It's Better to Be Feared by Seth Wickersham

Title: It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
Author: Seth Wickersham
Publication: W.W. Norton & Company, hardcover, 2021
Genre: Sports/Nonfiction

Description: Wickersham, a writer for ESPN, has chronicled the story of the Patriots football team from 2001 when Tom Brady became its quarterback through 2020 when he left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During that time frame and through the Patriots’ success, many speculated whether Tom and his dour coach, Bill Belichick, were successful because of each other and how each would fare if on his own. Of course, in that first year that they were apart, Tom won the Super Bowl for his new team. The author is clearly fascinated by Tom and spends a lot of time describing Tom’s childhood and surprising temper, his development as a high school and college quarterback, and his determination to become an NFL starter. Not just Tom’s relationship with Belichick but also the way they both interact with Bob Kraft, and the conflict among the three of them is detailed in amazing detail. The book covers the highs and lows of this 19 year period and brings the reader right into – not so much the locker room but the practice rooms and fields. It is not exaggerating to say the book is mesmerizing and hard to put down.

My Impression: When I was a child, I thought the name of our football team was the Patsies as that was what my father called them - not that I knew what a patsy actually was. The team began in 1959 as the Boston Patriots and they were perennial losers – in fact, laughing stocks. My father’s friend Elliot had season tickets and sometimes invited him to go but I don’t recall the rest of us having much interest. I went to my first Super Bowl party in 1986 when I was studying at Duke, and the Patriots played the Bears. It is lucky the food at the party was amazing because the Patriots lost big time. We were also taking Advertising that semester and had been told to study the commercials. While my beer-guzzling friends ran for the bathroom during breaks in the game, I conscientiously took notes for all the first years at the party.

I did not become even a casual supporter until sometime later, probably around 1996 when the Patriots made another Super Bowl run, losing to the Packers. It was the drama of 2001 that made me a huge fan when I was living in New York. That fall, as if there wasn’t enough drama in the world, Drew Bledsoe got injured and almost died, and backup Tom Brady became the Patriots quarterback. Some fans felt that Drew should get his job back when he recovered but Wickersham explains that Belichick never felt fully confident in Drew’s skills and decided to go with Tom, in spite of all the doubters (including the owner of the team). Belichick is an arrogant but undeniably brilliant coach, disliked by non-Patriots fans:

Belichick amassed battlefield strategies from books that included The Art of War. The walls of the Patriots’ facility were adorned mostly with photos from big wins rather than cliché motivational phrases, but the prophecy from the Chinese general Sun Tzu from the fifth century BC – “Every Battle Is Won Before It Is Every Fought” – was one of the few signs in the locker room, alongside a blunter Belichickism: “Penalties Lose Games.”

The title of the book comes from Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, in which he writes, "It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both." He argues that fear is a better motivator than love, which is why it is a more effective tool for leaders. It is a suitable quote for Belichick who is a history buff, believes rules exist to be exploited and despises nearly everyone. I always think it is the supreme irony that someone whose mantra is “Do your job,” makes it difficult for the media to do theirs. He is rude, monosyllabic, and makes no effort to understand their need to provide information on the team for their news outlets.

Tom made Time Magazine's 100 Most
Influential People of 2021 List

I found the book absolutely fascinating, in part because Wickersham’s insight into the three major protagonists’ behavior explained dynamics unclear before. I understood much better after reading it why Tom wanted to leave, although today’s Boston Globe reveals things were not ideal in Tampa Bay either. Tom Brady is not perfect but it is hard not to cheer for a player who has delivered so many thrilling comebacks and wins, giving fans so much pleasure. Even now, it is amazing to see how many Massachusetts residents express as much interest in watching “Patriots South” – Tom’s and Gronk’s games for Tampa Bay – as for their own New England Team. But don’t forget it is a violent game with greedy, racist owners who do not care that the players are destroying their bodies and brains. I should be (and usually am) ashamed for supporting it by watching.

Source: Library

Photo of Tom Brady copyright to Time Magazine