If you've been in the Colorado Yeti locker room -- or even spoken to anyone in there -- at all, you already know who the most influential heads are. So it's probably no surprise that when asked, Raphael Delacour named one as a difference-maker for the Yeti. Typically any team will have one or two voices who effectively co-ordinate the social aspect of team life, and Delacour makes it clear that this is why he named this teammate. "Melvin [Murder-Moose] is like that," he says. "Lots of little things we do as a team that are largely co-ordinated by Melvin. Like movie nights, little reminders of things we need to do to stay on top of training and stuff, or even the pink thing."
The pink thing?
"Right yeah, on Wednesdays, we wear pink." He says, matter-of-factly, as though this is entirely normal. "It's a movie reference, an old movie, from before I was even born. Really funny, though."
But how does something so clearly whimsical make a difference?
Raphael sighs heavily, and makes a face. "It's hard to explain, but I'll try." He says. "I think it's easy to forget that we're still human, and there are millions of dollars riding on some of these games. It's a game, but it's also really serious. So in between games, we need things to take the edge off, otherwise we're all tightly-wound, all the time. And that ain't healthy, you know?"
And wearing pink on Wednesdays helps with that?
"Sure," he laughs, shrugging. "It's a thing that's basically no effort for us, but it lets us have a bit of fun. We're all together as a unit, so we don't lose sight of the..." he pauses for a moment, searching for a word. "The unity, we need to have to succeed. But it's not serious like our job is, you know?"
So Melvin is responsiblefor co-ordinating things like this?
"Not just Melvin, but yeah." Raphael replies. "There are others too, like Adelie, or Rusty... but it feels like whenever I'm in the facility, whether I'm training, or just hanging out, Melvin is around somewhere. That's something you can't overstate the importance of, a big part of what made me feel comfortable after making the move to Denver after a rough year in Chicago."
The pink thing?
"Right yeah, on Wednesdays, we wear pink." He says, matter-of-factly, as though this is entirely normal. "It's a movie reference, an old movie, from before I was even born. Really funny, though."
But how does something so clearly whimsical make a difference?
Raphael sighs heavily, and makes a face. "It's hard to explain, but I'll try." He says. "I think it's easy to forget that we're still human, and there are millions of dollars riding on some of these games. It's a game, but it's also really serious. So in between games, we need things to take the edge off, otherwise we're all tightly-wound, all the time. And that ain't healthy, you know?"
And wearing pink on Wednesdays helps with that?
"Sure," he laughs, shrugging. "It's a thing that's basically no effort for us, but it lets us have a bit of fun. We're all together as a unit, so we don't lose sight of the..." he pauses for a moment, searching for a word. "The unity, we need to have to succeed. But it's not serious like our job is, you know?"
So Melvin is responsiblefor co-ordinating things like this?
"Not just Melvin, but yeah." Raphael replies. "There are others too, like Adelie, or Rusty... but it feels like whenever I'm in the facility, whether I'm training, or just hanging out, Melvin is around somewhere. That's something you can't overstate the importance of, a big part of what made me feel comfortable after making the move to Denver after a rough year in Chicago."
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