paragraph_text: Lester Williams (January 19, 1959 – August 16, 2017) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League, mainly for the New England Patriots, including the team's first Super Bowl appearance. He finished his career with the San Diego Chargers in 1986 and the Seattle Seahawks in 1987.

paragraph_text: Tedy Lacap Bruschi (; born June 9, 1973) is a former professional American football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college football for the University of Arizona, and was a two-time consensus All-American. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft, and played his entire professional career with the Patriots. Bruschi won three Super Bowls and was a two-time All-Pro selection.

paragraph_text: Patrick Christopher Chung (born August 19, 1987) is a Jamaican-born American football strong safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon and has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

paragraph_text: The 2017 NFL season is the 98th and current season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 7, 2017, with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the defending Super Bowl LI champion New England Patriots 42 -- 27 in the NFL Kickoff Game. The season will conclude with Super Bowl LII, the league's championship game, on February 4, 2018, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

paragraph_text: The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is located 21 miles (34 km) southwest of downtown Boston and 20 miles (32 km) northeast of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium.

paragraph_text: Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1985 season. The Bears defeated the Patriots by the score of 46 -- 10, capturing their first NFL championship (and Chicago's first overall sports victory) since 1963, three years prior to the birth of the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XX was played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

paragraph_text: While they have played in suburban Foxborough since 1971, the New England Patriots of the National Football League were founded in 1960 as the Boston Patriots, changing their name after relocating. The team won the Super Bowl after the 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2014 seasons. They share Gillette Stadium with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. The Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer, which formed in 2009, play their home games at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville.

paragraph_text: Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2004 season. The Patriots defeated the Eagles by the score of 24 -- 21. The game was played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium (now known as EverBank Field) in Jacksonville, Florida, the first time the Super Bowl was played in that city.

paragraph_text: Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2001 season. The Patriots defeated the Rams by the score of 20 -- 17. It was New England's first Super Bowl championship, and the franchise's first league championship of any kind, having suffered two previous losses. The game was also notable for snapping the AFC East's long streak of not being able to win a Super Bowl championship, as the division's teams had lost eight Super Bowls in total (prior to the Patriots victory in XXXVI).

paragraph_text: Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2003 season. The Patriots defeated the Panthers by the score of 32 - 29. The game was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 1, 2004. At the time, this was the most watched Super Bowl ever with 144.4 million viewers.

paragraph_text: Sony Michel (born February 17, 1995) is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia.

paragraph_text: Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2007 season. The Giants defeated the Patriots by the score of 17 -- 14. The game was played on Sunday, February 3, 2008, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

paragraph_text: Torrance Ramon Small (born September 4, 1970) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for ten seasons for the New Orleans Saints, the St. Louis Rams, the Indianapolis Colts, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the New England Patriots.

paragraph_text: Davis was drafted by the New England Patriots in 1987, becoming the second player ever drafted out of the University of Central Florida. Davis played two seasons with the Patriots before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers and later the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

paragraph_text: The history of the New England Patriots began when Boston business executive William ``Billy ''Sullivan and Sullivan Brother Printers, owned by Joseph Sullivan, were awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL) on November 16, 1959. The following winter, locals submitted thousands of ideas for the Boston football team's official name. On February 20, 1960, Sullivan chose`` Boston Patriots'', with ``Patriots ''referring to those colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution and in July 1776 declared the United States of America an independent nation.`` Patriots'' as a nickname had been suggested by 74 fans, among them Larry Kepnes. Immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell developed the ``Pat Patriot ''logo.

paragraph_text: In a sports league, the ranking of a team is the place where it is within the division. Generally, ranking is based on won-lost record of games, with the team with the best record at the top, and the worst record at the bottom. Another common method is a points-based ranking system, where a team is awarded a certain number of points per win, fewer points per tie, and none for a loss.

paragraph_text: Matthew Charles Light (born June 23, 1978) is a former American football offensive tackle who spent his entire eleven-year career playing for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Purdue University. He was picked by the Patriots in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft.

paragraph_text: Eric Gerard Coleman (born December 27, 1966 in Denver, Colorado) is a former defensive back in the National Football League for the New England Patriots. Coleman attended University of Wyoming.

paragraph_text: Josh Ashton (August 24, 1949 – October 4, 1993) was a professional American football player who played running back for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New England Patriots and St. Louis Cardinals. He also played one season in the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions in 1971.

paragraph_text: Dontrelle Javaar Inman (born January 31, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He was a Grey Cup champion with the Toronto Argonauts in 2012. He played college football at Virginia.

Question: The league the New England Patriots belongs to is an example of what?
Answer: sports league