Calling Out the Leadership

No, this entry is not about calling out the Cauldron leadership, the Front Office or any such off the field organization that I could possibly call out. This entry is calling out the Wizards team leadership, namely, those veteran players on the field.

This goes out to all the veteran leaders on the team, Jimmy Conrad, Kerry Zavagnin, Nick Garcia, Sasha Victorine, Davy Arnaud, and Kevin Hartman. In my eyes, these 6 players are the leaders of this team. And it's time for them to step up. Aside from Hartman, these guys have all been here for a while and have been here especially over the last 2 years, when the team has missed the playoffs due to late season collapses.

Two seasons ago it was an 8 game winless streak to end the season that kept the Wizards out of the playoffs, last year, it was a 9 game winless streak in the middle of the season that likely doomed the team. This year, the Wizards have won only 3 games since the all star break, back in July. They've gone from looking like a team that was gonna compete for a possible chance at the MLS Cup, to a team that's just fighting to make the playoffs.

If these veteran leaders want to have a shot at the playoffs, it's time for them to step up.
Time to get in your teammates faces, time to be the one to step up in the locker room and tell the team what is expected of them. Tell them that you're tired of missing the playoffs, that this could be the third year in a row that the Wizards have missed the playoffs. Tell them that is completely unacceptable for a team that has 4 US National team pool players, 3 other capped US players, 1 TnT international, and 3 more players who have been capped at the youth level for the US team to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.

It's time for these leaders on the field to step up and show that they are leaders. If they aren't going to step up and lead the team, then get someone in who will, someone like a Mo Johnston, who won't take shit from people. If they aren't going to lead this team, then it's time for some of these elder statesmen to move on. I hope they step up this week in practice and Saturday they take care of business in Dallas, because I have a feeling many of their jobs are on the line.