The Dynasty

Great read! Family circumstances delayed the completion but I finally finished it. Robert Kraft and Jonathan were both very motivated to take a hold and get the Pats! The back stories were great.

I loved this book. Robert Kraft acquired the Patriots in 1994, the same year I graduated high school. Going back through all the games and NFL details covering the entire span of my adulthood brought back great memories. I got a kick recalling where I watched so many of the big games. I also found it important to remember not to jump to conclusions. It is astounding how often headlines and opinion columns by sportswriters who remain prominent to this day are regularly wrong. In media, it’s better to appear confident than be accurate. There is also a tremendous amount of behind the scenes reporting and a broad swath of insiders interviewed that go on the record. I already admired Tom Brady, and I came away even more impressed. I have previously read the David Halberstam book on Belichick, and once again I am fascinated by this unique character. I always assumed Robert Kraft got his money as an heir with Kraft foods. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of his humble beginnings. He and his wife seem to have had a storybook relationship. I will say by the end of the book it felt like the praise of Kraft had become tiring and I started to become cynical. Apparently he can bring any dispute to a resolution with just a sly wink of the eye. He’s evidently always the voice of reason. Regularly entertaining such luminaries as Leon Black, Les Moonves, Donald Trump, etc was like a who’s who of obscenely rich prominent people that ultimately were revealed to be of dubious character to say the least. All that was missing was Jeffrey Epstein. And I guess Aaron Hernandez is the only human ever able to pass the Robert Kraft human lie detector test. The kicker for me was that he hosted Mike Pompeo in his box and gave him a tour of the locker room at the same time as he was supposedly reconnecting the hip hop community and the NFL and presenting himself as a staunch advocate for listening to the concerns of the African American athlete. I’m sure he is ultimately an incredible man that’s performed countless good deeds and undoubtedly will leave a positive footprint on the world. But the word “starfucker” certainly came to mind by the books conclusion. I could have used a little bit less of Robert and Jonathan. Belichick is fascinating because he has no outward concern for how he’s perceived. Thus of the three constants in the Patriots Dynasty, he was the one whose shortcomings are magnified. All that being said, again, the book includes a great deal of things that were really neat about the Kraft story. It carries the book for a decent amount leading up to the purchase in 1994. I was totally ignorant to their history pre 2000. Perhaps when the tales intersect with characters and periods of which I think I’m familiar, I’m the one way off base who has no clue. I certainly can entertain that possibility. I’d enthusiastically encourage any football fan to read the book and come to their own conclusion. This work will not disappoint. Of that I am certain.

The New England Patriots have built one of the longest lasting dynasties in professional sports, lasting 20 years built primarily around three people – owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichik and quarterback Tom Brady. Together, those three brought the Patriots to the Super Bowl nine times, winning six of them and galvanizing millions of fans on one side or the other of being fans of the team. This dynasty is captured in this lengthy but well-written book by Jeff Benedict. Something that will be noticed by readers soon after starting the 587 page book is that while a football team is the subject and the games they have played, including the Super Bowl, will be captured throughout the book, they will not be the primary focus of the book. Much more space is devoted to the off-field activities of all three of these men, even Brady. At times, this is much more interesting than the games on the field. One of the topics in which I believe the writing and storytelling is superb is how Kraft ended up owning the team, which was quite and adventure and nearly resulted in the team playing in Hartford instead of suburban Boston. Some of these stories are well-known – Brady becoming the starting quarterback only due to a serious injury to veteran signal caller Drew Bledsoe, Belichick becoming coach of the Patriots one day after being named coach of the rival New York Jets and the subsequent negotiations for compensation, "Spygate" when the Patriots were accused of illegally taping Jets coaches and "Deflategate" when the Patriots and specifically Brady were accused of deflating footballs below the required pressure in the 2015 AFC Championship game. These and so many more stories about the team are told in a such a fresh and entertaining manner that readers who are avid fans of the team and know about these matters will still enjoy the book. This review only scratches the surface of the information contained in this publication and Benedict pulls no punches. He has many words about former coach Bill Parcells, the upset by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVII that kept the Patriots from enjoying a perfect season and the improbable comeback by New England in Super Bowl LI. Readers who enjoy pro football, regardless of their fandom of the Patriots, should add this one to their reading lists.

I've been a Pats fan since 2004 when I was in the second grade. The first 150 pages of the book was the best part for me because it was all things I didn't know much about. That doesn't take away from the other things of the book. Page 150 is when we start talking about Brady. But learning about all of the business stuff when it came to Kraft getting the team and dealing with Parcells was fascinating with me. Business, life situations, mindset, leadership. Many things I took note of in this book and I will go back to my highlights. The Patriots Dynasty in itself can take 3 volumes if you ask me. But much appreciation to the author for this wonderful book. I finished it in four days because this is the type of book I've been waiting for since I was a kid. I wanted to know about the Pats for the longest. I was ready to do that once Brady was done with the Pats.......it just took me forever cause Brady is the GOAT and is ageless. Yes I am a BIG Pats fan. Born in New Jersey and raised in Miami, I shouldn't be a Pats fan. But I am and all my time spent reading this book was worth it. I wish a book like this could be released for every sports franchise or dynasty. I would devour my favorite teams and other teams I respect. A lot of things we already know, but awesome to somewhat see the mindset and growth of the Big 3 in New England: Kraft, Brady and Bill.

Been a Pat fan since the 70's. Haven't lived in NE since the mid 80's. I've been a fan of the Patriot blogs back when there was still dial-up so there's not a whole lot that a fan wouldn't already know. I was enjoying the "I remember when that happened!" moments. The most satisfying part of the book for me was the Tom Jackson/ESPN story because he absolutely got what he deserved. After a while tho' I began to question some of the conversations. Is that what Tedy "the man" B. actually said? Doesn't sound like him at all and because of that, the final chapters were hard for me to read. I also thought with all of the content the writer had access to, there was so much more of the Dynasty story that was under developed.

I learned a lot about the Patriots but was disappointed with the Guerrero and Butler narratives. What was written about the Guerrero/Belichick relationship has been disputed by Guerrero. When he was asked about it on WEEI he stated: Alex Guerrero via @TheGregHillShow on his relationship with Bill Belichick: "It's great. I laugh at those (stories). It's been wonderful. … I see Bill in the hall and he gives me high-fives." — Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) November 14, 2019 He also stated Belichick has received treatment at TB12. The Butler narrative was answered by Butler " I never got a reason. I feel like this was the reason: I got kind of sick. I went to the hospital. They probably thought I was kind of late on the game plan; I wasn’t as locked in as I should be and could have been a matchup deal. It could have been anything. But Bill Belichick has been doing this for a very long time. He took a veteran out of Super Bowl XLIX [against the Seahawks] and put in a first-year rookie, and that turned out right, so you could never question his decision. It didn’t work out right [against the Eagles]. It didn’t work out the best for me or him or the New England Patriots. But I can say he won more than he lost, so it is what it is. I always have love for New England, Bill Belichick, Mr. Kraft, all those guys. Life just goes on."

This may well be the best book I have ever read. It is not only well-written, but it gives a road map to success that could be helpful for parents of aspiring athletes. It takes a lot of class to balance the difficulties involved in staying on top. It points out that sometimes the best advice does not come from Mr. Nice Guy. Everyone coaches differently and there are many top athletes who would not have suceeded under Patriot leadership. It pries in depth into issues that were backhanded or over-exaggerated by media. After loaning my copy to a few friends I will read it a second time just to absorb all the nuances involved in coaching and participating in professional sports. It's an awesome read regardless of your purpose. It is not a Tom Brady biography as such and covers all kinds of people and players who influenced the rise of the Patriot Dynasty. I laughed, cried, cheered and scratched my head at everything that transpired. Kraft is truly an underrated genius to have built that program the way he did. I'd give it TEN stars if I could. (BTW I was an English teacher, so I know something about good writing. This is some of the best non-fiction I have experienced and was well researched and documented.) Don't miss your opportunity to own a copy. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed.

I've been reading sports books for 60 years. I'm also a sportswriter and I have to say this is the very best sports book I've ever read. The detail of the Patriot's dynasty involved incredible research and access to many folks "in the know". I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Pats, but I hadn't even scratched the surface. Even if you're one of the Pats haters, this is a great read on how to build a sports team dynasty. From Bob Kraft's clever manipulation into purchasing the team to his wars with the Jets over hiring the coach GOAT, along with Kraft's ability to connect with his players while stepping back enough to let his hired help make many of the essential decisions that led to six Super Bowl rings makes for a simply great read as well as a blueprint on how to run a team. While owners with huge egos have certainly been successful over the decades (Jerry Jones, Eddie DeBartolo, Al Davis), generally those sorts have met their comeuppance; simply put, Kraft hasn't for any great length of time as the Patriots reload this offseason and put themselves back into the title discussion. I would submit that in the age of free agency, only the LA Lakers under owner Jerry Buss could even be part of the discussion on greatest dynasties.