The road may be just what the Kansas City Wizards need. Spending time enjoying each other's company in Columbus and D.C. the next two weekends, along with a bit of good natured fun, may help restore a needed on-field swagger.
"The camaraderie of the group is important. We've had three home games and only one win, so it's vitally important that the guys still believe in the mission," said Wizards assistant coach Brian Bliss.
The Wizards have historically had a strong locker room and this year is no exception, but there are certain things only the road can provide, things that can be a catalyst for an on-field revival.
"The unity of this team certainly hasn't been broken, I can tell you that -- the locker room is as strong as it ever was," said Bliss. "But I think guys will probably speak to each other more often on a road trip like this after last week's result and have dinner together instead of one guy going off on his own or two guys going off. I think you'll see on this Columbus trip more guys going in groups of three of four."
And when groups form, fun often follows.
Whether it's Preki being an impish prankster on the plane ("If you're a young guy, you don't want to sit in front of, next to, or behind Preki if you want to sleep [on the plane]," said Chris Klein), or the younger players putting on their annual skit, the Wizards have their road traditions and revels.
"It's usually in preseason where the older players will make the younger players put on a skit. This year, some how, it has eluded the young guys," Bliss said. "There has been some rumbling the last couple days that the next road trip that the reserve team plays [D.C. next weekend] that those guys will have to perform their skit.
"A couple years ago, [former Wizards back] Taylor Graham came up with the idea to have the guys play Jeopardy. He played Alex Trebek and the contestants were all people that were somehow associated with the club," he said. "They played those characters and the answers reflected things that person would say in real life. It was pretty funny. [The skit] provides chemistry and confirmation that we're a group; we're a team."
Even though time is short and business is the main focus, the players use their time wisely, if not their money. Sometimes when a group of players goes out to eat together, a daring game of credit card roulette ensues.
"It's better to have a big group of seven or eight," says back Jimmy Conrad. "The waitress or waiter pulls the card. I prefer to play the last card pays; it provides a little more drama.
"I was part of one with 16 people at The Cheesecake Factory (when he was with San Jose). That's a nice little bill. Wade Barrett ended up eating that one. He was so reluctant to put in his card because he knew he was going to eat it. I was second to last, so happy I didn't get it."
Conrad believes being away from home forces a team to become interdependent.
"There's a different mindset when you go on the road. At home you're in your own comfort zone sleeping in your own bed, eating the food you want to eat, that kind of stuff," he said. "When you go on the road, you look to your teammates to provide that comfort zone; you rely on each other more. And to be honest, that's what we need right now, to just get out there and be somewhere together for a couple of days."
The camaraderie is heightened by the fact that the team is in the opposition's territory.
"Going on the road is sort of like it's us against them. They have their fans and their team. It's that bunker mentality where we're going to go in and try and get the job done," said team captain Klein. "It's only the guys in our locker room that are going to help us.
"You have to respect each other on the field, but the difference with this team is that guys really do respect each other off the field. I think that shows when we play," he said.
Klein hopes his Wizards can use the change in setting and the intensified battle mentality can return a confidence that may have faded through the Wizards 1-1-4 start.
"We have to have that little bit of arrogance or swagger in us to where we go up 3-1, we're going to lock the door shut and no team is going to come back," he said, alluding to the Wizards second-half deflation last Saturday against FC Dallas. "We have to get that confidence and that arrogance back. There's no better time than now. We take it a game at a time and that's what we're looking for this weekend."
Robert Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
