2 Holy Grails found

In the space of 24 hours, 2 teams found their Holy Grail. One, the Red Sox, were said to be cursed. However, they managed to crush the Cardinals in such a dominant manner, the Cardinals never had a lead in the series.

The other, the Australian cricket team, were considered to be world champions, but without a series win in India, where Australia have traditionally struggled, to the point where the last series win was 35 years ago. Time and again, Australia have come close, but have fallen short (see 1986, 2001).

What is similar about the 2 teams is the way they have tried something different and it has paid off. For Boston, it was the hiring of Theo Epstein, a twenty-something with no prior experience in management. He brought in people who understood sabermetrics, which uses mathematical techniques to pick players, and utilised their skills to pick players. Most GMs view sabermetrics as a novelty, not to be taken seriously, but some saw the potential, and have employed it. Boston was one of the teams, and the results are plain to see.

Australia, after their last tour, learnt that playing in overdrive doesn't work all the time, and that there are occasions where it is acceptable to play differently and still be effective. The applied that on this tour, and have conquered the final hurdle.

From these 2 examples, we can see the value of thinking differently, challenging the status quo and reaping the rewards for innovation.

In other news, I now have no classes left at uni. It's been a fun 5 years, with a lot of memories. This might sound strange, but I will miss uni. Maybe it's due to me being there for 5 years, or the people i've met at uni. However, life does have to go on, and I have to move on too.