Thornton - Five rings: the Super Bowl history of the New England Patriots (so far)

Acknowledgments

Back in my first career with Barstool Sports, when we were still not much more than a bimonthly free newspaper with a small but fiercely loyal cult following, we had the worst email system ever devised. I would sift through it once a week or so, just to delete the mountains of spam for male-enhancement products, messages from the Nigerian royal family, and notes from Local Girls who Want to Meet me. And maybe once in a great while I stumbled upon an actual human being who actually wanted to communicate with me.

All of that sifting through all that trash was made worth it by the one nugget of unobtainium I found in there. It was a message from one of those loyal readers, named Alec Shane of Writers House in New York. He was reaching out to me to see if Id be interested in writing a book.

Through Alecs support, patience, input, monumental effort, and more patience, the result was From Darkness to Dynasty: The First 40 Years of the New England Patriots. And its publication was the culmination of a lifelong dream that simply would not have happened were it not for Alec and his agency. As I told him, its a book I always wanted to read, and its gratifying to be the one who finally wrote it. I have Alec and his friendship to thank for it.

Fortunately, FD2D (its droid name) sold in a matter of hours thanks to Stephen Hull of ForeEdge and University Press of New England. Steves belief in our little project, as well as all his work designing, promoting, and distributing it, is something Im eternally grateful for. And Five Rings is his inspiration, from concept to finished product. I deeply appreciate the way Steve does so much heavy lifting, sorting through the mountains of terabytes he receives from a new author with way too much to say about football and other nonsense and turns them into coherent English.

Im also happy for the chance to acknowledge the staff at University Press of New England, particularly Susan Sylvia, who organized the book presentations its been my pleasure to give. I have not made it easy on her, but she has made arrangements and kept me on schedule with kindness and professionalism. Its given me the chance to meet literally thousands of like-minded Patriots fans, the most engaged, motivated, and passionate fan base in all of sports. Its an honor to speak to all who have Defended the Wall. I am proud to serve as your Lord Commander of the Nights Watch.

Im deeply grateful to all the sports media people who have welcomed me onto their airwaves and their websites like a member of the club. Its been amazing to get opportunities like Ive been given, coming from outside the traditional media. To all the WEEI people who took me into their metaphorical home and gave me a seat at the table: Michael Holley, Dale Arnold, Ben Kichen, Andy Massaua, Phil Zachary, Kevin Graham, John Dennis, Gerry Callahan, Kirk Minihane, Glenn Ordway, Lou Merloni, Christian Fauria, Joe Zarbano, and Pete Sheppard. Thanks to the 98.5 The Sports Hub guys who gave me time on their airwaves: Mike Felger, Tony Massarotti, Rich Shertenlieb, and Fred Toucher. And to Patriots beat reporters whose work I respect and who have treated me like one of them, Tom E. Curran, Christopher Price, Mike Reiss, Mike Giardi, and Ryan Hannable, and to national guys like Ian Rapoport, Gary Myers, and Kerry Byrne, who contributed to FD2D.

Thanks to everyone in the Patriots organization Ive had the pleasure of meeting for their hospitality, especially Robert, Daniel, and Jonathan Kraft. Bill Belichick was always gracious on and off the air, even on days when the last thing he felt like doing was answering questions. And to players Troy Brown, Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi, Vince Wilfork, and Matthew Slater for being so forthcoming and helping a curious football outsider understand the game a little more. As I have said personally to Mr. Kraft and to Coach Belichick, Thank you for saving my football team.

Thanks always to the place I began and came back to, Barstool Sports, and especially David Portnoy. Its not often a total stranger changes your life forever and for the better, but back sometime in the mid-2000s Dave did exactly that. What began as column space became a job, led to a career, and now, fortunately, brought me back to the Pirate Ship. Hes built an empire I was always proud of, even when I was away. And I couldnt be happier to be manning the guns again. Thanks to Barstool CEO Erika Nardini for welcoming me back on board and taking us to the moon. To the other Stool writers, podcasters, and staff who have brought us this far and all the Stoolies Ive heard from over the years and who took our content and turned it into a lifestyle, Viva. And I especially want to offer my appreciation to Pat McAfee and AJ Hawk, my cohosts on the little rocket ship to the moon we call the Laces Out podcast, for being hilarious and a pleasure to talk football with.

Possibly no one invested more time and energy into Five Rings and FD2D than former Barstool legend and my closest buddy in the Stooliverse, Adam Uncle Buck Cormack. His notes, archival footage, and encyclopedic knowledge of events borders on being metahuman. And hes been as generous with his time and feedback as he is with his friendship.

Lastly, I need to thank the people without whom all this would not be necessary. To all the Thorntons, especially Jack and Bill and our cousin Phil, who took me to Pats games back when they were the Shemp of Boston sports and let them imprint on my soul in a way thats never going away. To Janice, for being an assistant mom to me. And to Jimbo, for finally being able to accept Tom Brady after years of remaining loyal to Drew Bledsoe. Thanks to you all for making me care during the decades where the team didnt give anyone much to care about. We all get to enjoy this run in a way not many do.

And that goes for the Irish Rose, Anne, who always understood she was not only marrying into a Patriots family, but raising one as well. Thanks to our boys for sharing the great moments and suffering through the bad with us. Seeing Anne and Jack pursue their music and theater and Nick live his dream of serving in the United States Marine Corps is all the inspiration I could ask for on those nights huddled over a laptop trying to produce something that will make you nearly as proud of me as I am of you.

Tonight, we are all Patriots.

Bears, Cheeseheads, and Tuna

The Boston/New England Patriots were founded in 1960 as one of the eight teams in the old American Football League that was later absorbed into the National Football League. Their owner, Billy Sullivan, like a lot of Irishmen, had dreams and aspirations that far exceeded another personal trait far more useful when it comes to running a pro sports franchise: wealth.

Perpetually broke, the Patriots spent the better part of the 20th century struggling financially, attempting to build a state-of-the-art stadium like other markets had, fighting off bankruptcy, and simply trying to be competitive. And mostly failing.

In their first four decades of existence, the Patriots put together three teams that you could really call successful by any objective standard. And all three had one thing in common. No sooner had their ships left port, cruised into calm waters before a following sea, and seemed ready to take New England on a long and pleasant journey to Championship Island that they struck icebergs of failure and sank to the bottom of the standings again. And two of those times, the captain abandoned ship, leaving every man, woman, and child to fend for ourselves.