Today's word is "Loyalty."
I've arrived at this single idea as theme on the birthday of a close personal friend, who has played on many of the same teams as me.
Ironically (or symbolically), his birthday is the same as George Brett's.
Mr. Brett was the last player to ever wear number five for the Kansas City Royals. Fact is, Mr. Brett never wore another team's jersey, an oddity in today's hopscotch pro careers in pursuit of the best paycheck. Those players are a dying breed from a time where Al Kaline (always number six for the Tigers) and Mickey Mantle never donned an enemy's stripes.
Through the fat and lean years, they hung in with their compadres. In the case of Mr. Kaline and Mr. Mantle, much of their careers was pre-Curt Flood. Mr. Flood's challenge to baseball swung open the windows and let players pursue paychecks from the highest paying owner.
Not true of Mr. Brett, a California boy who found his footing and the love of Royals fans, in the city of fountains.
Even during their playing days, athletes chased the dollars in their waning years. Willie Mays as a New York Met. Franco Harrisas a Seattle Seahawk. Forgettable final years spent pursuing money or milestones or one last moment in the sun.
NFL Quarterback Brett Favre recently jumped on that carousel, albeit only to play another day. And Gaylord Perry's own "old-timers" day jerseys reflect how far the sports world has spun.
Loyalty is a lost art. It requires perseverance and belief in teammates. Its roots are deeply seeded in the tenet that shared commitment equates to shared excellence. When times are tough, those loyal teammates play on through the adversity together. The trust between them colors their confidence -- they know that togetherness will bring another championship, another shining day in the sun. Deep down, they know their team colors matter too.
It's an oddity in today's sports and business worlds. So many of us have seen our parents' commitments to an IBM or GM or other industry take those years of shared promise and turn tail in their golden years. Take previous commitments of "being there" in retirement and recast them to new ownership's vision.
The same has been true of pro sports for decades now although glimmers of loyalty have created the new trend of "late career re-signings." Emmitt Smith came back to the Cowboys after some errant games in Arizona. Jerry Jones (Mr. Love Him/Hate Him) inked Mr. Smithonly so he could retire under the Texas star. Ken Griffey Jr. who couldn't wait to leave Seattle has found his prodigal way home to be admired as much as he was disdained in enemy colors.
Hidden within the corners of the soul, no matter the foreign team emblems are pinings for the past. No player looked better than on their rookie card in their first crisp uniform. The best of them learn this early. They savor the closeness of those who can perform the "give and go" in their sleep, who can take the blind flip to second and turn the double play.
They know above all else that loyalty and teammates make them better players. Sharing a committed present as it turns into a remarkable past leaves no greater flavor in the palate.
Loyalty.
Teammates. Focus. Through thick and thin. Together, they achieve remarkable goals.
