33 STRATEGIES OF SPORTS: DETERRENCE STRATEGIES

Reputation =  the way people see you.  And the way people see you can get you a job, get you laid, married, it can make you President of the United States.   If you're negotiating for more money and you are seen as someone who accepts less, less is what you'll get.  If you're seen as getting more, that's what you'll get too.    This is why the way people see you is so precious.  But how do you control "the way people see you".

There are only two perceptions that count.  1) How we see ourselves and 2) How others see us.  Since we're narcissistic,  we generally get through our day with "how we see ourselves".    But truly powerful people master "How others see them".  In sports, the greatest athletes use this weapon incessantly.   At the height of his career, Mike Tyson won bouts just by showing up.  Tyson trained himself to be perceptive about his opponent.  That is how he knocked out so many guys in the first round.  Not through his deadly uppercut, but through understanding "how others saw him".  

Welcome back to another sports lesson, seen through the prism of Robert Greene's "The 33 Strategies of War".  If you understand how others see you, your life will have very few limits.

CREATE A THREATENING PRESENCE

In the morning of June 12th, 1972, Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star pitcher, Doc Ellis was enjoying his day off in Los Angeles.  He would pitch against the San Diego Padres the next day.  He woke up at 4 or 5 in the morning to take some acid (the acid from the night before was wearing off).  He would be high for the rest of the day, replenishing for the San Diego game the next day.

Ellis was staying at a friend's girlfriend place and he was extremely startled when she woke his ass up and shoved the LA Time in his face.  He was pitching today!  In a few hours!  An afternoon game.  It was not tomorrow.  It was today!  The day dissapeared under the weight of the acid.

Doc drove like a madman to San Diego, avoiding highway patrol, slapping himself, psyching himself.  High as a skyscraper, Doc missed the breakdown of his oppenent, the Padres because he arrived late.  Plus, it was "misty" in San Diego that afternoon.  The shape of the diamond was sometimes as a big as a couch.  The pitcher had to wear yellow tape on his hands so Doc would know where to pitch.  He "hit" batters constantly.  He couldn't catch the ball when the pitcher tossed it back to him.  The other team was actually frightened of Doc.  No one could predict what this "high" pitcher was going to do next.

Ellis didn't know what the score was or even that he was playing baseball (at one point, he actually thought he scored a touchdown?).  And when the mist cleared and the game was over, Doc Ellis had pitched a no-hitter... and still didn't know what the fuck was going on because he was still really high on acid.  Was Doc Ellis extremelly lucky?

INTERPRETATION

They say you can't do something "under the influence" that is not in your nature.  Doc Ellis was the All-Star pitcher for the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and was the most feared man in baseball at that time.  He was always made batters pay for hitting his balls.  He once knocked out Jesse Jackson after he dared to hit a home run against him.  He hit three consecutive Cincinnati Reds -- Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Dan Driessen -- to retaliate against being maced in the face two days earlier in Riverfront Stadium.  Doc sat close to angry fans and intimidated them -- and sometimes got into fights with them.  If you dared cross Doc, you would pay.  It was no accident that he is today known as the "Muhammad Ali of Baseball".

The famous "No-No on Acid" (or no-hitter on acid) game was a result of Doc Ellis' reputation.  Even at his most vulnerable, people were terrified of Ellis.  He pitched at them with even less predictability.  Some guys were hit.  Some walked.  Some just stayed away from the ball.  The most feared man in baseball was even more frightening "high" than sober.

As Robert Greene likes to tell is, "when someone attacks or threatens you, you make it clear that he will suffer in return... you will make him pay for each victory... you take something he values, something close to home, you make him understand, every time he bothers you, he can expect damage... The only way to make you stop attacking him in your irritating fashion is for him to stop attacking you.  You are like a wasp on his skin.  Most people leave wasps alone."

Doc Ellis in his Pirates uniform actually resembled a giant wasp.  And no one ever crossed him without paying for it.  High on acid, pitching the ball in wild direction, his faculties failing him, Doc Ellis' opponents  failed to prey on him.

REVERSAL

Ultimately, you have to back up your tough talk with victories.  Mike Tyson's intimidating style became a joke when he attacked Lennox Lewis during their press conference.  In the actual match, Tyson was no match and was KO'ed in the 8th Round.  Tyson was washed up and his threats were empty.  One moment can create your reputation for years, but sometimes you'll have to replenish it, or risk creating a war you may not want.