Dashed High Hopes

Recently, like millions of other people, I bought into the excitement of Monday Night Football to see two New York teams, the Jets, and Western New York's Buffalo Bills, play. I'm not a football fan, but the hype for this game was extraordinary. 

As a New Yorker, my summer was filled with commentary about Aaron Rodgers joining the team and bringing with him the promise of a Super Bowl win. 

The extent of my football fandom is usually restricted to viewing the Super Bowl. This time, I tuned in to the pregame show where one of the commentators commented on a film clip they had shown, in which Rodgers had spoken about manifestation and positivity. The commentator reacted with a sarcastic remark.

As the team took the field, the electricity in the stands was like nothing I had ever seen or experienced before, not even at a Super Bowl Game. People were dressed up, and the crowd was roaring, that is, until Rodgers was tackled.

At first, Rodgers sat on the field and then had to be helped off the field. Only four plays into the game, Rodgers sustained what was viewed as a season-ending injury. The energy in the stadium went from roars to stunned silence. Fans were worried: would the Jets be lackluster again?

I began to think about other local teams that did not meet fans' expectations, such as the Yankees and the New York Mets, who won 101 games last year. 

Steve Cohen brought over player Justin Verlander this year after acquiring player Max Scherzer last year, spending millions on their contracts, only to trade both of them along with player Jacob De Grom. 

Last year's Mets team was composed of only a few stars, except for Francisco Lindor and deGrom, who hardly pitched. But there was something in how scrappily they played, which had them winning, focusing on hits rather than home runs and getting on base.

The machinations of the Mets got me thinking about business, team building, and performance. I noticed some interesting similarities. 

First of all, professional sports is big business. Secondly, athletes are small businesses and join a team as independent contributors. These players are small, highly effective businesses, each with their own support groups backing them up while they play for their team. 

Throwing money at different players doesn’t always make a difference, as demonstrated by the Mets. We saw the team spend hundreds of millions on two pitchers who never really performed. 

The Mets lost Edwin Diaz in a freakish accident during a celebratory moment that had nothing to do with the Mets. Some say he was the heart of the Mets. What did that do to the team? It sucked the air out of them. What was the message being sent?

Being a champion team requires several elements: the team’s members must perform at their peak. This must be combined with an energetic field that produces outstanding results. The team plays at a level higher than the rest of us. 

Edwin Diaz brought a “special sauce” to the team. When the Mets lost him, fans feared the worst.  Starling Marte–lauded for hits and fielding excellence–was also out for most of the season. Strangely enough, since the higher-priced players have been traded, the team seems to have found its scrappiness once again, winning more games.

So what are the lessons learned? What is building an organization about? It requires managerial leadership from the top down. There are teams in any sport that know they are likely not champions but have great relationships with their fans, the cities they represent, and their management. They make money for their owners and get paid what I'd like to think is fair. 

Building teams is not about hiring the highest-paid people. Building teams is about letting everyone on the team understand their role in bringing success to the organization or franchise. A team player will appreciate the joy that comes with playing full out, with excellence and a spirit of winning.

Now, about those Jets and Aaron Rodgers? He had surgery recently and spoke for the first time, inviting naysayers to lay it on. At present, he believes he'll be back this season, and he's very energized. His mindset is full of optimism. 

This is what he brought to the Jets—the ability to play full out and overcome obstacles. While not playing, he'll be on the sidelines dishing out positivity. This attitude can be infectious to a team. Could the Jets make it to the playoffs and Super Bowl without him as their quarterback? 

Only time will tell whether it's the power of positivity, that "secret sauce," when coupled with competence and skill, that will make the difference. Hold on to your nachos, wings, and beer. We’ll have to wait and see!