Sports Nut: Guts, No Glory

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Sports Nut Guts, No Glory What I learned watching an English Premier League match up close. By William Saletan Posted Thursday, Nov 03, 2011, at 11:18 AM ET LONDON, England— "The Game Is About the Glory." That motto, painted in blue on white, circles the interior of White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur, the soccer club that has played here for 112 years, stepped onto the pitch Sunday as the English Premier League's hottest team, unbeaten in their last 10 matches across all competitions. I came to watch them dazzle their opponents, Queens Park Rangers, with a blizzard of goals. But that wasn't what I saw. What I learned from watching the world's toughest league up close, 20 feet from the pitch at midfield, is that the game isn't about the glory. It's about the work. Coaches understand this. For three years, I helped coach my son's grade-school soccer team. The hardest part was getting the kids to do things that help the team but reap no glory. The kid who puts the ball in the net gets hugs and high fives. The kid who delivered the cross gets ignored. The kids who play defense hear from their teammates only when they cough up a goal. This year, I signed up my son for a new team. But the coach exacted a terrible price: He got me hooked on the Premier League's fantasy soccer game. Instead of coaching a real team, I've been managing a fake one, checking live scores and recording every match I can find on American TV. Nobody with a job can watch all those games, so you ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Three Reasons Republicans Are Fervently Defending Herman Cain Bank of America Learns It Must Be More Subtle About Screwing Its Customers Ruth Madoff's Nationwide Sympathy Tour: Does Anyone Feel Bad for Her?	Advertisement
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