The Lions' Pride

http://instagram.com/p/N9jTQFPwbM/

I noticed that taped to the back of the locker (I'm guessing by coaches/staff) is an article on "Burn The Ships."

While I'm generally anti-genocide, it reminded of the phrase, and the the story of Cortez conquering the Aztec Empire. Cortez ordered his men to "burn the ships" after landing ashore on the Yucutan.

From http://successsecretsatkempskorner.blogspot.com/2007/09/burn-ships.html:

"Cortez rallied the men for one final pep talk before leading his men into battle, and utters these three words that changed the course of history. “Burn the Ships”.
He met with resistance from his men. "Burn the ships," he repeated. He then uttered these words "if we are going home, we are going home in their ships". With that, Cortez and his men burned their own ships, and by burning their own ships, the commitment level of the men was raised to a whole new level. A level much higher than any of the men, including Cortez, could have ever imagined.
Amazingly, the men conquered the Aztecs and had succeeded in something where others had been unsuccessful for six centuries. With the victory Cortez and his men took the treasure. Why did they win? They had no escape. No fall back position. They had no choice! It was "succeed or die". Their ships were burned. They had no way to get back. Their backs were to the wall.
To “really succeed” you must have an attitude much like that of Cortez and his men. Cortez and his men did not have a “crutch” or “fall back position”. They frankly didn’t have any options. It was simply “succeed or DIE”. Pretty strong position, isn’t it? How would you like to be engaged in fighting someone with that level of motivation and commitment?"

You've got to appreciate the parallels for this team ("burn the scholarships" perhaps), and the level of commitment being forged, starting tomorrow. If this came from the coaches, kuddos for bringing a bit of education to motivate these student-athletes.