We’ve all seen our favorite teams go through ups and downs. What philosophical points have you drawn from it?
Mine are:
You can’t afford to show mercy, especially in the playoffs. An opponent can still come back from a huge deficit.
Whether a decision is good or bad is often judged solely in hindsight. Successfully convert on 4th down? Genius! Fail to convert on 4th down? What was the coach thinking???
Success can come much sooner than expected. So can downfall.
The future that feels like it will never arrive, *will *arrive. If you sacrifice long-term gain for short-term gratification, you will regret it.
Stylishness is overrated. Boring success is more intriguing than losing with flair.
A blowout defeat is easier to stomach than a nail-biting defeat that hinged on the outcome of one or two plays.
Telling yourself, “This [game, play, catch, kick, throw] is so, so important - I must not fail, I must not fail, I must not fail” - is *more *likely to make you fail. Being comfortable with and unafraid of failure makes you *more *likely to succeed.
Pressure is not necessarily good for performance.
Good guys and villains frequently don’t get what they deserve, at least not in sports.
A bunch of decent players in a great system will fare better than superstars in a bad system.
How about you guys?
Whether your team wins, loses or draws, you still have to get up and go to work on Monday morning.
You’ll get ripped more for making a good dicey decision and failing, then a bad conservative decision and failing. Even then you’ll get ripped, but not as much.
Even if you win, some asshole will always have something to bitch about.
The uglier or more goofy looking the coach, the more likely he will get ripped by the public if he loses.
Own your mistakes—the public is not stupid.
The most popular player in town is the backup quarterback.
Holding on to aging players, no matter how much the public loves them, just to draw crowds, will lead to disaster a few seasons later. Never be afraid to maximize a players value on the trade market. See St. Louis Cardinals, and Boston Redsox for how to do this.
Never publicly blame the fans (customers). Its a war you’ll never win, or a hole you’ll ever dig out of.
Over-reliance on ex-players to run your team can lead to disaster. Don’t be afraid to bring in a fresh perspective. (see Flyers)
Constantly running out heroes and video clips from the last time you won a championship 40+ years ago eventually starts reminding the fans that its been 40+ years since you won a championship (see Flyers as well)
Never give an employee too much power. He can always be replaced if he walks (Chip Kelly)
They are a BUSINESS first and foremost and dont care a damn about real fans. They only want your money. Thats why I just cannot figure out these people who are nuts about a specific team.
I was glad the Royals won the World Series but I know it will just lead to higher ticket prices.
If you catch the ball and fall down without anyone touching you, you can get back up and run into the end zone for the touchdown. (Loved seeing that with the Colts in a playoff game!)
I guess the actual ‘Life Lesson’ was never let your hopes get to high, 'cause the universe loves to pull the chair out from behind you just as you’re sitting down.
Oderint dum metuant (“Let them hate, so long as they fear,” a favorite saying of Caligula).*
You can never be too thin, too rich, or have too many championships.
*Admittedly, the Yanks haven’t been so fearsome of late, but as a Yankees fan I believe they will be again sooner rather than later.
Ignoring developing the unglamorous “infrastructure” positions (e.g. offensive lineman, defensive backs, deep bench substitutes) at the expensive of flashy premier player positions will doom you to never rising above mediocrity.
Applied to life…the whiz-kid MIT graduate you’ve hired to lead your new widget will be a waste if you don’t have robust admin, facility, financial etc included.
Assume that’s Spurs the NBA team, but fans of the Spurs football team have a good saying - it’s not the despair, I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand.
I assume that the life lesson for Evertonians is “Don’t button up your jacket so you can take it off quickly when the Bizzies catch up with you you on the pitch at Wembley”
I learned just how fast the human body deteriorates. I was born in 81 and was a huge minnesota twins fans as a kid. I am still a fan but not like I was as a kid. I faintly remember the 87 world series. I remember the 91 world series very well. I watched a reunion game on tv with all the great twins from 91 a few years ago. They could barely move let alone play a baseball game. They all look crippled. It was sad. Not to mention my childhood hero kirby puckett is dead. Now at 34, I am starting to feel the aches and pains a little bit.
