Comments on: Play Like The Patriots? http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/02/05/play-like-the-patriots/ Steve shares his unconventional approach on Business Innovation, Creativity, Goals and Critical Thinking Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:10:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Mary Sandro http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/02/05/play-like-the-patriots/comment-page-1/#comment-34413 Mary Sandro Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:38:03 +0000 http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/02/05/play-like-the-patriots/#comment-34413 Steve, I've been inspired by the Patriots too and I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan... The thing I admired is how they kept focused even when things got difficult towards the end of the season. Things would go wrong, yet it wasn't over and they could mentally "shake off" the "bad" play and start over. It wasn't about playing a perfect game. It was about persevering. I admired that and would be inspired to "shake it off" when things would "go wrong" in my business. Their Superbowl loss was tricky for me because I wondered what happened to that ability to "shake it off" to persevere? Was the loss due to physical tiredness or mental tiredness or both? Was the weight of achievement too heavy by Superbowl Sunday? Can people only handle so much success before they start to sabotage themselves? Is there such a thing as "success tolerance"? In the end I felt they were in a no-win situation no matter what the outcome. If they won, the never-ending spygate would taint it. If they lost, they didn't "finish". Was there even the possibility of success anymore for them? I confess for me the loss was sad... Since the Patriots weren't playing the Eagles this time, I actually hoped they would pull it off and beat the Giants! Steve,
I’ve been inspired by the Patriots too and I’m a Philadelphia Eagles fan…

The thing I admired is how they kept focused even when things got difficult towards the end of the season. Things would go wrong, yet it wasn’t over and they could mentally “shake off” the “bad” play and start over. It wasn’t about playing a perfect game. It was about persevering. I admired that and would be inspired to “shake it off” when things would “go wrong” in my business.

Their Superbowl loss was tricky for me because I wondered what happened to that ability to “shake it off” to persevere? Was the loss due to physical tiredness or mental tiredness or both? Was the weight of achievement too heavy by Superbowl Sunday? Can people only handle so much success before they start to sabotage themselves? Is there such a thing as “success tolerance”?

In the end I felt they were in a no-win situation no matter what the outcome. If they won, the never-ending spygate would taint it. If they lost, they didn’t “finish”. Was there even the possibility of success anymore for them?

I confess for me the loss was sad… Since the Patriots weren’t playing the Eagles this time, I actually hoped they would pull it off and beat the Giants!

]]> By: Karl Staib - Your Happiness Matters http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/02/05/play-like-the-patriots/comment-page-1/#comment-34408 Karl Staib - Your Happiness Matters Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:04:04 +0000 http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/02/05/play-like-the-patriots/#comment-34408 Imagine if everyone gave their life the same passion that they gave their favorite team. What a different world this would be. Imagine if everyone gave their life the same passion that they gave their favorite team. What a different world this would be.

]]> By: Susanne http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/02/05/play-like-the-patriots/comment-page-1/#comment-34396 Susanne Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:38:52 +0000 http://www.steveshapiro.com/2008/02/05/play-like-the-patriots/#comment-34396 Steve- The most disappointing thing about the Patriots play in the SuperBowl was that they were trying too hard to "play to win". By focusing so much on trying to advance the ball in large measure instead of slow and steady progress, the Pats lost their focus on the moment in exchange for focus on the goal. Because of this, much of their play was messy and desperate -- not ingredients of a winning team. In contrast, The New York Giants outplayed the Patriots mentally. Their defense was relentless on quarterback Tom Brady, not letting him have a moment to think or act. Eli Manning (the Giants QB) had laser focus on moving the ball down the field -- down by down. I think that Patriots could have benefited from using your theme "play like the Patriots". For this one game, they lost their own compass, and sadly, the consequences were huge. Perhaps the pressure of going 19-0 was too great for even the greatest team. That said, I too had many observations about being a "fan" of the Patriots. I watched the game at Champions Sports Bar and had an amazing experience bonding with the people I met that day. You can read all about it on my blog www.thesocialage.com Susanne Steve-
The most disappointing thing about the Patriots play in the SuperBowl was that they were trying too hard to “play to win”. By focusing so much on trying to advance the ball in large measure instead of slow and steady progress, the Pats lost their focus on the moment in exchange for focus on the goal. Because of this, much of their play was messy and desperate — not ingredients of a winning team. In contrast, The New York Giants outplayed the Patriots mentally. Their defense was relentless on quarterback Tom Brady, not letting him have a moment to think or act. Eli Manning (the Giants QB) had laser focus on moving the ball down the field — down by down. I think that Patriots could have benefited from using your theme “play like the Patriots”. For this one game, they lost their own compass, and sadly, the consequences were huge. Perhaps the pressure of going 19-0 was too great for even the greatest team.

That said, I too had many observations about being a “fan” of the Patriots. I watched the game at Champions Sports Bar and had an amazing experience bonding with the people I met that day. You can read all about it on my blog http://www.thesocialage.com

Susanne

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