|
Post by volleyballjim on Oct 17, 2019 15:11:46 GMT -5
"Such high expectations?" I dont know if expecting professional athletes to care about winning and losing can really be characterized as "high expectations." I'm not going to spend time looking for it - but I remember clearly when people first saw Phil/Rosie training together in Cali - 2016 gold, potentially the greatest team ever, people saying they were doing things in practice that our game had never seen before. That's what I'm referring to with the high expectations line. Perhaps you weren't in that crowd, but there was plenty of people already praising this team for what could be. The fact that they played the way they did this weekend and still took second only reinforces it. I watched a very uninspired final. Truth be told, the word that came to mind for me was 'lazy'. They weren't squaring up when setting, I didn't see a lot of chases on defense, and don't get me started on the lack of focus on the serving. I don't think anyone that's watched them earlier in their careers would argue that they are playing inspired ball - I certainly give them more credit to think that I witnessed their best effort that match. But again, who's to say that they REALLY want it right now, or if they're just content traveling with their nice AVP salary and flipping a switch on/off as they please en route to cashing in while they can? It just doesn't seem to me like they play with any sense of urgency - and again, for all we know they didn't partner up with the intention of being everything people were hoping they'd be. Not justifying it, just saying it's a possibility. Interesting 2015 observation with the recent 2019 post!
|
|
|
Post by guest2 on Oct 17, 2019 17:08:37 GMT -5
I'm not going to spend time looking for it - but I remember clearly when people first saw Phil/Rosie training together in Cali - 2016 gold, potentially the greatest team ever, people saying they were doing things in practice that our game had never seen before. That's what I'm referring to with the high expectations line. Perhaps you weren't in that crowd, but there was plenty of people already praising this team for what could be. The fact that they played the way they did this weekend and still took second only reinforces it. I watched a very uninspired final. Truth be told, the word that came to mind for me was 'lazy'. They weren't squaring up when setting, I didn't see a lot of chases on defense, and don't get me started on the lack of focus on the serving. I don't think anyone that's watched them earlier in their careers would argue that they are playing inspired ball - I certainly give them more credit to think that I witnessed their best effort that match. But again, who's to say that they REALLY want it right now, or if they're just content traveling with their nice AVP salary and flipping a switch on/off as they please en route to cashing in while they can? It just doesn't seem to me like they play with any sense of urgency - and again, for all we know they didn't partner up with the intention of being everything people were hoping they'd be. Not justifying it, just saying it's a possibility. Interesting 2015 observation with the recent 2019 post! A lot of Phil partisans have been denying for years what many of the rest of us have seen as obvious. That he is, and has been for a very long time, often disinterested and frequently gives much, much less than 100%. Now that its undeniable, and has actually been admitted by Phil, those same people are pretending it was something recent, thanks for bringing back this post
|
|
|
Post by rainmaker on Oct 21, 2019 6:27:49 GMT -5
They hoodwinked us, lol..
|
|