Lessons from Lions Dressing Room
The Brisbane Lions’ team song is ringing loud and clear across the night sky tonight! What an amazing come-back (again) victory over Carlton in the elimination final! It culminated in one of the most passionate renditions of a team song in the dressing rooms I have ever seen!
I wonder if there’s anything we can learn from the statements of a champion team’s victory song…
1. We are the pride of Brisbane town – Champions learn to carry a very real sense of confidence in who they are and who they represent. Arrogance sounds like confidence but is actually very different. Arrogance is based on an insecure ego, whereas confidence is based on trust in the foundation that has been prepared (through training; experience; delegated authority; sense of call, purpose and mission).
2. We wear maroon, blue and gold – Champions wear the team colours proudly and as excellent representatives. As the Relentless Creed says, “He will have no problem recognizing me, for my colours will be clear!”
3. We will always fight for victory – Champions never, never, never give up. They get knocked down, but they get up again! The Lions have the best win-from-behind record in the league. Again tonight they fought back from being more than 20 points down at least twice. My dad taught me a valuable life lesson when I was playing a lot of sport in my teens: Champions don’t drop their head and give up when things go against them.
4. Like Fitzroy and Bears of old – Champions know where they’ve come from so they can honour the past and learn from its mistakes…but they don’t live there. Imagine if Jonathan Brown ran on to the ground in an old Fitzroy jersey, or tried to sing the old Brisbane Bears song in the dressing room! Yet so often people try to keep living in the successes and/or failures of the past and keep singing the songs of a previous era. Champions keep moving forward – they know their best days are yet to come.
5. All for one, one for all – Champions know the power of team. Lions coach Michael Voss roasted his team after one of their victories earlier in the season (unusual for a team to be in trouble after a win!). What stirred his displeasure? The lack of team work in that particular game. Oh there were some champion individual performances, but he was looking to shape a champion team – because that’s how Premierships are won. Champions back-up their team-mates, and focus on a common purpose instead of fighting battles in the dressing room.
6. We will answer to the call – Champions have learnt the powerful principle of “Yes is the answer…now what is the question?” In other words, they’ve settled the issue of whether or not they will put everything on the line and step up to the mark. They don’t need to waste time debating whether or not they will join the fray – “that’s a done deal, I’ve joined the cause, now what do I need to do?” Whatever the coach wants is what I will do.
7. Go Lions, Brisbane Lions, we’ll kick the winning score – Champions are encouragers. They know how to cheer each other on and stir belief in the hearts of those around them
8. You’ll hear the mighty roar – Champions learn how to carry the shout of triumph and victory in their life. You can hear it in their words, see it in the way they respond to the ups and downs of life.
They were battered, bleeding, bandaged and bruised – but at the end of the night a champion team roared their song together. Bring on the Doggies next weekend!
Tags: champions
My beloved North Melbourne Kangaroos song provides insights into why, unlike Brisbane, we are NOT playing finals this September.
“OUT WE COME, OUT WE COME, OUT WE COME TO PLAY …”
Losers are always talking about what they are going to do rather than actually doing it. I wish they’d stop threatening and actually play!
“JUST FOR RECREATIONS SAKE TO PASS THE TIME AWAY …”
Just for what??!!
Losers fail to appreciate the significance of opportunities that come their way. It was said of the British that they liked to take weekends in the country whilst Hitler liked to take countries in the weekend.
“LOTS OF FUN, HEAPS OF FUN, ENJOY YOURSELVES TODAY …”
Losers enjoy losing. If you’re having fun losing, there’s no incentive to win.
“NORTH MELBOURNE BOYS ARE HARD TO BEAT WHEN THEY COME OUT TO PLAY SO …”
Well they might be hard to beat if they came out to play, but they’re still back in the sheds singing “out we come, out we come … ”
North Melbourne are coming and so is Christmas.
“JOIN IN THE CHORUS AND SING IT ONE AND ALL …”
Losers are leading choruses when they are meant to be smashing the opposition. Why is my footy team singing when they should be nailing the opposition.
“JOIN IN THE CHORUS NORTH MELBOURNE’S ON THE BALL …”
And there’s our problem. We’re on the ball when we are supposed to be kicking the wretched thing. Stop falling over fellas and try moving the piece of leather with some fluency through the middle of the ground toward the goals.
Losers miss the main point of the game and become preoccupied with silly games.
Losers boast about being on the ball whilst winners are kicking the thing through the goals.
“GOOD OLD NORTH MELBOURNE, WE’RE CHAMPIONS YOU’LL AGREE …”
Margaret Thatcher reckoned that “if you have to tell people you’re a lady, you’re probably not!”
Say no more.
“NORTH MELBOURNE WILL BE PREIMERS, JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE.”
And we continue to wait …