What makes a team great?

So many components go into a successful organization, yet there are some that are vital. Great teams put themselves after the good of the team, not before it.

That’s why when I look at what’s going on in Philadelphia right now with the Terrell Owens situation, I give thanks to what we have in New England. Recently, Owens decided that a seven-year $49 million dollar contract wasn’t enough for him, and promptly skipped the team’s first mini-camp. That’s not a bad public relations move if you are making $250,000 a year and in the last year of your contract. Owens though, signed the contract just last year. So now there is trouble in Philadelphia Eagle paradise. The once happy couple of Donovan McNabb and Owens are now slinging mud back and forth in the papers. Owens claims McNabb was too sick to finish the Super Bowl, and McNabb thinks Owens is being selfish by demanding a new deal. And so it goes.

Sure glad we don’t have that kind of stuff going on in New England, any more that is.

It wasn’t that long ago that Terry Glenn sprinted across the field to Patriot’s Personnel Director Bobby Grier every time Coach Pete Carroll tried to rein him in. For all his talent, Glenn took away from the team focus more than he ever added to it. Not that Belichick had it much easier; Glenn appeared on talk shows and implied that his sore hamstring might feel a little better if he was to receive his signing bonus. The big difference this time was in how the problem child was handled. The Patriots found a willing suitor in Green Bay, and promptly traded Glenn for a 3rd round draft pick. Incredibly, that 2001 team went on to perform even better without Glenn, and brought home the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory.

So how was this possible? Surely the Patriots had wide receivers with as much ability and speed as Glenn, and could afford to lose him. The truth is Glenn was the most talented receiver on that team, yet they were still better without him. That’s because Glenn was always about his signing bonus and his personal issues, rather than trying to help the team. Glenn would not be the last one to depart. Lawyer Milloy felt like he should not have to accept a pay cut for all he had done for the organization; Damien Woody realized that no one but Detroit was going to offer him that big of a contract.

Ty Law? Well, I don’t believe even Bill Gates could afford his price.

Amazingly though, this Patriot team kept winning without all these players. This really shouldn’t be much of a surprise to those that follow this organization, and the mentality of Belichick and Scott Pioli. When you become a Patriot you become about winning, about sacrifice, and most of all about the team. That doesn’t mean you can’t earn a decent living, just don’t expect to break the bank. If a below average NFL contract isn’t enough to feed your family, then perhaps you are in the wrong organization.

So the next time you read the latest edition of “as the mud slings,� be thankful for what we have in our New England Patriots. They hang out together, they tease each other, and most of all they support each other. Remember that they were introduced as a team at the Super Bowl, even after NFL officials balked at the thought of skipping individual introductions. They defend Gillette Stadium with the ferocity of a mother lion protecting her young cubs. Losing in Gillette feels as invading to those players as watching your worst enemy march into your living room. That’s because those players who embrace this philosophy understand what it means to wear that uniform. They understand what it means to be part of a team, and most of all part of a family.