns the ball over, so that would be easy to fix. Also, we knew we had Tom Brady and having Tom Brady on your team means that you’re always in the game.”

“All the tough practices, the intense meetings, the crushing hits — all of those little moments added up to this big one. I don’t think a single person who’d been through it all doubted we were ready for it.”

If the Patriots maintain their process (and there’s no reason to believe they wouldn’t), don’t be surprised if a NFL record 7 championships come their way.

(Photo: USA Today Sports)