I’m typing this from a bathroom in a hotel in Dallas.
It’s 7:21am.
Emerson is still asleep in the king-size bed we shared last night. I’m his wingman for the boys-only chess tournament weekend and making sure he gets a GREAT night of sleep before his Sunday games is my #1 job right now so…
He’s 3-0 so far in the tournament—those three wins have come in the form of 1 win against a kid whose rating was a couple hundred points lower than his and a couple learning-wins via a couple of kids whose ratings were a couple hundred points higher than his.
It’s been another awesome weekend. I love my boy and I love these trips.
Now…
He played three games yesterday. One at 9am. One at 2pm. And one at 7pm. The first two took three hours. The last one only took an hour.
On our way to the 7pm game, we were watching the Toronto FC Major League Soccer game.
Cheering on my friend John Herdman and his team has become a tradition for us. We’ve basically watched every game this year when I’ve been in town.
Now…
Emerson’s game last night was so short that he got back in time to watch some of the second half.
His favorite player Federico Bernardeschi scored an awesome goal.
And…
The score was 1-1 with only seconds left in the extra time.
The Toronto FC goalie played a great game and made a nice save on what should have been the last shot.
Then…
Not knowing one of the players on the other team was very cleverly sneaking around behind him….
He dropped the ball and got ready to kick it…
And…
My heart breaks even typing this…
That other player was able to rush in, get the ball, and score a goal.
Everything happened so fast that at first Emerson and I didn’t know what happened. 😳
It was truly a crazy play and unlikely to EVER happen in MLS again.
Now…
If I was rooting for Atlanta FC, I would have been thrilled.
But…
I wasn’t.
So…
I felt the pain of the team and ESPECIALLY the pain of the goalie.
Then…
RIGHT after the final whistle, the camera crew cuts to the Toronto FC goalie. He’s visibly shaken. You can tell he’s just so bummed he let the team down.
Then…
And I have tears in my eyes typing this…
You see John Herdman rushing up to put his arm around him and assure him he’s got his back.
The announcer says something like, “I really like that move by John Herdman.”
Then you see all the other Toronto FC players offering the same GREAT support.
It was a powerful scene.
(Note: I got tears in my eyes as I reread this as I was proofreading it—feeling into the palpable love and embodiment of the team’s commitment to one of their core pillars: THE BROTHERHOOD.)
Now…
Of course, I used all of this as a teaching moment for Emerson.
Me: “Hey buddy. One day you’re going to be a leader. Actually, you ALREADY are.”
Emerson: Looking at me intently.
Me: “Now… When something like that happens with the team you’re leading, what will you do?”
Emerson: “I’ll do what John did.”
Me: “Exactly.”
Note: The certainty with which he made that declaration that he’d do what John did gives me goosebumps.
And…
That’s Today’s +1.
When someone on YOUR team does their best and makes a mistake, what will YOU do?
I’ll strive to remember what John did and embody his Heroically compassionate leadership.
Let’s do that.
TODAY.
P.S. When I googled the game the following morning, I found this little video of the play I described.
The Atlanta FC X post had one word preceding the video: “LEGENDARY.”
I saw that and thought to myself…
“Nope. How John (and his team) RESPONDED to the mistake by one of their Brothers was legendary.”
Want to see THAT video? Here it is.
I texted that to John the second after I filmed it—letting him know how much I admired his leadership.
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