Can you really tell what a person cares about from the outside looking
in? Would you be fully satisfied in winning your fantasy football
league this season or would you rather win every game and dominate
your opposition? For the more ambitious of us, the latter is probably
the case. What does that say about our character? I’m not sure
what it says about our character anymore than I am sure what it
says about our character if we call in to work sick when we aren’t
actually sick, or if we come to work physically but our minds are
elsewhere.
At our jobs, most of us work as part of team of sort and some of
us have bosses that we are accountable to. As a team in the workplace
we are responsible for achieving a desired goal. As a member of
that team we are responsible for performing at a high level if we
wish to earn the praises and monetary increases associated with
excellent work.
Football is no different.
Players are part of teams with the goal of winning while at the
same time they are responsible for playing at a high level if they
wish to earn praise and lucrative contracts. As with you or I, these
players have days or periods of time where they just aren’t
into work. There are times in the workplace where team members argue
with one another and things are said in the heat of the moment.
These things happen because perhaps the project is behind schedule,
the quality is not up to par, or just a plan difference of opinion.
What doesn’t seem to be lost on the team though is that ultimately
the product needs to be delivered. Now would you label these arguing
co-workers as bad seeds?
Let’s look at two football players. Lets call the first
one Player A. Player A has a reputation of working hard, carrying
himself in a professional manner and giving 110%. Lets call the
second player, Player B. Player B has a reputation for being very
talented, but also being selfish, lazy, and a bad seed. In the
2000 football season these two players posted the following statistics
for their team.
M Y S T E R Y W
R s:
PLAYER A
PLAYER B
2-26-0
4-89-0
9-168-0
6-87-1
7-67-0
2-20-0
3-30-0
7-168-3
3-43-0
5-118-1
7-111-1
4-29-1
7-107-2
5-110-1
7-115-0
7-65-1
5-59-1
6-130-0
11-119-1
7-104-1
8-138-1
5-106-1
2-22-0
7-144-2
7-45-1
3-26-0
7-66-1
4-63-1
7-91-1
4-136-1
4-67-0
1-42-1
96-1274-9
77-1437-15
Note: receptions-yards-touchdowns. Last box is the season total
The team won 11 games and lost 5. Not a bad record at all. If
we just look at the numbers it’s hard to tell which player has which
reputation or better yet why either would have a bad reputation.
Perhaps there were off field incidents with Player B. Actually,
there was not. No domestic violence, no drugs, and no violent acts.
Player A is Cris Carter and Player B is Randy Moss.
Now despite his numbers, Moss is often called selfish and cancerous.
Perhaps there’s something about him that the statistics aren’t showing.
Perhaps Moss has a game or a day where he just isn’t into it mentally.
Similar to how we might have one at our jobs. Or, maybe Moss doesn’t
go all out when he has to block or when he is not the hot receiver
on the play. Those things don’t show up in his personal statistics,
nor do they show up in anyone else’s.
So why the bad rap? 11 – 5 is not a bad record. Ask the 2000 San
Diego Chargers. Well maybe Moss yells at his teammates during games
when things aren’t going well. That’s not an endearing quality now
is it? Well, there is this guy named Michael Jordan who is loved
worldwide. MJ would always yell at Toni Kukoc during timeouts,
during the games, or whenever things weren’t going well for the
Bulls. But we love MJ and don’t question his motivation.
Scottie Pippen sat out the final play of a game because the play
called was not his number. Some of you still love Scottie. So
I have to ask, where is the love for Randy? Randy wants to win
a championship just like Cris does. His numbers tell that story.
His employers thought enough of him to sign him to a very lucrative
contract. Does this really sound like a player who doesn’t care
about anything but himself? I think not.
