The Moss Factor

I was watching ESPN this morning, and I really enjoyed the segment that they had on sports relationships between players and teams. Antonio Pierce, one of the analysts, made a really good point about a specific situation in the NFL. Randy Moss, who is probably one of the greatest receivers ever come through the league, has been out of the game, but now wants to get back in. He pretty much said that he wants to play for any team, as long as he gets to play football. Pierce made a comment that Moss should just let his breakup with the NFL stay where it is and not worry about coming back. Now, Moss can do whatever he wants. But the part I really liked about what Pierce had to say was that no team would really want to give Moss a chance. I mean, really, why would they want to give a guy like that another chance. Pierce mentioned that when Moss plays you never know when he's going to “show up.” What he meant by that statement was that Moss is so fickle in the way that he lives his life, that his unpredictable nature is not good for the team. I totally agree with this.

If you're going to be a team player, your teammates need to know what they can expect from you. Would you ever expect Michael Jordan not to show up for a game mentally? What about Joe Montana? How about if you went to go see a Rolling Stones concert - do you really think Mick Jagger would ever not give his hundred percent? Well, that's the kind of person that you need to be. And for those of you who want to take it a step further and be a leader, it can be that much more difficult. We as leaders don't have the luxury of having a bad day. I mean, you can, but even when you do your team needs to know that you're going to give your very best. So pretty much what I'm saying is that we have to suck it up and get things done, no matter what. What kind of teammate are you? And what about leadership, can you handle it?