A Plug for Team USA
Watching the Olympics over the weekend I was struck by a comment by one of the coaches. It may have been during the USA/China basketball matchup last night, said to be the most widely viewed sporting event in history, with perhaps as many as 700 million viewers. They call this year’s team the “Redeem Team” because they are eager to redeem themselves from the ignominy of our defeat by the team from Greece during the summer Olympics in Athens four years ago. Thank goodness the “home team” advantage did not apply this year as well!
Many people have noted that this year’s basketball team has taken a different approach. In 2004, the players who headed to Athens could barely control their Olympic-sized egos. This year, each player seemed to blend into an almost seamless choreography of graceful athletes, no one player standing out from the rest. Kobe Bryant could have been expected to steal the attention from some of his lesser known colleagues. Instead, he was almost invisible on defense, grabbing the rebound; the only stealing he did was robbing the Chinese of one basket after another. Lebron James, nicknamed “LeBronze” after Athens, was the consummate leader as co-captain, pulling instead of pushing his teammates to victory.
And then I heard the coach say: “It’s not the player’s name on the back of the jersey that counts; it’s the team name on the front of the jersey.”
We live in a world ablaze with the incandescence of celebrity. Our media stalk the rich and famous, gawking at their private lives and public foibles, aping their style choices, soliciting their opinions. Our popular movies follow heroes and add to the fame of actors who tell the stories. Our newspapers sell the juicy gossip of the illustrious while our magazines attract readers with their pictures. Our concert halls and stadiums are filled by shouting fans who would spend as much on tickets as a family of four in the Sudan makes in a year. People that are so egotistical we would probably evict them from our dinner tables are interesting enough for us to talk about ad nauseam with our friends, even use as role models for our children.
That is why the Olympics stands out. For two glorious weeks in the summer every four years we get to watch what happens when, for a few precious moments, egos as big as the ocean are mixed, blended and transformed beyond recognition, like the ingredients in a fine soufflé. Whether they are playing individual sports like tennis or biking, or team sports like hockey or volleyball, they wear their uniforms proudly, displaying the front and not the back. Imagine what one rower can do in a skull; now think of eight rowers, their movements synchronized, almost floating over the water. The gymnast on the rings is a sensation; but to watch the teammates urging each other onward with intense mental concentration through each heroic move, each inadvertent misstep, that is sublime. Take a basketball player, a craftsman at the free throw line. Now watch him rising into the air above a basket, taking a pass from a teammate and redirecting it with a subtle twist of his hand; he is transformed into a graceful member of a corps de ballet, a dancer whose feet walk on air.
Sometimes I think we love to watch sporting events because of what they say about us as human beings, about the way we transform our own dreams and ambitions into impossible achievements. The effort, the win, the new record, are all metaphors for our lives, personal and professional. As we root for others we are really rooting for ourselves, for the home team, for the family and friends up in the stands, for our aspirations and our achievements. And when somebody fumbles, we enjoy that, too, because it reminds us that we are human after all.
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of watching a similar team effort, every bit as awe-inspiring and probably more important than many of the sporting events I’ve enjoyed in the past … and then quickly forgotten. We at MXenergy have been working on a new project that has the promise to transform our ability to communicate with our customers. It will help explain to our customers the risk of energy price volatility and the importance of what we do when we offer them price protection. The project is akin to a gymnastics meet, demanding intense concentration from every part of the company. I have been overwhelmed by the way our team of professionals has been working
together, passing the ball and not hogging it; supporting each other and not undercutting each other; sharing the limelight and not stealing it.
Many people have noted that this year’s basketball team has taken a different approach. In 2004, the players who headed to Athens could barely control their Olympic-sized egos. This year, each player seemed to blend into an almost seamless choreography of graceful athletes, no one player standing out from the rest. Kobe Bryant could have been expected to steal the attention from some of his lesser known colleagues. Instead, he was almost invisible on defense, grabbing the rebound; the only stealing he did was robbing the Chinese of one basket after another. Lebron James, nicknamed “LeBronze” after Athens, was the consummate leader as co-captain, pulling instead of pushing his teammates to victory.
And then I heard the coach say: “It’s not the player’s name on the back of the jersey that counts; it’s the team name on the front of the jersey.”
We live in a world ablaze with the incandescence of celebrity. Our media stalk the rich and famous, gawking at their private lives and public foibles, aping their style choices, soliciting their opinions. Our popular movies follow heroes and add to the fame of actors who tell the stories. Our newspapers sell the juicy gossip of the illustrious while our magazines attract readers with their pictures. Our concert halls and stadiums are filled by shouting fans who would spend as much on tickets as a family of four in the Sudan makes in a year. People that are so egotistical we would probably evict them from our dinner tables are interesting enough for us to talk about ad nauseam with our friends, even use as role models for our children.
That is why the Olympics stands out. For two glorious weeks in the summer every four years we get to watch what happens when, for a few precious moments, egos as big as the ocean are mixed, blended and transformed beyond recognition, like the ingredients in a fine soufflé. Whether they are playing individual sports like tennis or biking, or team sports like hockey or volleyball, they wear their uniforms proudly, displaying the front and not the back. Imagine what one rower can do in a skull; now think of eight rowers, their movements synchronized, almost floating over the water. The gymnast on the rings is a sensation; but to watch the teammates urging each other onward with intense mental concentration through each heroic move, each inadvertent misstep, that is sublime. Take a basketball player, a craftsman at the free throw line. Now watch him rising into the air above a basket, taking a pass from a teammate and redirecting it with a subtle twist of his hand; he is transformed into a graceful member of a corps de ballet, a dancer whose feet walk on air.
Sometimes I think we love to watch sporting events because of what they say about us as human beings, about the way we transform our own dreams and ambitions into impossible achievements. The effort, the win, the new record, are all metaphors for our lives, personal and professional. As we root for others we are really rooting for ourselves, for the home team, for the family and friends up in the stands, for our aspirations and our achievements. And when somebody fumbles, we enjoy that, too, because it reminds us that we are human after all.
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of watching a similar team effort, every bit as awe-inspiring and probably more important than many of the sporting events I’ve enjoyed in the past … and then quickly forgotten. We at MXenergy have been working on a new project that has the promise to transform our ability to communicate with our customers. It will help explain to our customers the risk of energy price volatility and the importance of what we do when we offer them price protection. The project is akin to a gymnastics meet, demanding intense concentration from every part of the company. I have been overwhelmed by the way our team of professionals has been working
Tonight the women’s gymnastics are on. I can’t wait.
posted by MXpressions @ 5:48 PM
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