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Growing up in New England, our sons had a privileged childhood as sports fans and particularly as football fans. Between 2001 and 2020, the New England Patriots, coached by Bill Belichick and with Tom Brady at quarterback, competed in nine super bowls and won six of them -\xa0 a truly extraordinary performance in a league of 32 teams.\xa0 It is all the more impressive because of the NFL\u2019s efforts to make the league competitive.\xa0 These include the salary cap, which forces all teams to spend roughly the same on their rosters, and the draft, which awards the top picks to the worst teams from the year before.\nAnd yet the dynasty continued for almost two decades, with the Patriots winning many games that they should have lost due to their own confidence and their opponents doubts.\xa0 And the supposedly eroding effects of low draft picks seemed to have little impact on the team, as relatively unknown players found a way to win.