Mark it. 12/22 was the worst day of football in recent memory. Reasons:
1) As an Eagles fan, I am used to bullshit and disappointment. McNabb throwing up, Ronde Barber eating up our offense, Deuce McAllister's career game, etc. But for some reason, yesterday's failure was the worst. And this isn't "what have you failed for me lately?" The Eagles uniquely disappointed thier fans in a sadisitic way no other team could.
Tell me this doesn't sound like a bad sports movie with the wrong ending. The Eagles look awful vs. the Ravens, which may not have entirely been thier fault as the Ravens defense can make any team look awful. Andy Reid figuratively does something completely crazy and benches his franchise QB with the season hanging in the balance because he was losing by three points. Now, this sounds like an "I'll show everybody I'm not crazy because something unanticipated and awesome will come of this" move. After the game, the media and fans want Reid fired.
Of course, true to script, that unanticipated, awesome result comes about in the form of a 4 game win streak with McNabb playing incredible ball and a jacked up defense. This would be about hour deep in the movie where the defensive lineman would be saying cool, macho stuff to each other after monster tackles during the win streak.
After everything was thought lost a few weeks ago, the Bad News Eagles can only get in now if a a good team (TB) improbably loses and the Eagles play a tight, last man standing game against their arch rivals, the Cowboys, withMcNabb's flamboyant archenemy. Of course, the good team (TB) loses a winable game at home to an underdog, and now its on to the death battle???
No. If this was the Giants, the TB loss would get the nervous, beaten up Giants team a burst of life that would manifest itself in hard rock pounding and vicious-defense against WAS for its upcoming winner take all battle against Dallas. But its the Eagles.
Instead of pound the rock, Reid called 12 running plays. And 48 pass plays. Remember when the Giants game was really close and the Eagles insisted on running a tough, 5-9 running back against a great D-line and he finally broke a 30 yard TD run? That was two weeks ago. Instead, Reid decided that winning was too stressful and did exactly what caused him to fail in the past; throw to uninspired, 3rd string WRs and TEs who are notoriously unclutch. Had they had even 20% clutch in them, Jackson would have caught that pass with 1:03 left or Avant would have found a way to break the plane.
McNabb played a good game. Andy Reid is 100% to blame for his. And he won't be fired. And when TB beats Oakland by 30 (ironically w/ Jeff Garcia), the Eagles will beat Dallas in relaxed, thank-god-we-don't-have-to-win manner next week.
My theory is that, from a business perspective, Jeffery Lurie will never get rid of Reid even though Reid A) has a great framework of talent on his roster b) has terrible clock management (what if there was a TO left after the Avant catch?) and c) calls plays like a 12 year old playing Madden 98' . Why not? Lurie doesn't care if we win or lose; as long as there is conflict and extreme brilliance/idiocy, Eagles fans will keep watching/talking/loving/hating. As long as we aren't boring, we're profitable.
2) Vinnie and I come up with a new way to bet this weekend. Both of us write down out our picks against the spread, compare, cross out shared picks, and then bet $20 a game on whats left. After comparing, the only game out of 16 we didn't agree on was MNF GB(me) @ Chi (-4). FOr the sake of entertainment, we decide to bail on one pick a piece to create more action and pick the other end. Vin goes from PIT(+2) to TEN(-2), I go from ATL(+3) to MIN(-3).
I've lost 2/3 and am watching CHI defense shit on GB in subzero weather as we speak. $60 gone on a nearly coinflip basis. Speaking of which.....
3) Alyse plays Vinnie in FF.
Roddy White+Deion Branch+Robert Mathis+Adrian Fucking Peterson=7.5 points.
Larry Fitgerald on one pass with ARI down 42-0 in the fourth quarter and Kurt Warner inexpicibly playing=14 points
Seriously.
4) The only rewards of the weekend were Farve choking (wahhhhhh) and Baltimore shutting down the Cowboys in awesome style.
My NFL playoff predicitions
WC: Den v Bal, Bal. Mia v Ind, Ind. TB v Ari, TB. Atl v Min, Atl.
Div: Bal v Pit, Pit. Ind v Ten, Ind. NYG v TB, NYG. Atl v Car, Atl.
Champ: Pit v Ind, Ind. Atl v NYG, NYG
SB: Nyg v Ind, Ind
Things I've learned on one-call close selling in the last two months:
1) Do not use a "superior authority" or "talk to my manager" negotiation-close unless absolutely last resort. I've close all my sales myself and have lost sales by confusing people by forcing them to negotiate with the higher authority.
2) Do everything possible to avoid "mud-wrestling", or back-and-forth objection closing at the end. Mud wrestling sucks, creates cancellations, and can make you seem unprofessional. Close objections and resistance unfront by creating a non-confrontational close.
3)"Closing" is just coming to an agreement. Persuading is a unilateral activity. Mutually coming to an agreement by creating benefits to solve problems is a cooperative activity. The latter is much easier, positive, and profitable.
4) If you get objections, the person either 1) doesn't like you or 2) is just nervous about something. If its the former, you fucked up. If its the latter, then its just a matter of find out the anxiety and quelling because you are just a consultant trying to help.
5) Be whoever they want you to be. If they go to church, I go to church. If you have a kid, I have one on the way. If you like McCain, I like McCain. If you are Zorostrian, you wouldn't believe it, but so am I.
Of course, this is based on real small sample of sales; however, the same issues keep coming up and these are principles that just explain issues I've had.
