I think most of the AZ posters here are missing the point with this whole MC thing and Charlie Williams as captain.
Lets back up a couple months or so.
This all started when Charlie was announced as Team USA captain. Upon hearing this all the fans (who in my opinion, are very knowledgeable with the underground aspects of the sport), voiced their displeasure. The amount of negativity that came afterwards was eye opening to say the least. This backlash immediately put Charlie and team USA under heat. Its not rocket science that he had been nominated for this post by his pals, who happened to be the senior statesmen on team USA.
Now the only way to justify their actions was to win the cup back – otherwise they would all have to look at themselves in the mirror and accept responsibility for their actions. This was a form of pressure, coupled with the firepower and heat that team Europe put on them right from the beginning, that they had not taken into account.
This is where it all went sideways. The brain trust with team USA did not expect the backlash from their actions and did not handle the added pressure well at all. I saw their faces close up and all of them looked like they were playing for their lives out there. We all know the most successful approach in professional caliber pool is to play like it means nothing when it means everything. Just follow Shane’s example of success, he is the best player right now to epitomize that philosophy – when he plays for himself.
I believe that team USA has all the ammunition it needs they just need to believe in each other and have a guiding light that takes pressure off them as opposed to placing it squarely on their shoulders. The key is to go out and have fun with the event again, like they used to when they dominated it. In team play you have to embrace the moments and the highs and lows together, that’s where the bonding takes place.
Just another opinion you understand……..
Hearing these points, I respectfully disagree.
Backing up a few months or so means that team USA had plenty of time to hear the fans' concerns and to gather the strength, grit, and resolve to rally together to play their absolute best. Fans' concerns and anger could have been the swift kick in the pants for the team to think clearly, identify strengths, and work on anything that might have hindered them.
All that response and stewing time really can help- it creates the need for a good, assessing look at the hill that needs climbing, a plan of attack, some strengthening and planning of skills and opportunites, and the resolve to make the game plan work together. A good captain would have set the team stage and fostered the needed mental tools for that.
If he was at all good at PR, he also should have sent out an early press release to the fans saying something like this quick draft: "We hear and understand the concerns raised by our fans, and we see these as direct challenges to prove our stengths and to make all Americans proud of us as we work hard together. We hope that we will be able to prove these concerns to be rational but unfounded, and we hope that we will have your support as we face our opponents on the table on your behalf." Now THAT would have made me stop and cheer.
The game plan and the trust in each other is really the guiding light. I don't believe that the key is to go out and have fun- the Key is to mentally and physically prepare, and then to go out and Do Work.
They shouldn't have looked like they were playing for their lives. That stress goes away when you've prepared and you have trust in yourself and each other. If we had seen a strong, confident, unified team that worked hard and smart, still lost, and then was gracious and caring towards each other, the opponents, and the fans- the backlash wouldn't be so angry at all.
As another draft, the ending PR should have been, "Team Europe played very well, and we congratulate them on their well- played victory. For our own part, we learned many lessons, and going forward, we clearly see that there are areas where we can improve. As a captain, I have personally grown and I want nothing more than to gain redemption in the future. I believe in each and every one of our team, our country's players, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to help Team USA gain redemption with a victory in 2012. I further hope to use these next months to create a stronger force for that event." something like that.
Fine. I'm done daydreaming.