The Soul of a Team by Tony Dungy & Nathan Whitaker

Author:Tony Dungy & Nathan Whitaker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SPORTS & RECREATION / Football, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Leadership
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2019-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

GOOD SIGNS, BAD SIGNS—WE HAD OUR SHARE

THAT FRIDAY, THE STANDS at nearby Orlando Heights High School were packed, and the entire field was bathed in lime green and black. Perry Richards, head of the Vipers PR department, had done a spectacular job promoting the event, drawing not only thousands of fans to the small high school football field but a slew of media as well.

As a special treat, I had driven up a handful of players from Justin’s Little League team to watch the practice, and they were having an absolute blast seeing their favorite players up close and in person, most of them for the first time. From what I could tell, Owen was having a slightly less enjoyable evening, spending most of it surrounded by reporters peppering him with questions about the possible move and the upcoming stadium referendum.

Down on the field, the kickers were alternating field goal attempts against a live rush. Everyone expected the previous year’s kicker, Patrick Kingsby, to easily make the roster over the rookie Gym had signed after the draft. Despite a terrific career at Louisiana Tech, the recent grad had gone undrafted. Now his best chance to make a team was to get in some preseason kicks, then wait by the phone in case another team’s kicker got injured or shanked one too many times after the season was underway.

“For the last time, I never said we were relocating.” Owen’s voice carried all the way over to where I was sitting on the edge of the stands, drawing my attention away from the action on the field.

“All I said was that the current facilities are simply not acceptable. The Vipers are a world-class organization. They should have a world-class stadium. Look at Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Minnesota,” he continued. “Those teams all have state-of-the-art facilities. If this city wants our franchise to be competitive, that’s what it’s going to take.”

“Yeah, but even you have to admit—the current proposal is pretty one-sided.” I recognized the voice. It was Harding, the sports columnist for the Orlando Press who had skewered Joe earlier that spring. “What you’re proposing isn’t exactly fan friendly.”

“Listen—” Owen’s voice had a definite edge to it—“if we had a new stadium, we would be a prime candidate to host the Super Bowl. And as you know, that would bring an awful lot of tourists to the area.”

“With all due respect,” Harding countered, “Orlando is home to Disney World, Epcot, Universal Studios, and Sea World. We’re swimming in tourists.”

I had to agree—he’d made a good point. Owen was going to have to change tactics, and quickly. Before he could even open his mouth, however, Harding spoke up again.

“According to this proposal, local organizations aren’t even guaranteed use of the new stadium.”

“Now, wait a minute!” The edge in Owen’s voice intensified. “You guys keep quoting me out of context . . .”

“Tony!” a voice called up from below. When I glanced down, I saw Gym McKenzie waving at me from the track in front of the stands.

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