If you stand back and look at the Minnesota Twins, Vikings and Gophers, losses fill the landscape. Much like Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road, all is gray and desolate. The Road has no hope. Is there hope for our Minnesota teams? There is, at least we like to think so. But what needs to happen for our losing teams, besides the Vikings channeling their first-half play for the entire game?
Perhaps they should study the Minnesota Lynx, who have just won the first championship for Minnesota in 20 years. However, there is no magic in the ladies’ win. They did it because they were eligible for high draft choices and made very good trades. They also believed in themselves, as did their fans.
When you look at the Gophers, Twins and Vikings, one thing that stands out is that they are uncertain about winning, particularly the Gophers. And the Vikings, even though they beat the Cardinals. Quarterback McNabb looked tentative and still had trouble in the second half. Granted, injuries and lack of skill play a large role in losing, but even poor teams sometime win more than expected. Why? Is it karma? The basic tenent of karma is that actions determine the outcome. That is a wonderful mantra for a football coach. In other words, practice, practice, practice. But perhaps there is something more that a team can do. It has to believe in itself. How does one go about instilling that belief? A lot of coaches are masterful motivators. I don’t know about Viking coach Leslie Frazier, but I bet Gopher coach Jerry Kill can send a motivated team out on the field. I would guess that Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire can provide the necessary pep talk. Evidently, "coach speak" hasn’t worked, for the losses continue to mount. What else is there to be done? As fans, we’d like to help, but how?
I was recently reading about something called a meme. What’s a meme? That was my reaction, and I looked it up on the Internet. Marvelous invention, the Internet, and thanks to Steve Jobs for making the Internet and the information on it more accessible. A meme is described as "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from one person to another within a culture." It’s believed that a meme can replicate itself, mutate and, though it’s just an idea, can behave as an organic being. Like a biological gene, it can become more than it was. A meme acts as one unit conveying an idea from one mind to another by conversation, reading the same article, etc.
For example, the meme that the New York Yankees are unbeatable has spread through the Twins’ organization. It is everywhere. Gardenhire keeps repeating what a good team they have. Dick Bremer, Bert Blyleven, Ron Coomer and the whole Twins announcing staff keep repeating what a tough team the Yankees have. That belief became the truth. It’s interesting to note that the Yankees have a losing record against all their playoff opponents. The only exception are the Twins, whom they beat handily.
If a meme causes attitudes, perhaps if we all believed that our teams were winners, maybe they would be. If that’s the case, here’s what to do. In an upcoming crucial game, the meme could be that our team was a cinch to win, an idea that would spread to the team. We’d need a signal to start this thought process, but that could be worked out and our team, with all the confidence the meme has provided, will win.
