Shut Up with all the "Team Values" Crap Already

I'm happy for you did what you wanted to do. But I also know you don't give a rats ass what I think because in America you decide for yourownself what is best for you and your family. I decide for me the same and also can give a flying f u c k what you think about it. That's the way it is in the U.S.A.

Dull and Bored = Slow and Stupid.

He was on a team that wasn't competitive. It's not like he ruined their chances to win something. And he's been there for 10 or 12 weeks. Can you really betray teammates you just met?

OP you are one of the biggest idiots on here. The examples you give are apples to oranges. At least Rupp ran for the team, all the side workouts he did didn't matter, he put on the uniform and ran. Lagat never bailed on his country before a big international race. What LV was downright classless. How big of a deal to him would it have been to wait 2 weeks?

I dont think anyone thinks he has a legal obligation. But the guy could run for 2 weeks.

I only all of you guys defending this dude have someone do something similar to you one day. Maybe at work, maybe your wife or girlfriend, or maybe even a team mate.

What he did was like if you were running the 4x8 and the 3rd leg walks away as the #2 runner comes around the final bend.

Irritating Values wrote:

The most irritating thing about this forum in the last week has been all the bumbling idiots spewing nonsense about how Verzbicas shouldn't have left because it "hurt his team" and goes against his "moral obligations" and what not.

News Flash.

The kid isn't required in the SLIGHTEST to put ANY weight or base ANY of his decisions on what you people call "Team Values".

He's not a runner. He's a triathlete.

Since he broke into the High School scene as a FRESHMAN he made it clear that Triathlons were his primary sport. Not running.

And guess what?

Triathlons are an INDIVIDUAL's Sport.

Expecting him to put ANY value in the Team Aspect of running defies all precedents set by his Triathlon-oriented upbringing. He doesn't have a runner's values. He has a triathlete's values. Get. That. Through. Your. Head.

What the OP, dull and bored, and millionaire baby all have in common is they are all self-centered like Lukas chose to be and therefore they really don't get it. We all have had teammates, co-workers, relatives, etc. that believe the world revolves around them. They have no sense of obligation because it is ALL ABOUT THEM. These type of people rarely have success in life, or at least not long term, because greed and selfishness are not what gets you ahead, except on a temporary basis.

Lukas will regret this decision because most people do eventually develop that team concept, although certainly the OP, dull and bored and millionaire baby look like they have a long way to go before reaching that point.

Irritating Values wrote:

The most irritating thing about this forum in the last week has been all the bumbling idiots spewing nonsense about how Verzbicas shouldn't have left because it "hurt his team" and goes against his "moral obligations" and what not.

News Flash.

The kid isn't required in the SLIGHTEST to put ANY weight or base ANY of his decisions on what you people call "Team Values".

He's not a runner. He's a triathlete.

Since he broke into the High School scene as a FRESHMAN he made it clear that Triathlons were his primary sport. Not running.

And guess what?

Triathlons are an INDIVIDUAL's Sport.

Expecting him to put ANY value in the Team Aspect of running defies all precedents set by his Triathlon-oriented upbringing. He doesn't have a runner's values. He has a triathlete's values. Get. That. Through. Your. Head.

Yep, this is precisely what we want our kids learning! No responsibility to anyone but yourself. Heck, let's get cops thinking this way, doctors, lawyers, stock brokers. That's a great philosophy.

Clearly some people have never had a teammate abandon them at a critical time.

In high school we had a very talented runner skip out on the State Qualifiers for a basketball game. We finished 2nd in the State meet. If he had run his 2 events and placed in his expected spots, we would have won.

A couple of years later he skipped State Q again for basketball again leaving his 4x800 team that consisted of him and 3 seniors. They were the first team to miss qualifying.

In this "me first" world we live in now, it's apparently ok to abandon commitments you have made and screw over your teammates to push yourself ahead.

And that's all I gotta say about that

Wiscoe wrote:

We all have had teammates, co-workers, relatives, etc. that believe the world revolves around them. They have no sense of obligation because it is ALL ABOUT THEM.

Of course it is. Why should we let you incompetant losers either drag us down or hold onto our coattails? You are probably also a lazy schmoe who loves his union,

Great post, I guess kids these days don't have any values.

abacus wrote:

I take it you never ran for a team?

You don't walk off on your boys in the middle of the season. Simple as that.

I guess Lukas will be voting democrat. No honor among thieves.

unreal wrote:

that you think you have absolutely any say whatsoever in someone else's decision making only serves to illustrate the level of delusion from which you're operating.

You are a hypocrite. You are telling someone that they should think differently about the situation. In doing so, you are trying to have a say in the other poster's decision making.

So, unreal, what exactly makes you think that YOU should have any say whatsoever in abacus's decision making?

America is all about freedom, individual rights , and the free market of commerce. People confuse values with business decisions. Good for LV, he will be one of the rare people who can make a living at sports.

Millionaire Baby wrote:

You don't decide for others. Only for yourself. Lukas is in the same boat. Any person can do what they want. That's America.

No one is saying that he doesn't have a right to do it. We understand that this is America and he is not bound by law to the Oregon XC team. You would have to be an idiot to believe that.

Of course he can do what he wants. That isn't the point.

And I think the problem is that you don't understand the notion of a team, most likely because you've never competed on a collegiate XC team. Anyone could quit at any point in the season, but you just don't. The bond that forms between a team through running brutal workouts multiple days a week for months in preparation for races like regionals or nationals is ridiculously strong. I for would one never entertain the thought of walking out on my brothers a week before a regional race after working so hard for so long.

Lukas can do whatever he wants. WE KNOW THAT. What we're saying is that it reflects selfishness on his part. Clearly, that bond never affected him as much as it does most people, and I think that's because he's always been the #1, the man, the guy who gets whatever he wants whenever he wants. At Oregon, he had to sacrifice this position and it clearly didn't bode well with him.

LV can make what ever decision he wants. That is how the rules are set up. He had no legal contract spelling out that he must be a part of the team for the entire season.

However, saying that, I would hope that he understands if I would not shake his hand or cheer him on, as I have made a choice of my own to not associate with people that have shown that they are out for themselves after 'acting' like team player.

master of accomplishment wrote:

Wiscoe wrote:

We all have had teammates, co-workers, relatives, etc. that believe the world revolves around them. They have no sense of obligation because it is ALL ABOUT THEM.

Of course it is. Why should we let you incompetant losers either drag us down or hold onto our coattails? You are probably also a lazy schmoe who loves his union,

I always get a kick out of someone who is trying to put others down and then actually spells the word wrong that they are trying to rip on someone with.

By the way, I don't belong to a union and would not want to be part of one.

Leaving a team or a job is not wrong to do. It is the timing of it that can make it wrong. If a group of workers spent weeks or months working on a presentation and then one of them quits the job a few days before the presentation, knowing that the new job offer would still be there in two or three weeks and that the presentation will not be very good without them, then that is a jerk move. Plain and simple and most of us see it, but the self-centered ones don't.

Millionaire Baby wrote:

You don't decide for others. Only for yourself. Lukas is in the same boat. Any person can do what they want. That's America.

This would make sense if Lukas were actually an American.

Wait, legal obligation and moral obligation are not the same??

Maybe I shouldn't have sex with everyone I come across even though I legally can??

Such novelty

Keep in mind that the obligation goes both ways. If you believe that an athlete should be able to walk away from the team at any moment, then the team can also walk away from the athlete at any moment. What would you say if you heard that a coach simply dropped an athlete's scholarship with no notice in the middle of the season even though the athlete had been performing up to standards and had not broken any rules?