"They'll Walk If You Let 'Em"

Thanks to Bob Walsh for the assist on this post:

I was recently reminded of an article about the San Diego Chargers from a few years back.  This is the first paragraph:

Philip Rivers drives a Ford pickup truck with a custom-made bumper sticker on the back window that reads, THEY'LL WALK IF YOU LET 'EM. It was a message that former Chargers linebacker Carlos Polk used to shout at the end of long practices on hot summer afternoons when he knew that some players might be tempted to loll through the final special teams drills. Rivers became so taken with the saying that he logged on to makestickers.com early this season and had it printed up. Standing in the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot last Saturday night after the Chargers' 23--17 wild-card defeat of the Colts in overtime, Rivers said, "That bumper sticker has meant different things to me at different times. But right now it makes me think about when we were 4--8, and we could have walked the rest of the way. We didn't let each other walk."

It's a great phrase to remember when thinking about your team.  Most teams and players will give you what you demand.  But if you leave it up to them, they won't give you maximum effort.  They'll walk if you let 'em.