As captain of the Evil Empire, my goal is to make us as smooth and professional as possible. We're at the point where everyone on the team has played dozens of games and won championships in several leagues. In fact, with all the tournaments my teammates have played in, I expect that I haven't even won the most trophies with my five championships. Our players have played in countless tournaments and leagues under different sets of rules, with different equipment in different gyms. They've always adapted and succeeded.
We're at the point where stepping on a dodgeball court should be just another day at the office. Sometimes this comes off as cool confidence, other times we come across as arrogant dicks. But we go into most games thinking we should win.
Unfortunately, when we have an off game, it really affects us.
Our confidence becomes surprisingly brittle and our game starts to delcine at a rapid pace. We try to go for the big plays and ignore our fundamentals. We become sticklers over the rules. We sulk and yell and get completely out of hand.
Tension is our enemy.
Unfortunately, last night against the Hell Spawns was a classic example of us getting so wound up we couldn't play. It was odd, considering that we had already been guaranteed a playoff spot, as either the second or third seed. But we played like we were terrified of the loss. A good team will play hard but loose, no matter how much is at stake.
As a result, we got whupped 19-12 by a team that, on paper, is inferior to us. Our reward? We get to play them again next week, this time in the semi-finals. When there is actually something at stake. That gives us seven days to get our heads straight.
Wish us luck.
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