Patrick Sallee and his daughters share a page on championship from their home team’s playbook.
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I took my daughters to the Kansas City Royals victory parade today. At five, they are still a little young to get to much into baseball. When I have taken them to Kauffman Stadium they tend to enjoy playing in the family area outside the outfield more than they do watching the action. In a few years they will understand a little more about what this really means.
It’s an incredibly rare thing, the bond between a community and its sports team. Especially when they are champions.
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Knowing it would be a huge crowd and they likely wouldn’t see much, I debated going. But decided for today, for now, I wanted them to be a part of something special. 800,000 people show up, all dressed in Royals gear and packed the city streets. This was something special and I wanted them to experience it. I wanted them to feel the energy and excitement in this city. It’s an incredibly rare thing, the bond between a community and its sports team. Especially when they are champions.
I hope when they are my age, they remember today, the crowd, the people climbing trees to get a glimpse, the lady with the baby crocodile (this has nothing to do with the Royals, but seriously, she had a baby crocodile … what the hell?) the noise and the smiles. The stories of what the Royals players did this year will live on as legends in this town. What this team represents, in how they approach the game and their work, has given me a lifetime of lessons to remind my daughters as they grow up. Today was the day those started.
Selflessness
A team championship exposes the limits of self-reliance, selfishness, and irresponsibility. One man cannot make it happen; in fact, the contrary is true: a single man can prevent it from happening. The success of the group assures the success of the individual, but not the other way around. —Bill Bradley
Alex Gordon spent a lot of time this year batting eighth. Not the spot usually reserved for your best player. You often hear about stars complaining or stories leak about unhappiness with the way things are going. Not from Gordon. He showed up to work every day, prepared and focused on doing his job the best he could.
But the thing about life, most things we do, certainly anything great accomplish, requires a team effort.
Persistence
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. —Robert Collier
There is nothing fancy about the way the Royals play. Very little about their success is due to things that will get Joe Buck excited …
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There is nothing fancy about the way the Royals play. Very little about their success is due to things that will get Joe Buck excited … power pitching, home-runs, fancy bat flips … but they are persistent. The Royals singled people to death. They had a motto: keep the line moving. Everybody do your job, get on base anyway possible, give the next guy a chance to do the same. No one tried to win it all on their own, or with one at bat.
The most successful people I know apply this to all aspects of their lives. The success isn’t about one idea or one lucky break. It is about belief in your direction and day by day taking steps to get better. These “singles” add up to a week of positive steps, followed by months and so on.
Resolve
There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it. —Napoleon Hill
While most of the world was treating the Royals like last year was a fluke, they were focusing on returning to the World Series and winning. They pretty much ran through the year on track but they faced injuries and losing streaks. And in the playoffs they trailed in the majority of games, many times into the late innings. It’s easy after the fact to say “we never doubted ourselves,” but with this team, after the number of come from behind wins, you truly believe it.
Life is constantly throwing obstacles our way and we have all likely faced our share of critics. Overcoming these things takes a resolute focus on the outcome and mission.
Celebrating wins
Celebrate small victories often. Mourn failures quickly. Do what’s necessary without fanfare. —Chris Brogan
At the victory celebration, starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie talked about celebrating each win. He said for the last two years they made a point to celebrate together in the locker room after every single game. Acknowledging players that contributed to the win and naming a player of the game. He emphasized this was about doing it together and pointing out the people that were key to the win, not just the person who had the best game. While they never lost sight of their end goal, they also found great value in celebrating each victory along the way.
We often get caught up in the end goal, our dreams and where we want to be. So much that we often don’t celebrate what we have accomplished.
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We often get caught up in the end goal, our dreams and where we want to be. So much that we often don’t celebrate what we have accomplished. Maybe we come to expect so much of ourselves that we no longer pat ourselves on the back for a job well done.
Championship teams in any walk of life often share common traits that we can point to as lessons on greatness. But this isn’t always the case. In cities like Kansas City, we don’t often get the opportunity to celebrate this sort of accomplishment, on this stage. It is even more enjoyable knowing we can point to this team for our children, as an example of greatness, not just in athletics, but in life.
Photo Credit: Reed Hoffman/AP