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Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach has served as the voice of the Leopards on television since 1996, handling play-by-play duties for theLafayette Sports Network. The Sports Director at RCN-TV 4, Laubach has been a television sports broadcaster for more than 35 years and has called over 4,000 contests. The Behind the Mic column offers a broadcaster's perspective on Lafayette Athletics.

August 4, 2006

I SURE HOPE I DON'T FINISH FIRST

Despite what many people say, athletics really comes down to finishing first. Sure, fans are willing to accept lower finishes, but that's only if a team seems to be improving and rising toward the ultimate goal - finishing first! The pot at the end of any season in any sport is winning the championship.

Except when it comes to preseason polls. No one wants to be considered the best at that time. No one wants to finish first. Why is that?

Imagine that your boss calls you into his office and tells you that based on past performance, you are not favored to be the best in the office this year. Worse yet, what if your wife tells you that with your history as a husband and all of your weak areas, this will be a rebuilding year for the marriage. Or even worse than that, on Father's Day, your kids let you know that even though you are a good father, you don't stand a chance of unseating Mr. Fabulous down the street as the best dad in the upcoming year. You would undoubtedly carry the degradation of any of these encounters with you on a daily basis. We all want to be the best.

Except when it comes to preseason polls. At the annual Patriot League Media Day, no one was happier than Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani. His 2006 edition of the Lafayette Leopards was NOT, I repeat NOT, picked to finish first.

History would show that Frank's feelings are warranted. In the past six seasons, the preseason favorite won the league championship only once. Even more bewildering is that there were co-champions in three of those six years, and none of the co-champions were picked in the preseason poll.

But those of you who know Frank know what a competitor he is. Blame it on being vertically challenged, growing up with bullies in the neighborhood, battling for the pasta dish at dinner, or a fiery Italian spirit, but Frank wants to be first in everything. But NOT in the Patriot League poll? "The best news to come out of this was we weren't picked firstà ¯ ¿ ½ We're fine with that."

"Fine with that"? Past performance would indicate that Lafayette has been a co-champion of the Patriot League the past two seasons. Doesn't that get you something? Your starting quarterback is returning and your leading running back also returns. Two seasoned wide receivers are back to play a fifth year after receiving medical redshirts. The defensive line could be outstanding and no one seems all that concerned about the new corps of linebackers. The offensive line and defensive secondary will utilize the depth that is a feature of Frank's recruiting prowess.

Would Frank have been "fine with that" if his team would have been picked to finish any lower than second? He would have been furious!! You see, a football coach wants it all - the motivational factor that comes with outsiders telling you that Colgate is going to be better than Lafayette this year; and the ability to pound your chest when everyone else in the Patriot League is considered "less good" than your team. As Tavani put it, you want to be "on the short list of contenders."

Lafayette is on that short list with Colgate and Leh.. (I just can't write it). That is all Frank wanted - respect and expectations.

I am going to adapt the same philosophy. I hope you enjoyed reading the first submission of Behind the Mic, but I am sure there is someone out there who could have written it better. And others who would not have written it as well as I did. I am fine with that!

Go Leopards!