Monday, December 1, 2003

I got this e-message yesterday from a national official for the the MDIA:
"Guess what Flip? CSU is number 1 in the preseason poll, set to be announced on Wed. on USLIA.com."

MY FIRST THOUGHT WHEN I GOT THE NEWS

It doesn't surprise me, but being a voter I know for a fact that the vote was not unanimous.

INTERVIEW WITH A VAMP

The cat is out of the bag. As long as he (cat) doesn’t put on a hat I’m good. I took Jordan (son #2) to "The Cat in the Hat" last week, and it was terrible. Dr Seuss would not be amused. I was asked to make some comments concerning the fact that we are the preseason choice as #1 in the National MDIA poll, which will be officially announced on Wednesday, December 3. This is my favorite kind of interview: written.

Q: Can you give me some quotes to use in my press release?

A: Sure

Q How do you deal with preseason expectations?

A First I guess I want them (expectations) to be there. Either way, they are there, and this season has many tests for us, with a long schedule and several big trips. I try to put constant pressure on them (team) to perform at a higher level every day in practice, whether we are perceived as #1 or #nothing. My goal remains the same every year, and that is for us to be a better team than we were the year before.

I try to paint the picture for us generally that the penthouse and the outhouse are never very far from one another. If you think too much about the fact that you are good, as a team or as an individual, then at times it can be human nature to not think enough about getting better. At this club lacrosse level they must be self-motivated as players and as people.

Q How do you feel about your chances to repeat?

A With just one senior on the team we are young, but I like our talent level and we hope to be a top MDIA team, one of the ones with a chance come May. The MDIA competition gets stronger every year. It will be more difficult than ever to repeat. We see the quality of the teams out there. Our team defense has a long way to go. We saw that in the fall. Meanwhile we should have much more natural offensive firepower than we did last year, and we are looking forward to that.

I have come to believe that repeating a championship in anything is about as difficult as it gets for a lot of reasons. We have not been able to do it, and we have had two pretty good chances. The hardest part of it might be to not believe all the nice things, or to think much at all about what people say or write about you either way. Ultimately time moves on, while life, playing, and coaching remain, "What have you done for me lately?" propositions.

Q Does the No. 1 ranking help or hurt your program and why?

A First, I would say that us being perceived as the #1 team in the MDIA reflects positively on our school and our whole program. We are honored. At the same time I have often found it easier in life to accomplish things through the path of the underdog. In a way, that is what we have always been here at CSU. I guess there will be no hiding this year.

The character that our team exhibits when other teams come after us will say everything about whether we are worthy of the #1 vote. Teams we play often want to beat us (CSU) a little extra because they want what we have. I don't pretend this isn't true. I try to use it for motivation.

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON BEING #1 (not part of interview)

The only other season we (CSU) went into the year as #1 in the poll (2000), we didn't make it past the first weekend in March. We lost to Sonoma State in that special knee-deep mud they only have in Rhonert Park, and, as it poured rain that day, chants of "Overrated" rained down on us as well, courtesy of their adoring fans. I almost joined in. To prove it was no fluke, we went on to lose to Cal in their little "cage" in Berkeley two days later. That is my memory of having the #1 ranking to start the season.... It (being #1) made us terrible for a while, and that wasn't my favorite spring break trip either.

TRAINS, PLANES AND AUTOMOBILES

There was a time in my coaching career when I liked being a part of a team that was "The little engine that could"….chugga, chugga, trying to get somewhere we had never been. I still want to get to places with this team where we have never been. The truth is that my preference now is to travel in a big Forest Green and Vegas Gold, hard-charging locomotive, screaming through your town in the middle of the night, making it so you can’t sleep anymore, because you are wondering if it will be back.

I want us to be the team with the "Bull’s Eye" on its back. I don’t want to chase the best. I want to be chased by the best. I know it sounds idealistic and even arrogant, but it is the truth.

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Flip Started Blogging Before it was Cool, Read Over 400 of His Entries Since January 2001
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