It’s that time of year again. Football season is approaching and every NFL fan is getting fired up as their team is preparing to head off to training camp. Expectations are sky high and no matter how your team did last year, there’s always the feeling that this could be the year!  That optimism isn’t unrealistic – the last three Super Bowl winners have come from the ranks of  preseason long shots.

I believe there’s a pretty good reason for that. Right now, you can see that the focus in most NFL camps is on acquiring talent. If you read the national headlines, it’s all about who teams are signing. Terrell Owens with Chad Ocho Cinco? Is Brett Favre coming back to the Vikings? Will Sam Bradford and the other high draft choices sign before opening day of camp? Will Team X get Player Y signed to a long-term contract or is he going to hold out?

The focus is on who will be on the team, and that is important, of course. But it’s not as important as what type of chemistry and feeling of togetherness is being developed on your team. Talent will take you to a certain level; but, what creates championship seasons is the energy and team spirit that is created in training camp and builds to a such point  it carries the team all year. It’s hard to recognize chemistry at this time of year; however, there’s no doubt that it is apparent in the postseason. We can always look back and say that it was the Giants’ year or the Saints’ year.

So, don’t worry if your team missed out on that prized free-agent or if that Number 1 draft choice misses some training camp time. Just hope your favorite team is learning the importance of teamwork and getting the idea of putting the team first. If that happens,  you can be optimistic because that is how championships are won.