Every once in awhile I reread Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power . It’s certainly one of the texts that has helped me to personally define myself. I first picked it up around the same time that I was applying to undergraduate schools. My high school GPA was pretty average and I was a little disappointed with how few doors had opened for me during the process. 48 served as a guide for how to basically avoid social manipulation and kick down the closed doors that I wanted to walk through. I think everyone should read it but then again I say that for a lot of books.
Anyway, watching the Sabres-Ducks game the other night reminded me of one of the principles Greene mentions in his book. To briefly paraphrase the story that accompanied Greene’s lesson: in the late 16th century, a self proclaimed and universally acknowledged alchemist, who identified himself as “Il Bragadino,” created a reputation as someone capable of turning ordinary material into gold. Venice took notice of this man because their economy was failing and eventually tried to lure Bragadino to come live in their city so he could share the fruits of his gift with the people. In exchange, the wealthy Venetians were willing to finance Bragadino’s extravagant lifestyle assuming of course that one day Bragadino would create enough gold that Venice would be forever prosperous.
Now, this whole idea that Bragadino could manufacture gold out of innocuous objects is ridiculous but that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that (1) the people of Venice were in a position where Bragadinos apparent skills aligned with their endeavors or in this case struggles and (2) they were willing to believe in his skill because it played right into a predisposed fantasy that existed long before anyone ever got wind of this Bragadino character.
We Venetians are struggling terribly for money. Is there anyone out there — anyone that has a solution?
The incredible and the occult is often what’s most alluring to people. It’s human nature. We want to believe in something great and something fantastic even if in the back of our minds it registers as a bit irrational. The awesomeness of it all clouds our judgment. Of course, every once in awhile Bragadino would have to make a demonstration to perpetuate the scam but that was easier than what you might think. These people wanted all of this to be true. They weren’t watching for tricks and magic, they were watching to see the results; so he was able to easily fool them. What was Bragadino’s greatest weapon? His reputation.
I think that perhaps Ryan Miller has built a situation not unlike Bragadino had some 400 years ago. The Sabres-Ducks game totally changed when he replaced Patrick Lalime. The Ducks play against Miller and the Sabres at most once a year so they don’t have much experience to draw upon. His reputation suggests that he’s been the best goaltender in the league so far this season. He’s also slated by most media members as the starting goaltender for team U-S-A in the Olympics. Every single person that plays against the Sabres knows that. Is it fair to say that someone with that type of reputation would be pretty intimidating to play against?
As well as the Ducks played against Lalime — and they played very well, generating four goals on eleven shots in just ten minutes — they could only manage nine shots on Miller in the thirty minutes that followed. I don’t know what it was, whether the Ducks were waiting for just the right moment to shoot because they assumed that only a perfect shot could beat Miller or maybe the Sabres skaters just played better after Miller entered the game. More than likely it was a combination of both. Obviously when Miller plays behind this group of skaters, the Sabres are a remarkably difficult team to play against. But I think Miller’s reputation really influenced how this game was played too. The Ducks didn’t expect Miller to even set foot on the ice and then when he did the tables totally turned. While the Ducks were trying to adjust, the Sabres’ skaters took them by surprise.
Every year there’s one goaltender that just seems to be able to steal the spotlight. When you think about it, not much has changed around Tim Thomas from last year except that during the off-season his opponents adjusted to the idea that Thomas is not unbeatable and his reputation cooled. This has happened to all of the leagues best goaltenders. People still respect and acknowledge Thomas as a great goaltender but he’s no longer feared and regarded as highly as he was 12 months ago. When teams would play the Bruins last year, it seemed that people would wonder how are we going to beat Thomas not how are we going to beat the Bruins. There appears to be a bit of aura and mystery around Miller now just like there had been around Thomas last year.
What the teams that play against the Sabres should really be concerned with is the Sabres, collectively. They play good team defense and manage to score goals in frustrating ways, from their opponents perspective at least. I mean, Miller is at the base of what makes this team successful but the Sabres can beat teams in ways that opponents might not expect especially if they get a little too preoccupied with Ryan Miller. The truth is the difference between Miller and say, the other five or ten best goaltenders in this league is not that great. But Miller started off the season so hot, his reputation snowballed, and with a little extra commitment from the other players on this team, the Sabres find themselves in their current position. In the end, it’s not always Miller that beats teams directly; sometimes all it takes is Miller’s sparkling reputation coupled with two or three goals from a few unfamiliar players.
It’s something to keep in mind and watch for as this season moves forward.