Taking one for the team

One of my favorite sports cliches is "taking one for the team". This phrase is commonly used in baseball in a situation where a pitcher is having a bad game. The manager leaves him in there to eat up innnings and save the bullpen, even though he's allowed 15 runs in 4 innings. It is pretty humiliating, but it is a sacrifice the pitcher understands and accepts.

The cool thing is, even though the pitcher screwed up big time, his teammates don't ride him about it. They still want the guy to come back the next time and pitch lights out. They want him to see him succeed because they want the team to be successful.

Of course, there are clubhouses where this wouldn't be the case. It's like the kicker who misses the chip-shot field goal to win the game. Do you blame HIM for the loss or do you look back to the 3rd-and-goal incomplete pass that the QB threw? But wait, the QB was rushed to throw by a defensive blitz not picked up by the offensive line. See, it's a team effort. A loss is a loss for everyone, not just the kicker.