The trend in athletics today is typically one of selfishness and individual attention. There is rarely an exception to the rule, but in the recent Cotton Bowl I was pleasantly surprised. I am always impressed by athletes who, when put in the spotlight, can put the focus on their teammates. Tony Temple of the Missouri Tigers football team is one such player. I found myself in awe of his post-game interview comments. Not only did he take the focus off of himself and put it on his teammates, but he also thanked God. Here are the post game interview notes:
Q. Tony, do you have any words to describe how big the holes were? The Arkansas coach said you were running on air.
TONY TEMPLE: Man, I can't give enough credit to my offensive line. First of all, I want to thank God. I want to thank God first of all before I get started. That offensive line did a great job. You saw it in their eyes all game. I just continued looking at them, saying, "Let's go, let's go. You can't say enough about them.
Q. Tony, a year ago you came pretty close to getting MVP trophy after another great game. Compare and contrast how different this feeling is compared to a year ago.
TONY TEMPLE: Well, definitely we got the W, and that's what matters the most. I mean, I can have all the records in the world, but if my team's not winning I don't care about the records. I'm just so happy that we can walk out of here. We leave a great legacy going on here. I'm just happy that we got the win.
Q. Tony, about being carried off the field, what happened? Did you tweak it even more going into the end zone? Can you describe the feeling of having those guys carry you off?
TONY TEMPLE: That's the definition of our family. Our team is a family atmosphere out there. They don't want our guys to go down. Like my offensive line, they've been supporting me and helping me this whole year. I mean, yeah, I tweaked it a little bit going in (smiling).
Q. I saw you whisper to your coach, who is Dicky Maegle. How does it feel to be in such legendary company?
TONY TEMPLE: Man, it's a great feeling. Just happy that our team won, we got the opportunity to do that. But, I mean, honestly, it really comes down to Chase and my wide receivers and my tight ends. They've been setting it up all year for this. Like coach said, Arkansas, they came with a great plan to stop our passing game. I'm just doing my job, doing what I'm supposed to do. That's what it comes down to.
A "Me First" attitude is much easier to find. Below is a video of Hope Solo, a goalie on the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. Hope was told that she would not start a game in the last World Cup, a game in which the team ended up losing. Her tirade after the game is an unfortunate, but fantastic example of a selfish player. Watch the video and see the difference between Tony Temple's comments and Hope Solo's comments.
As a player, or coach, which player would you rather have on your team? Tony Temple gave credit and praise to his offensive line. His appreciation was heard loud and clear by those men on the line, and I am sure that they would work even harder for the team, and even Tony's, success after hearing his praises of their work. Hope Solo questioned her coaches publicly and made derogatory comments about a teammate in a very public forum. These kind of actions are severely damaging to a team.
Tony says it well when he describes his team as a family. Teammates should always be looking after each other. Will there be disagreements....sure there will be, but teammates functioning as a family find ways to address issues privately, so as not to negatively affect the entire team. Tony is a great present day example of a true "Team First" player.
This is the struggle every leader faces: how to get members of the team who are driven by the quest for individual glory to give themselves over wholeheartedly to the group effort. In other words, how to teach them selflessness. Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the "me" for the "we." Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers Coach
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I really like this article because it's something that every team should strive for. In the questions that Tony answers you can see his selflessness and love for his team. There are no questions as to who he plays for. He's defintely a leader, not because he won a heismen or set records, but because he is a role model on and off the field. He is not cocky sbout his talent. Fellow Tigers would probably call him a friend before a teammate.
-Danielle
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