I watched Gracie yesterday with my daughter. The movie, like most soccer games, moved incredibly slow, there were no climaxes, anti-climaxes and slam dunk plot points like there were in Will Ferrell’s Kicking and Screaming It was almost painful to watch, but I pushed through the dip.
Despite my initial reaction to the movie, the paragraph above is actually a compliment to the actors, directors and the producers who probably had to be convinced that soccer people would get the film. The plot moved like a soccer game does, sometimes moving forward, sometimes dropping back with the score only being a few points ahead or behind at any given moment. It was actually brilliantly written and directed without tending to over-arching social statements and absurd hyperbole for comic or dramatic effect.
What does all this have to do with running a tournament? Like Gracie and any good soccer game, a soccer tournament is not won or lost by anything huge that you do, but by doing all the really small things really well. And, knowing when to drop back and knowing when to push through and make a run. And, of course, not giving up… and NOT listening to the critics who tell you that dropping back is giving up. Dropping back is just another strategy for ultimately moving the ball forward.
The only bad thing about the Gracie is that it is a soccer film. That is a shame, because it is more about the Universal Idea (or Human Condition for us older English Literature folks). A lot of people who could use a good view would not ever watch it because it is soccer. (The same about The Devil Wears Prada.. not about fashion…)
Our Advice: First, watch the three films mentioned above. Will Ferrell for how NOT to look at life, and the other two on a deeper understanding of the Universal Idea. Second, soccer and soccer tournaments are all about playing smart, honing your craft and being tenacious, not about being the biggest and strongest. In the end, the game always falls to the clever and agile.