Eras end and eras begin, what era are we in?
Bill Belichick, left, Nick Saban and Normal Lear. Credit: AP / Matt Slocum, George Walker IV
Sometimes the end of an era smacks you in the face. Sometimes it just slips away, so quietly that it takes us time to realize that it's over.
Eras are important to us humans, but eras come and go. They have their own cadences and lengths, appear in many facets of life, and remind us that nothing is permanent, change is a constant, and being prepared for flux is a virtue.
We use eras as measuring sticks. They are a way of marking the passage of time, but also a way of making sense of that time. Growing up in the baby boom era gives one a certain perspective; coming of age in the protest era that followed is quite something else. Mentioning one or the other churns up a specific set of memories that formed a lived experience that helped mold a way to look at the world.
Some of these eras we remember with fondness, others we curse for the ages. Many are communal eras but some are more deeply personal, like the ones whose ends we note with the passing of elders.
The sports world saw the end of one era this past week with the departure of coach Bill Belichick from the New England Patriots. He had been there for 24 years and it was a crazily successful run. With a record six Super Bowl victories and 333 total wins over his career, Belichick is considered by many the best coach in the history of the NFL. Though when one considers his record without quarterback Tom Brady — 70 wins, 93 losses — perhaps history will note the Brady Era as being more significant. The naming of eras can be tricky.
The Belichick Era, to stick with that nomenclature, was synonymous with doing whatever it takes to win. That encompassed not only superb preparation and individual toughness, but also a willingness to go right up to or even nudge across some fair-play line — see Spygate and Deflategate. It was epitomized by the sight of Belichick stalking the sidelines in his cutoff hoodie, looking like a man angry that someone had dragged him away from his workout.
Belichick's Patriot parting happened almost simultaneously with the retirement of another accomplished football coach, the University of Alabama's Nick Saban, who led his school to nine conference titles and six national championships in 17 seasons. Roll Tide enthusiasts are lamenting the end of the Saban Era, marked by a stoic pursuit of excellence.
It's one of the many charms of sport: The end of an era is often plain to see. A coach or player leaves the scene and the sport or team pivots.
The rest of life, alas, is not so easily tracked. The lines of change, the beginnings and ends of eras, are more muddled.
The death last month of social conscience sitcom genius Norman Lear didn't mark the end of an era, but it did remind us that one had ended previously though we still can't say precisely when.
As difficult as it can be to delineate past eras, it's even harder to chart eras as they unfold. In what era are we living now?
The era of climate change as it reshapes Earth? The era of Taylor Swift, if she leverages her influence beyond the pop-music world? The era of Big Tech and AI, which might never end but might mean the end of humankind? The era of Trump with its political nastiness, mendaciousness, and subtle but sometimes overt appeals to violence? Or are we living in an era whose beginnings we have not yet noticed but which already is starting to define our times?
At the most micro level, of course, each of our lives is its own era. What it signifies is entirely up to us. And if we're lucky, someone notices when it's over.
Columnist Michael Dobie's opinions are his own.
Michael Dobie is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
