They Are Who We Thought They Were

Before we get into the post, as promised last week, I've correct that SNAFU from last week and turned that post into two:

Care To Talk About It

The Million Dollar Pyramid

Hopefully that is the last time I try that again, and you'll get quality posts going forward.  On to this week's post...

A few years ago, there was an Arizona Cardinals press conference that later became a Coors Light commercial.  While the point of the commercial was humor, it brings up a good point.  Just so that we are all clear on what commercial I'm talking about, here it is (not endorsing the consumption of alcohol, and if you do partake, please do so responsibly):

Head Coach Dennis Green, while frustrated about what did and did not take place on the field, was also complimenting the Bears organization in a way.  "They are who we thought they were..." If I were on the Bears organization staff, I'd be more than happy to hear that.  That means we played within ourselves and maintained our identity even when things looked bad (The Bears came back to win the game even though they started the 4th quarter down 20 points).  Sometimes that's tough to do.  It takes a level of discipline and maturity that even professional teams don't maintain, and they did it.

It's frustrating for opposing coaches, like Coach Green, when they know what you are going to do and have made the adjustments to shut you down.  The actual press conference made that quite clear.  But imagine if you are the Bears coach and you know that if you'd been who "they thought you were"  instead of trying to be something you aren't, that you'd have won.   Imagine how much more intense that press conference would have been.  I've seen those.  Sure it wasn't a televised event, but the post-game coaches huddle, dinner, stroll outside to cool down was nothing short of intense.  But you've spent weeks, months, even years sometimes to establish an identity to live by and a little adversity was enough to destroy it.  How much can you break that down?  You did things you don't normally do, so it's no wonder you did them poorly.  What can you take away from that and use as a teaching point?  "Don't do what we haven't done all season?"  That's practically common sense.  So that game is a total wash - nothing came out of it aside from a bitter taste and a couple of hours of frustration.   So, if you can get your opposing coach as frustrated as Mr. Green by playing to your identity, you're overjoyed.

One of the Coors guys then asks, "If you knew who they were, why didn't you stop 'em?"  Good question, but when you play a team that knows who they are and doesn't deviate, can you stop them?  Its not as easy as it sounds.  When teams have an identity, they do things well that play into it.  This past weekend I saw a team that shot the ball at an unbelievable percentage.  I even remember saying to another coach, "We just need to make them put the ball on the floor and challenge them to make contested layups."  Wrong - that's not who they were, and they had the will power to stick to their game for most of the game (they had a moment where they looked like they might break, but didn't).  They stuck to what they do well, even when it started looking grim, and pulled out wins.  We tried to chase them off their spots and get them to change their style - we knew who they were but we couldn't stop them.  When you come up against a good team committed to their coach's philosophy and schemes and their identity, stopping them tends to prove to be easier said then done.  You just have to hope that your identity puts you in position to take advantage of their mistakes.

Teams need  an identity - it gives you direction, gives you something to fall back on when things get tough, a foundation to build upon.  As individuals we all work to have an identity; we develop, protect, and invest in it - why shouldn't a living, growing, developing entity like a team be any different?  When you are who they think you are - you're a much stronger force to be reckoned with.  When you let someone else change who you are to suit their desires, you lose - and that holds true on or off the court.  So you know what, let them get mad that you were who they thought you were.  That means you've done your job, and you've done it well.