Magic at the Kia Center

Hawks vs Magic in the Play-In Game on Apr 15th

As part of my experiences goal, and dovetailing with 1:1 time with my son(s), Jacob and I went to the Kia Center in Orlando to watch the Magic play against the Hawks for the 7th seed in the playoffs. Jacob is one of those kids who has a very odd way of picking favorite teams -- one of which is the Magic.

So, it was really cool to find out they were playing for a playoff spot (winner meets Celtics in the Garden -- not enviable). The Kia Center was a great place to watch the game. We last watched the Clippers play and we probably enjoyed the magic a bit more. As the picture above shows, every seat was draped with a free Magic shirt (we ended up with 4 or 5 given some were never taken). Nike Jerseys were BOGO, so I happily dropped the cash on a Wagner #22 jersey and a Banchero #5 jersey.

The Magic dominated the Hawks and the crowd was really loud and into it. Trae Young for the Hawks got so frustrated he was ejected in the 4th Q. I have to admit he was pretty awesome to watch given he is so fast off the dribble, penetrate the lane and hit little floaters all day long.

Cole Anthony #50 for the Magic was great to watch coming off the bench with a ton of passion and effort.

As my prior sales teams can attest, I always resorted to sports analogies when discussing sales because of the many parallels between sales and sports. Cole Anthony is a reminder of what the passion and can-do attitude of one person can do to affect everyone around them. Great leaders -- whether one has the a title or not -- can cause those around them to be better simply by how they engage. No question the best leaders get the most out of their people by tapping into their engagement and ownership; conversely, the worst cause their people to check out and lose engagement.

But even the best engagement (Magic) may not be enough if another team is stacked with talent (Celtics) and also plays with passion. Sunday has the line at Celtics giving up a whopping 13.5 points. I guess we will see if the Magic can possibly cover or even win.

AV