Team spirit and personal opinion

On February 18, French alpine skier Matthieu Faivre was interviewed after what he thought was a lackluster 7th position which solidified a good French performance as a team he blurted out: “If you knew if I cared about the team performance, I'm here for me and for my run.”

That politically incorrect statement got him disciplined and sent back to France on the spot. Some regret the harshness of the punishment, however is skiing is an individual sport, it's the team, its infrastructure and programs that make an individual victory possible.

Should athletes be able to express themselves? Yes. If so, should they be responsible for what they say and able to exert some self control? Absolutely. While the French women's team is struggling, the technical men's group is remarkably strong as evidenced by the excellent group's results in both GS and slalom.

Now, contrast this to a February 15 article in the New York Times, detailing how the Norvegian men skiers, one of the smallest men’s Alpine teams on the World Cup circuit, handles its team building and stands as a lesson for all teams, including probably the French and most importantly the American that sit at the extreme pole of individuality.

Among other principles, no “jerks” are allowed within the team, no class-structure, rookies vs. seniors or other “special treatment”. They spend 250 days a year together, eat together, sleep two-a-room, sometimes sharing a double-bed and most importantly help each other along the way.

Even when young maverick Henrik Kristoffersen, locked horns with his national federation in a battle over a “Red Bull” sponsorship agreement, he eventually relented and agreed to follow the rules.

Without a question, the Norwegian team is highly successful and might serve as a benchmark to a bunch of other teams that are too often plagued by the excesses of a few that hinder the collective atmosphere and the overall team results.