High Expectations
The Cubs, and their fans, came into the 2008 season with high expectations. In 2007, they won their division before being swept by the Diamondbacks in the post-season. The goal was clear for this year: The World Series.
Many of the pre-season polls picked them to win the division and advance deep into the post-season. Some even picked them to go to the World Series! And right now, after 155 games, they are living up to some of the hype. Not only have they won their division, they have also clinched the best record in the National League. As expected, right? Let's look a little deeper.
Forget The Past!
This easy statement is very hard for Cub fans! The past is everything to us. We've come close before only to collapse before the finish line. And pre-season polls are not usually our friends. I think I still have the Sports Illustrated baseball edition for 2004 with Kerry Wood and Mark Prior on the cover. They boldly predicted a World Series win for the Cubs. That year, we collapsed in the last week to miss the wild card and sit out the post-season. I'm not going to open up old wounds and go through all the times we came close but no cigar. For the rest of the country, you have to know that for a Cub fan, no lead is too big and you never start the celebration until the deed is done! I was at game 6 of the NL finals in 2003, but that's another story.
I bring up the past, because we don't like to be favored. It's much better to live life as the underdog and sneak up on the favorite. But this year there was no hiding. Writers were calling us the best team in baseball. Other teams approached us as such. So the task was to win this thing when you are expected to win it! Not as easy as it sounds! Ask Lou Pinella. When the Cubs were hot, he would tell us to calm down. When they were cold, he would tell us to have some faith in the team. Lou tried to keep us on an even keel the whole season. It worked for the players even thought it didn't work for the fans! We cheered, we booed, we hoped, we fretted. In other words, a typical Cubs season with atypical results.
Living Up To Expectations
If I remember right, the team Sports Illustrated had the 2008 Cubs losing to in the World Series was Detroit. That's right, the Tigers who are fighting to stay out of last place in their division were going to beat the Cubs in the World Series. The Tigers had it all! Hitting, pitching, the right manager, you name it they had it. And they had the payroll to prove it. Tiger fans weren't too worried when they got off to their bad start. Everybody knows it's a long season and they'll be there at the end. But they're not! Strangest of all, I don't think they have fired their manager made mid-season trades to dump payroll or any of those other things a team tries to do to get back on track (can anyone say Yankees). So, here is a team that was long on expectations and short on delivery.
How's Your Team?
Are you more like the Cubs or the Tigers? Or maybe you're like the White Sox, a first place team picked to finish no higher than third before the season started. Are you delivering and living up to the expectations of your clients? Think of your clients like your fans. Will they "wear your colors" and cheer you on because you delivered for them? Will they gladly tell anyone they know about you because they expected top notch service and were surprised that you were even better than they thought? Not to pick on the Tigers, but do you have members on your team that don't share the same passion as you? Do you have team mates that are going through the motions? Are you going to be like the Tigers and stand still, not improving your team? Or do you want to be like the Cubs or White Sox, making the moves that will make your team stronger and perform better for your clients?
Think about it. A sports team that doesn't deliver loses fans and revenue. How is that any different than what happens to us?
GO CUBS!!!!
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