In last night’s meltdown Miami blew a 20 point halftime lead and lost. In the aftermath both Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson said the same thing: that when bad things start happening the team gets demoralized and the bad things cascade on them. Typical for inexperienced players. It rang true.
Today, by contrast, Manchester City, a team who has been there before, many times, fell behind 2-0 to an inferior side, Swansea, in Wales, in the FA Cup quarter final. It was 2-0 until the 69’. Bernardo Silva then scored to make it 2-1. And then, in the 78’, who else, Aguerooo!, on a PK that, get this, was an own goal because it went off the Swans goalkeeper’s heel (Ever see an ownsie on a PK? Me neither.). Then...well, you can write the ending.
It’s all a matter of inches and of milliseconds, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, all them things. But the difference in competition is also in the competitors minds. Are they confident? You have to have the talent! Talent to hit the high note, make the shot, score the goal, and the confidence, borne of experience, to try. Nobody in the NBA is more confident in his abilities than is Dion Waiters. But Dion is more confident than God intended him to be with the talent He gave him. Last night Miami had neither the talent nor the confidence to hold a twenty point (twenty points!) lead. Today...Do you think Sergio Aguero ever thought “We’re going to lose”? After QPR 2012? The advantage that City have whenever they play anybody in Britain, including Liverpool, in any competition is talent plus experience.
T + E = C and T + C = Greatness.
Today, by contrast, Manchester City, a team who has been there before, many times, fell behind 2-0 to an inferior side, Swansea, in Wales, in the FA Cup quarter final. It was 2-0 until the 69’. Bernardo Silva then scored to make it 2-1. And then, in the 78’, who else, Aguerooo!, on a PK that, get this, was an own goal because it went off the Swans goalkeeper’s heel (Ever see an ownsie on a PK? Me neither.). Then...well, you can write the ending.
It’s all a matter of inches and of milliseconds, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, all them things. But the difference in competition is also in the competitors minds. Are they confident? You have to have the talent! Talent to hit the high note, make the shot, score the goal, and the confidence, borne of experience, to try. Nobody in the NBA is more confident in his abilities than is Dion Waiters. But Dion is more confident than God intended him to be with the talent He gave him. Last night Miami had neither the talent nor the confidence to hold a twenty point (twenty points!) lead. Today...Do you think Sergio Aguero ever thought “We’re going to lose”? After QPR 2012? The advantage that City have whenever they play anybody in Britain, including Liverpool, in any competition is talent plus experience.
T + E = C and T + C = Greatness.
