Champ...You're Staying Home

In 1999, in his first year on the job, Johan Bruyneel, the new director of the U.S. Postal Service pro cycling team had the fortune of having the current U.S. pro-road champion, Marty Jemison, on his team. Having any national champion on your squad is a boost for the team in terms of media coverage and publicity, because national champs get to sear special jerseys in the colors of their native countries. They stand out. They guarantee interest in your team, which makes the sponsors happy because their funding is translating into exposure. So it is a good thing. Unless you find yourself faced with the dilemma that Johan found himself facing.

Johan had one goal in mind and that was to win. Period. And as he was putting together the team that he would take to he Tour de France he came to the realization that while Marty was obviously a talented rider, he wasn’t the right kind of rider that complimented the team going to cycling’s biggest and grandest event of the year. If Johan took Marty to the Tour de France, it would make the sponsor, U.S. Postal very happy, but it would also unbalance the team.
His first year as director and Johan was facing a very tough decision. He couldn’t sleep. His stomach churned. His head hurt. It kept racing through his mind…how could he leave the national champ sitting at during the biggest bike race in the world? Finally, he had to make the decision…but he already knew the answer. He would do what was right for the team…regardless of the criticism he knew awaited him.

And criticism he received. As news leaked that in his first year as director of the largest U.S. cycling team Johan had made the decision to leave the national champion sitting at home during the worlds largest cycling race, he was torn apart in the media.

But he had done the right thing and he was able to prove when towards the end of July…after nearly three weeks of racing…Lance Armstrong rode into Paris for his first of seven straight victories in the Tour de France.

When you’re goal is to win you can’t make the mistake of thinking that you will also be making everybody else happy. When somebody wins that also means that there is somebody else who didn’t. And they and those that are supporting them may not be as pleased about your victory as you are.

As Johan puts it… “The point of a bike race isn’t to get to the finish and have all the other team directors gather around and tell you how polite and considerate you are…the point is to win. Winners often leave behind some damage. Whatever you’re doing, you have to focus on the win. It’s simple, but too often forgotten. It’s easy for any of us to relax our standards and let our focus slip from that ultimate goal.”

I personally don’t always agree with the adage of “win at any cost.” There are morals and there are lines that as a Christian you cannot cross. But, I also know that it easy to not put forth your greatest effort or sometimes use the excuse of not wanting to hurt somebody else as the reason for not winning. And that simply should not be the case.

We can look to our greatest example, Jesus, as someone who was focused on winning. He didn’t water down his message…he was quite straight-forward in his approach and he wasn’t afraid to let people know that he was there to get things done. He made bold statements, he trashed the merchant’s tables that were set up in the temple, and he wasn’t afraid to defile tradition if it meant he was moving closer to his goal. Jesus didn’t approach his most defining moments concerned about other peoples feelings. What he was concerned about was accomplishing his goal…about winning the race he was here to run.

This “Word for the Day” isn’t about making people less kind or considerate. It is to challenge you to think about the race you are currently in. To think about the goals you have before you and to challenge you to devise a plan to accomplish them and to then go for it. It might mean leaving somebody behind…but if your plan or purpose includes winning the race then that is what you should do.

Matthew 15:16 – “Are you still so dull? Jesus asked them.”

Matthew 15:26 – “Jesus replied [to the woman asking for bread], It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

Matthew 17:17 – “’O unbelieving and perverse generation,’ Jesus replied ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?’”

Have a blessed day,

RodZ

© 2008 – Rodney Zimmerman – All rights reserved