There's been a lot of talk about championship windows around Boston lately, what with the Bruins streaking, Celtics tanking, Patriots putting the pieces in place for a Super Bowl run and Red Sox preparing to defend their World Series title. All have won at least one title this millennium, and all are taking steps towards winning another.
As of the publication of this piece, the Bruins boast the best record in the NHL. The reigning Eastern Conference champs are on the right track and just need to keep doing what they're doing.
The Red Sox are in a similar boat. They won the World Series five months ago and kept their team mostly intact, so they should be in the running again this year. But regardless of how this season unfolds, they'll be contenders for years to come thanks to their enormous payroll and loaded farm system. By holding onto its prospects this winter, Boston ensured continued success down the road.
The Celtics also have an eye on the future. They've been brutal this season, but by design. They're in the first year of a rebuilding process after trading away their coach and best players for draft picks. It's going to be a while before Boston's ready to make a run at banner number 18.
Watching a team purposefully self-destruct is never pretty, but the Celtics didn't have much choice. Though trading Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers hurt, history shows it was necessary. Boston let its original Big Three (Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale) get old rather than deal them when they still had value, and it took the franchise years to recover. The Celts couldn't afford to make the same mistake twice. Pierce and Garnett were past their primes - the window had closed, and it was time to move on.
But if sometimes an organization needs to know when to fold, it's just as important to know when to double down. That's the situation the New England Patriots find themselves in. They have an all-time quarterback in Tom Brady, but not for much longer. Brady turns 37 in August and only has a handful of seasons left. The end of New England's great football dynasty is near.
For the Patriots, that means the time to win is now. They can't afford to squander the final years of Brady's Hall of Fame career, especially since he accepted a hometown discount so they could spend more on other players and surround him with a strong supporting cast. They have to push all their chips into the pile.
Based on their aggressive approach so far this offseason, the Pats appear to be doing just that. When stud cornerback AqibTalib defected to Denver on the first day of free agency, New England turned around and landed five-time Pro Bowl cornerback DarrelleRevis to replace him the very next day. Then they signed another cornerback, Brandon Browner, for good measure. They kept Brady happy by re-signing his favorite target, slot receiver Julian Edelman, and bolstered his receiving corps by inking wideout Brandon LaFell.
It's refreshing to see the typically conservative Patriots spend money. For all their regular season success, they haven't won a Super Bowl in ten years and must find a way to get back over the hump. New England needs to squeeze another championship out of Brady and Bill Belichick before they call it quits.
The Patriots recognize that when a championship is in reach, you have to go for it. Those opportunities don't present themselves very often, so when they do you need to make the most of them.
Tyler is a junior who is majoring in economics. He can be reached at Tyler.Maher@tufts.edu
