Upsets are Planned By the People Who Make Them

It has always been a silent desire of mine to be a fan of "that team." You know, the sleeper? The squad that comes out of the blue and makes their run at the end of the season to sneak into post-season, then piss the whole league fan base off by pulling off the unpopular trip to the promised land.

It started for me when I was young. I always played on crappy little league teams for regular season, but somehow, someway we would manage to eek our way into championship games. My high school coach used to tell us, "Upsets are planned by the people who make them."

Then I watched the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team, and saw them upset the Russians in the "Miracle on Ice." After that improbable gold medal run, I was hooked on the under dog. I started to figure out the formula; a team that no one likes (maybe they have less talent, maybe they are disfunctional, maybe they hate the coach, maybe they are whiners, whatever the reason for losing) is as dangerous as the cause that unifies them. The key is to get everybody believing in a cause, any thing that they can all agree on. Good leaders will find a way to sell the formula to their teams.

I watched Tom Kelly sell "Even keel, one day at a time" to the 1987 & 1991 World Champion Twins baseball teams. I watched the North Stars make a run at the Stanely Cup all the way to game 6 in 1991, and I saw the Wild make it all the way to the 2003 Conference Finals. A team that peaks at the right time is the most dangerous team of all.

I have coached many little league baseball teams to league championships over the years, played on a few state champion softball squads, and even hung around long enough to be part of a world championship softball team. No matter what level a team plays, the team that wins the title always knows to take every team they play serious. They need to play every game like it's the last chance they might ever get to play. There is never a tomorrow, they have to play for the now, no matter the condition, mood, mindset. It's NC State '83 and Villanova '86, survive and advance baby. That's it. Assume the other team wants it more than you do, so go out there and take it from them. Do whatever it takes to prevail.

Simple words, simple formula, but the bottom line is no champs are crowned by accident.

The Vikings could be that team if they want to. Last year they lost 9-3 at San Francisco. At that time it was an opportunity for them to post a 5-3 record at the midpoint of the season. It was game that would set the tone for the rest of the season, and they lost it. They finished 6-10. This year, the result of the Niners game will tell the league how far the team has come in 2007. The question is, do the Vikings know if they have a cause?

I sure do hope so, because a win, a big win, a dominating win would be what a sleeper team with post season aspirations would do.