Socrates and the Football Genius, Belichick In the history of mankind, various people have left behind trademark qualities that distinguish them for ages. One such character is Socrates. Even though much of what is known about Socrates is mostly through the accounts of Plato and Aristotle, Socrates still remains a well-known personality. It is because of Socrates that we often stumble upon the approach known as the Socratic method to answer some of our most intriguing questions, questions that require a certain logical method, and an aptitude of intellectual depth and wisdom to answer. Socrates was known as the man with copious amounts of wisdom and knowledge. Another defining trait of Socrates was his humbleness, the fact that he knew what he did not know and accepted that. Socrates was also a truthful person because he would always think before he spoke and think of what the Greek gods would say if he lied. There were however negative flaws in Socrates’ character, as the case with anyone. One of his flaws was his use of ironic language, which left many around him with a vague and often misunderstood meaning of his views. In today’s contemporary world there are several personalities that are similar to Socrates, but the one that seems to stand out as the most akin to Socrates is that of Bill Belichick’s. Bill Belichick is currently the head coach of he New England Patriots and has been for the past twelve years. He is arguably the best coach in the league today, with five Super Bowl appearances over the past twelve and three Super Bowl rings. But what makes Bill Belichick so similar to Socrates is his complex personality. Bill Belichick seems to be rather a boring person when you first see him, but after thoroughly analyzing him and his methods one could see the stark comparisons between him and Socrates. Belichick, like Socrates, is rather wise and knowledgeable, truthful, and as well as shrewd in his methods to uncover the truth. Socrates had to endure tough circumstances when he was convicted of “corrupting the young” during his trial. It was during this tough time that Socrates’ traits could be seen rather vividly. For instance, when Socrates was asked to make his defense he stated that: “I do not know, men of Athens, how my accusers affected you; as for me, I was almost carried away in spite of myself, so persuasively did they speak” (Apology 20-1). Socrates is being rather truthful in saying that his accusers did make a good argument on their part and almost moved him from his stance, but he is being rather sarcastic at the same time. Socrates does not mean to say that about his accusers, what he actually means to say is that what they have said about him is such a big lie that it almost seems too true. There are instances throughout the trial where Socrates uses his method of breaking down arguments systematically to make his defense. For instance, at one point he tells the jury that he would not beg in front of them and ask for mercy, for if he did it would be contradicting his own ideals. The above is one statement that moves a lot of people but it is also one that is often misunderstood. One way of interpreting its meaning is: “I am better than you therefore I will beg in front of you for my life.” This shows the level of pride and courage that Socrates has in his ideals and also displays his loyalty his ideals and teachings. He makes a rather convincing argument in his defense but because he never explicitly states that his accusers are lying and only infers it through his ironic language, he rather confuses his audience, which is what eventually leads to his downfall or in this case, his death.
Bill Belichick exhibits a similar trait of using manipulative language in his interview with CBS on April 12, 2008 about the Spy-gate Scandal. When asked about the comments that the former Patriots video taper, Matt Walsh, had made about the Patriots illegally recording the opponent’s signals, Bill Belichick navigates the “treacherous waters” rather smoothly. First of all, he brings into question the character of Matt Walsh, stating that he was fired for “poor job performance and secretly videotaping his meeting with superiors” (CBS Video). By doing this, Belichick brings into question the validity of Walsh’s statements and methodically breaks down Walsh’s argument while simultaneously making his defense. Belichick throughout the video maintains that he did everything within the confines of NFL rules, repeatedly bringing up the point that the rules stated that any sort of recording of the opponent’s plays or signals was prohibited “during the play of the game.” He clarifies his understanding of the statement to imply and justifies his actions accordingly. Belichick does however confess that what he did in the circumstance was wrong, as he now knows, and owns up to his actions. The approach that Bill Belichick takes to handle this situation is amazingly similar to what Socrates might have done in a situation like this.
Socrates was an incredibly wise and knowledgeable person. He was also extremely humble, so if anyone asked him if was smart or not, he would say no. But when he was young boy, an oracle told Socrates that he was the wisest man in the world, which he refused to believe. He spent his entire life trying to discover someone who was smarter than him. But upon talking to many people (other philosophers and religious experts in particular) and analyzing them he would find that they all had flaws in their knowledge and wisdom, and that indeed he was rather wise, because he accepted what he did not know (which others did not do). Belichick likewise, is a tremendously talented and smart coach. Belichick and his team have accomplished amazing feats over the past decades and have come to be regarded as models of consistency and excellence. The reason for this success has been Belichick’s genius football mind and him understanding every aspect of his team. Belichick knows precisely what his team can do and what their limitations are. He game plans to his team’s strengths and finds ways to minimize the exposure of their weaknesses to the opponents. In order to be able to do this, one has to know and accept what they are not good at, and Belichick makes sure that all his players know their strengths and weaknesses and acknowledge them. By doing this Belichick has built a team that can play to their strengths, without ever really exposing their weaknesses because they are aware of them. This is a primary reason for Belichick’s success and as one of the Bleacherreport claims: “here's a man who has climbed the Mt. Rushmore of NFL head coaches and planted his flag firmly atop the mountain as the greatest head coach in the game today—if not ever” (Bleacher Report 1). Belichick is one of the most successful coaches ever because he, as the case with Socrates, knows his limitations to knowledge.
Throughout his twelve years of coaching the New England Patriots, Belichick has coached without arrogance, objectively assessing each situation. He has never backed down to superstar egos, and has held each player accountable for their actions. Not once did he ever hesitate to suspend or release a player who cared more about themselves than the team. One instance of this could be seen with the firing of Chad Ochocinco. Ochocinco was always a player who had a “monster” ego and always needed to talk to the media. This however was not the “Patriot Way,” and therefore Bill cut Ochocinco, a high profile player, from his team so that his team would be free of distractions and therefore could focus on the task at hand. He based his decisions, although many extremely tough (like Ochocinco), on what were beneficial for the team, not on any particular person. The decisions resulted in a deep respect for Bill Belichick because he would never put a single player above the team, not even Tom “Terrific” Brady. Belichick stressed mental and physical toughness in the team, and made sure that his team followed a set of principles and played as a team. As Bill would often say to his players: “There is an old saying about the strength of the wolf is the pack, and I think there is a lot of truth to that. On a football team, it's not the strength of the individual players, but it is the strength of the unit and how they all function together.”
Much like Socrates, Belichick has a set of principles and values that he adheres by. When it comes to football, it is rather obvious that Bill’s philosophy is that “teams win games, not individual players” and he strictly abides by those principles in every decision he makes. As a result of this and his incredible accomplishments as a head coach, Bill has created a legacy that will forever be remembered in the NFL. He is even compared to arguably the most successful coach of all-time in all of pro sports, Vince Lombardi, because of his achievements. Just like Socrates, Belichick stays loyal to his ideals and protects his legacy when he accepts his mistake in the Spy-Gate scandal. Belichick, like Socrates, realizes that if he were to refuse the allegations then he would appear to be contradicting his ideals and therefore putting his legacy at risk. Thus, Belichick accepts the allegations against him in much the same way as Socrates does so that they both stay loyal to their ideals.
The similarities between Socrates and Belichick are quite fascinating. Both are successful and known for their specific works in distinct fields. Both have similar personalities and traits as each other. If Socrates were to be alive today in today’s modern world, he would be rather similar in way and approach to life that Belichick seems to take because both of them have the similar traits. Both are truthful, wise and knowledgeable, and know how to manipulate language to their benefit, at least in most cases.
