Who’s Your Team?

Did you watch the American girls soccer team completely dominate Japan on Sunday to win the coveted World Cup? I did and loved it! But there was something I loved even more and that’s what I witnessed watching the semifinal match a few days before between Japan and England.

In the final minutes of the game an English defender trying to make a pass kicked the ball into her own net effectively ending England’s dreams one game short of a world championship. What happened next was nothing short of beautiful!

Utterly devastated this girl crumbled into a mass of tears, hiding her face from quite literally the world which was watching. Her teammates, who were 100% focused moments earlier on winning the game, converged united to lift their teammate out of her personal hell. None of them wanted to be in that situation but all of them responded the only way a championship caliber team could by picking up their fallen member.

As an American I’m proud our team prevailed with the World Cup. As a human being though what I will remember most from this tournament is the example of Team I saw displayed by the English players. Those girls all had gone from fighting each other for a roster spot to gelling so much as a team they set all their personal and team goals to win a cup aside long enough to support one of their teammates that needed them more. I got tears watching it then and goosebumps writing it now!

People who know me well know I’m a simple guy at heart. I view the world very black and white. I see right and wrong and the daily struggle with good vs evil in this world. I choose to keep my religious and political opinions off Facebook but have strong leanings on both. In the end what I really care about is seeing people succeed. I truly believe the greatest gift in life (that’s a big statement) is helping others reach their fullest potential.

I don’t remember the name of the girl who screwed up. I don’t need to because what I saw was everything I needed to know. She’s part of a real team. They might not have won the game or the cup but they are part of something truly special. That’s success in my simple book.

I want to be successful too which is why I work hard to be part of things that are truly special. It’s why I do what I do both personally and professionally. I want to be around people that make be better and vice versa. If you haven’t been part of a team like that in this life you are missing more than you will ever ever know! No amount of money or anything money can buy will replace the feeling you get when your part of a team working for something greater than itself that needs you. You will love it way more than you love what society tells you you should. Trust me what society says is success is usually whacked if you haven’t figured that out yet! What isn’t whacked though is the English girls soccer team. That girl and all those girls are blessed to be part of it. Maybe their example can inspire others to be part of something special too. If so it will be the best goal that girl ever scored.

Carpe Diem