Sal's Corner

And Once Again, They Stumbled

If you read the blog that I wrote yesterday, this piece will make more sense, but let me start by saying that Mexico lost yesterday against Argentina...again.  I watched the game with my son and what I saw was a Mexican team that fought hard and at least for about 60 minutes, seemed to keep Argentina entertained, but the result was the same.  It is such a pity that a country the size of Mexico, with the amount of resources that they allocate to soccer, has a mediocre national team.  Yesterday Mexico was outscored by an Argentinian team that knows they belong to the top echelon of the world soccer society, they were manhandled by a group of individuals that did not think beating Mexico was an "out of this world" feat.  The eleven players from the Argentinian team took the game seriously, but they knew they had what it takes to beat Mexico, they never took Mexico lightly, but they did not give Mexico more credit than they deserve either.  At the end the result was the same, millions of Mexicans thinking that the soccer team has finally cleared the hurdle only to find out that they were wrong once again.

Mexico's greatest problem is the mentality, the mentality that winning at the next level is only for the privileged ones, the mentality that Mexico has a good program, but not good enough to beat a top 5 team.  The idea that Mexican players have to leave the country to become competitive.  Yes, it is true that by playing in other soccer leagues, Mexican players can improve their skills, but then why they invest so much money in the Mexican Soccer league?  is it just to entertain the masses? or do they really want to take soccer to the next level?, my guess is that is because of the former.  If Mexico wants to get better, let me give a piece of advice to the coach, start by teaching the players to believe in themselves, to act as if they are the team to beat.  In the mean time, bring on the entertainment, as far as amusement, the Mexican Soccer team is a good one to watch, just don't expect them to deliver, and do not bet money on them either.

The Magic of Thinking

There is a saying that says that You can think your way to success.  Last Wednesday I watched the soccer match between the US and Mexico.  It was disappointing for Mexico, they spend a significant amount of money in this sport and the stakes were very high for the new coach.  If you follow soccer you would probably know that Mexico is known as a better team, and the US probably entered the game as the under dog.  If you were a Mexican fan, you would have been greatly disappointed of the outcome.  The US prevailed by a score of 2-0.  Mexico just could not get it done.  You see, the problem is not talent, they have a lot of that, perhaps too much, it has been said that dream teams not always work out the way we think.  When you have so many stars in the team, the fight for attention is ever present.  I do not know if this is indeed what happened, but I have my own theory nonetheless.  I have written about this a few times before.  My theory goes like this: "If you think you can lose, you will."  This is exactly what keeps happening to Mexico time after time, it is not lack of talent, it is lack of faith, lack of auto suggestion, lack of belief.  What you can conceive, you can achieve, perhaps it has happened to you that someone or something keeps beating you time after time, and you are told that he/she/it got your number, it is not really that the other person got your number, it is that you cannot conceive in your mind that a positive outcome is possible.

As good as Mexico is or could be, they will never win games as long as they keep the current mentality.  On the other hand, the US probably did not think that greatly about the Mexican team, and at the end it showed up.  Another highlight or lowlight (should I say) of the game was the lack of sportsmanship of the Mexican team, it did not make me feel very proud to be born in Mexico.  I watched the game with interest, but the funny thing is that I was not upset at the Mexican loss, and as a matter of fact I was happy for the US.  Perhaps it is the fact that all of my kids as well as my wife are US citizens, perhaps is the fact that the US government has given me more than the Mexican government ever gave me, perhaps it is the fact that I have been living here for over 12 years, perhaps it is the fact that I have learned so many things about self believe while here, whatever it is, I must say I enjoyed the game.  As for Mexico's new coach, I have some suggestions for him:

1.-  I have seen time after time that in sports talent reaches a point where it does not matter much anymore the quality of the players, what matters is the character, integrity and self belief of the player.

2.-  As good as a player may be, it is not acceptable for a player to behave in the way some of the Mexican players did, there should be no room for them in the Mexican team, in other words, get rid of them, or let me ask you: did they win the game? No? In life it is way more important how you played the game than the outcome.

3.-  More than new techniques and plays, act as a motivator, inspire them, make them believe.  Notre Dame's football team has in their locker room a plaque that reads: "Play like a Champion Today."  Do you think the Mexican team acted, behaved, and played like champions last wednesday?  Just some food for thought.

The Bears or the Colts?

This Sunday is the big day in foot ball.  The colts will be fighting the bears for the super bowl title.  I don't know about you, but I always root for the under dog ,and although Peyton is a nice guy, I hope the Bears pull the win.  Before that happens though, I will be spending the weekend taking care of my 4 kids by myself.  My wife is going to a beach hose with one of her girl friends.  She has it well deserved and I hope she has a good time.  As for me, I will probably be pulling the little hair I have left dealing with my 4 little ones.  I'll probably take them to a movie and put them in bed extra early.

How about Tiger Woods? Did you watch him last Sunday? I have said before that you would be smart to never bet against him, he has won 7 consecutive stroke play PGA tournaments, to me that is almost as difficult as winning the grand slam.  The guy has some determination, probably something we could all use.  It is amazing to see how he can keep on winning even when the odds are stacked against him. 

Lately I have been watching the stock market in shock and awe, it does not stop surprising me how the market keeps climbing even when it is overvalued by any measure.  It can be summarized in a single word: LIQUIDITY.  The problem is that there is too much money around, it would not surprise me if gold continues its upward move during the first half of 2007.  I do not know about you, but I have not gotten rid of my gold.  Believe me, it will go up, it is just a matter of time, gold may not follow my tune, but sooner or later it will pick its own pace.

The Definition of Insanity

Albert Einstein once said: “Insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expect different results.”  This week I watched the Mexican National soccer team play a match against Argentina, and although a good match, the result was the same.  Ever since I was a little boy I have watched them choke time after time after time.  After the game I was reflecting and trying to find an analogy, I imagine that most of you have watched the movie “Titanic,” and if you haven’t I’m sure you know what the end of the movie is, watching the Mexican soccer team on Saturday was like watching the Titanic, but somehow you are wishing and hoping that may be this time the movie will have a different ending and may be the ship won’t sink.  Well, let me tell you, it did not happen, the whole team sunk, and now we can say: “Look out for 2010…” 
If you have been a regular reader of my blogs you have realized that I have a fascination with what makes great players perform the way they do?  Why is it that Tiger Woods is able to win at Pebble Beach going 8 strokes behind with 8 holes to play? How come he does not wilt? Or how is it that Michael Jordan scored so many points with less that 3 seconds left in the game with the game on the line?  Great athletes as well as great businessmen, have the ability to rise to the occasion when needed.  You will rarely see these teams/individuals flop a 2 ft putter, or miss a free shot, or sail a penalty kick wide open from the goal post.  My theory is that in their minds they have a picture so clear and so vivid of their success that there is not even a question as to whether they will succeed, they know they will beat their opponent and they have a way to trick their brains into contemplating only one possibility (TO WIN).  What Mexico needs is not a great technical coach, I agree they may not have the best paid soccer players in the world, but it does not even take that, can you remember the “Miracle on Ice,” when the US hockey team beat Russia with a sub par team?  What Mexico needs is someone that can start a process of making the players believe in themselves, and make them forget that Mexico has lost almost in an equally unimpressive fashion in the world cups of 86, 94, 98, 2002, and now 2006.  Oh, sorry I forgot 2005 where they lost against Argentina in an international competition, and they lost by missing penalty kicks.  It is not that the game made me lose hope, that has been gone for a long time, and it is no longer frustrating, it actually is kind of amusing to see them find new ways to “not win” a critical match.  Some people may say they don’t have the talent, well I disagree, they do have fine players, but those fine players are not able to train their brains to find ways to win and not ways to give the game away.  At the end of the day the team that had the strongest desire won.
Said this, I think the game pales in comparison with the problems that lay ahead for Mexico, next Sunday they will be electing a new President, and if the polls are correct, it could very well be a populist one.  This does not bode well for the economic future of the country.  Mexico has a bigger fish to fry that just watching a bunch of clowns lose a soccer game.  In the elections there is actually a future on the line, and I’m afraid that if Lopez Obrador gets elected, that future will not be a bright one. The guy is already promising subsidies in electricity, gasoline, and other items.  I’ve heard comparisons with Brazil’s president Lula da Silva, and that if Obrador gets elected, people will get nervous but that will subside as time goes on.  Allow me to be an skeptic on this one, but I cannot see this guy (Obrador) in favor of open markets, or able to bring more investment into Mexico, China may be getting its best friend in Lopez Obrador, as more and more investment will go their way.  For Mexico’s sake I hope that Obrador is defeated.

One for the Ages...

If you watched the national football championship between USC and Texas yesterday, you got a real treat.  It was a good game and Texas won thanks in big part to Vince Young.  I have talked before about leadership, and confidence and what's in some athletes that they happen to always rise to the occasion.  I have the feeling that VY will become the Tiger Woods, or Michael Jordan of football. 

Do I think Texas could have won the Rose bowl without VY?  I seriously doubt it.  He's a one man show, and last night he was not going to be denied.  Seeing him battling (or should I say shaking off) USC defenders, reminded me of when I play football in my backyard with my 5 yr old son.  USC just could not stop him, actually my son has a better chance of knocking me down than USC had yesterday against VY.  Watching last night's game I was scratching my head thinking whether the Aggies defense was on drugs when they played him back in November holding him to just 19 yds.  Is A&M's defense that good, or was it just a fluke?  Who knows.  Anyway, I do believe that as long as VY remains with Texas, Mack Brown will enjoy the mental edge that VY brings to the team.

Something that really bothered me after I heard this morning is the comment that the QB from USC made, saying that he still thinks they are the better team, he needs to grow up and learn defeat.  Although I understand that he was overcome by emotions and that caused him to say so.

Congratulations UT!