It takes some incredible talent to become the best in any given sport.
Bill Belichick and Bob Baffert know that first-hand.
Both have found lots of success in their respective sports over the last few decades. Bill Belichick has helped lead the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles while Baffert’s horses have won six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes and three Belmont Stakes.
During an interview with NBC’s Mike Tirico, Baffert revealed the one special trait he believes ties him and Belichick together: They don’t just get “good players.” They actually “know what to do with them.”
All this success only further raises the bar, and right now, it’s sky-high for both. But it has not stopped either one from seeking yet another title.
“To me, it gets harder because it’s expected of you,” Baffert told Tirico. “You know, we expect Bill Belichick to win the Super Bowl every year. And they expect Bob Baffert (to win). And it’s difficult because they don’t know what the process was to get there.”
Belichick added: “It’s just so competitive. There’s so many good players, so many good coaches, so many good teams. Each one I think I have a little more appreciation for but also recognized how much harder it is to get to that next one.”
So, what keeps each of them going?
“I enjoy every day of it,” Belichick said without hesitation before poking a little fun at himself. “There have been a couple of weeks that haven’t gone so good, but you snap out of it and bounce back and turn the page — and go on to Cincinnati.”
Baffert expressed much of the same.
“I like the competition,” Baffert said. “I love every year (thinking), ‘Who’s going to be the next star? I’m going to have another American Pharoah, another Justify.’ I love coming in the morning, I’m outdoors. I just concentrate on what I have to do and block out the noise and you’ll just continue on and be successful.”
That last line got a big smile from Belichick: “I’m going to use that one, Bob.”
No wonder these two have so much in common.
