How Pointless Networking Is, Starring Bill Belichick And Random Research
On a Sunday morning a few years ago, when I was surprisingly not hungover, I watched The Two Bills documentary from ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. It’s about the relationship between Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, who have seven Super Bowls between them. It’s a really good documentary, but maybe the most insane thing about it all is this: in totality, these guys worked together for 16 years. Sixteen fucking years. At a time when both employee loyalty and corporate loyalty are essentially dead — and yes, I realize sports coaching is a different animal — the idea of working with someone for 16 years is so crazy to me (and probably most people, honestly). I’ve been working a total of 16 years at this point, and it feels like everything totally changes every 8–24 months. Being ride or die with someone for a decade and a half plus is amazing.
OK, so … at the end of this documentary, as the two Bills are leaving Giants Stadium and their mutual interview, Belichick (famous for not being emotional) says to Parcells: “Hey, how’s your heart?” Parcells quit coaching for a while because of his heart, ya see.
These are two guys who bled together and won championships together for 16 years, right? And now they reunite and this is their tender moment.
