What Really Makes a Team Play Well?

Athlete Salary: Week 4

I have determined that player salaries are not justified. I now want to see if alot of money really makes a team good? People always say if we had this player or that player, we would be great or even unstoppable. Big money player are suppose to play good no matter where they are but if they don't have the right supporting cast nothing will happen. But that is not always the case, if there is only one good player then every team will just bear down on him/her. This has happened countless number of times throughout sports history. A team is considered good when everyone is clicking.

Look at Wayne Gretzky, my favorite hockey player ever, plays amazing with Edmonton. He was basically unstoppable, but when he went to the Kings, Blues, or Rangers things changed a little. He was still amazing but teams started to double team him to no end. Gretzky, with the Oilers, won 4 Stanley Cups, 6 Art Ross trophies (Scoring Champion), and 8 Hart Memorial trophies (MVP) ("Wayne Gretzky Achievements"). But when his supporting cast changed, when he was traded, so did his fortunes. When on the Oiler, he was surrounded by great players like Jari Kurri and Mark Messier, definitely great players. Then on the Kings, he was surrounded by Luc Robitaille and Bernie Nicholls, not as great but still good I guess. He only won the Hart Memorial once, and the Art Ross he won 4 more times, which means he was MVP

Now people believe money is what a team always needs. That isn't the case. As I said before my favorite team is the Yankees, and money isn't solving there problems. They can't seem to get over .500, what a terrible shame. With such talent they should be have a perfect record and so much more. Maybe like batting titles and shut outs, maybe perfect games. No, at this exact moment, they are last in there division and have a 20-22 record. Take a look at other teams and there salaries, Tampa Bay has one of the best records. But with a team total of $43,820,598 for salary, they are ranked 29th out of 30 teams. ("MLB Salaries") Go figure, the only team with less is the Floida Marlins. The Marlins also have a great record, and lead there division. Isn't that just perfect irony.

Over the years, I always wondered what makes up a good team? What really gives them that power to keep going, maybe the drive to know when the games on the line and try that much harder. But then again I came upon my favorite baseball team, and then it hit me, the days of young Jeter and his drive may have dried up. He was always the reason why the team did so well, he was the guy the rest of team fell onto for support and guidance, and hell, he was not making that much money.

So what can said about money makes a team? That is clearly a bunch of bologna, a good team is made of good players who work together. They have a drive to be the best, while making the team around an individual so much better. In football terms, a quarterback would be nothing without his Offense-line. This means if the line protects the QB, then he should have enough time to make passes. Which would lead to touchdowns, as well as winning the game. What makes a team is good team chemistry, which means there is a sense of camaraderie, almost like family atmosphere.


_______________________________________________________
"List of Career Achievements by Wayne Gretzky." Wikipedia 05 02 2008 05 06 2008
"MLB Standings." ESPN 05 06 08 05 19 2008
"MLB Salaries." CBSSports 2008 05 20 2008