It’s bigger than sports.
Full disclosure: I live in St. Louis and have been a Blues fan my whole life.
Hockey was just one of those things that I got into because I had friends that grew up playing and were way into it. Going to games was always fun and my appreciation of the sport grew exponentially when I started playing roller hockey with friends in high school.
Well, the St. Louis Blues just won their first Stanley Cup championship and it’s a big deal. Really big.
Many of you might not think that you care…and I get that…but you should, because it’s bigger than the team. It’s bigger than the city. It’s bigger than sports.
Within their historic victory, lives the glimmering element that is in the core of all humanity: The journey to greatness.
The 2019 Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues are all of us. They’ve proven that what we consider impossible, sometimes isn’t.
Greatness
One things we all have in common is that we all want to be great. But wanting greatness isn’t enough.
On January 3rd, 2019, the Blues were in last place. The worst team in the league.
Dead.
F**king.
Last.
But some time around that evening, these boys had enough of just merely wanting greatness. They decided — right then and there — to be great. When any other team in any other sport would have just called the season a wash, just played out the regular season, and looked to make some moves in the off-season, these guys said, “No” and chose greatness instead.
They wanted greatness, so they decided to just go and be great. Starting right then and there.
What happened from that point on is about as inspiring a comeback story as I’ve ever witnessed.
Want. Choose. Do.
We all want greatness, but these guys did two more things after that: They decided to be great and then did whatever needed to be done to fulfill that objective. It’s those last two pieces that are often forgotten, but it’s those two pieces that are at the root of all great achievements.
Not everyone takes that initial desire for greatness and turns it into a decision. It’s never too late to make that decision, so when it’s made, greatness immediately transforms from something that is passively waited for, to something that is proactively pursued.
Want it. Commit to it. Relentlessly get after it.
They believed that the desired end-result will far outweigh the sacrifices made along the way.
They had the courage to commit to an against-all-odds objective and do whatever it took to achieve it.
They invested full trust in themselves, in each other, and their coaches, which is the only way a team can work.
And they did it all with a healthy amount of fear and humility, so they never forgot who they were, what they’ve sacrificed, and what was on the line.
The St. Louis Blues are all of us right now.
They’re the entrepreneur in his basement trying to build a business and make it all work while ignoring the odds stacked against him.
They’re the siblings that come together and do whatever needs to be done to help their parent get back to proper health.
They’re the kids that are going to start new schools this fall, bravely putting aside their nerves to be the best they can be.
They’re the working mom who searches for that balance between her demanding job and her family, holding herself to a seemingly impossible standard and then trusting every ounce of her being to surpass it.
These guys showed us that it can all be done, as long as you want it, you commit to it, and then pursue it.
I’ve truly never been more proud of a sports team in my entire life.
If the St. Louis Blues can go from worst to first and bring home The Cup, remind yourself that that same greatness lives in all of us.
Choose it.
You got this.
Thanks for a great ride, boys.
#bewhatyoumake
And they started to play for each other rather than just playing for themselves.