Megan Rapinoe, A Walking Protest
There is probably not another sport that is as team oriented as competitive soccer. By that I mean that virtually all positions save one (Goalkeeper) are interchangeable and fluid. Players defend in the attacking end and start game winning attacks from their own end line(byline) which within seconds can win or lose the game. All this in a framework of a sumo-like kabuki dance of knocking the ball around for over an hour. In the highest levels of international soccer both men’s and women’s, it’s sometimes just one unrecoverable mistake which will send a team packing for four more years. A goal in soccer at this level is about three and a half touch downs worth of points. One mistake, one errant pass, one missed tackle and it’s done. The best teams have both great players but also a mysterious unity and oneness which both minimizes those killing mistakes and has players sacrificing their own personal aspirations for the goal of a championship. Megan Rapinoe is one of the best midfielders US women’s soccer has produced and hence the world has seen. Her value as a player certainly allows her some room to be controversial and passionate about her beliefs on the stage in which she operates. No one really has any beef with her right to her beliefs and her freedom to communicate them. Many in fact support what she believes and support her method of communicating them. The question is, when part of an organization dedicated to a achieving a particular goal, a goal that for a microscopically select few may be once in a lifetime, where does the individual end and the team begin. Megan’s protests may have zero effect on anything and she may be completely supported by all her teammates and coaches. However in an endeavor that has zero margin for error and requires a complete team performance in a sport where teamwork is everything, is it worth introducing a variable such as this? Megan thinks so. She and the US women are probably good enough and deep enough to get away with it.
Good question Steve. I am looking forward to reading "The I in Team." Fans are fickle and as long as the team wins, they may moan a little, but they will overlook almost anything. Everybody loves a "winner." But once they lose the fans look for a scapegoat. I have never played upper level sports, but I listened to a conversation with some of the Warriors' players when Kevin Durant went down and the reporter asked them whether that motivated them. They said that they were professionals and it's part of game and if you are not motivated to play through those events, then you are not a professional. I would think there would be a little let down, but I can see their point. It reminded me of a response from Mario Andretti when asked what he was thinking when his car was flipping over. He said he was just focused on what actions to follow. I guess that's a little like Sully, you don't think about OMG, you just go through how you've been trained. Once those women are on the field, I suspect they block everything else out. Me on the other hand would be thinking "what are the fans going to think if I don't block this shot," and the ball would sail over my head into the net.
ReplyDeleteWe SAY there's no I in team, but we don't typically act as though we believe it. Fans definitely don't.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese have an interesting team concept, "Wa"... loosely, "harmony" - and the idea that to achieve team success the "nail that sticks out must be hammered down." Not the American Way, in which sticking out, win or lose, is perceived as the road to personal wealth and fame. See Robert Whiting's "You Gotta Have Wa"...
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/194446.You_Gotta_Have_Wa
Also "A Zen Way of Baseball" by Sadaharu Oh ("the Japanese Babe Ruth")
DeleteThe job of modern coaches is to try and mold a team, plug in players where they best fit, and to the extent possible minimize distractions and help the players focus at the task at hand. Don is correct in citing Kevin Durant, as In the case if the USWNT, they are all professionals and should be able focus on the task at hand. On the other hand the players are only human. The ability to be in the zone or in the zen on command is difficult. Jillian Ellis, the head coach, has a difficult job putting together an all star team of personalities and blending them into the “Wa”. Like Nick Saban, that’s what she is paid to do. The centrifugal forces of the media focusing on the individual athletes in the age of instant, social media pressure are tremendous.
ReplyDeleteThey are professionals, paid for what they do on the pitch/court/field. What they do outside of that shouldn't matter to their performance. it sure doesn't seem to have adversely affected the USWNT. ; ) I'd also point out that Steve Kerr, Kevin Durant's coach, is know for his outspoken political views, having made statements before games, etc. LeBron James has, as well and he's no slouch.
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