The Unmitigated Disaster That Was The 2004 AEG Olympics
Three Things I Learned From The Craziest Week At Work - Injuries, Rivalries, and Too Much To Drink
The unmitigated disaster that was the 2004 AEG Olympics.
Sometimes great people have terrible ideas.
In 2004, I worked at AEG as a sales person. AEG had just finished building the Home Depot Center (now Dignity Health Sports Park). It was a multi-use sports facility with a professional stadium for the LA Galaxy with training facilities for track, tennis, cycling, baseball, and more.
The AEG brass had a big idea: We could bring companies in for a team-building company Olympics. The market for such events was big and we could leverage the entire property for a daylong event. They laid out the plan and we, AEG's internal staff, were going to be the guinea pigs.
I can't properly relay how much of a disaster it was.
In the first softball game, I was standing on deck when the sales coordinator hit single to the outfield. The outfielder, a former safety for Notre Dame, decided to throw to first base even though the first baseman wasn't looking. When the ball hit her in the head, it sounded like a watermelon falling off a five-story building. Why she wasn't wearing a helmet, who knows. She was out of work for the next two months.
An hour later, my buddy Eddie was chasing the ball in a soccer game when the CEO in-front of him, Tim Leiweke, blew out his Achilles. He turned to Eddie and asked why he kicked him before realizing what happened.
Oh and another guy ruptured a testicle. No joke.
The injuries piled up. One after another as weekend warriors who work in sports were quickly reminded their days were behind them.
In the softball playoffs, one of my close friends struck out in a key moment. Instead of being welcomed back to the dugout, he was chided by his terrible manager and then benched for the day. So much for team building.
In the end, we won a few medals, everyone drank way too much, feelings got hurt, shoving matches happened, rivalries were formed, and AEG decided to kill the idea.
What I learned and have learned from the event:
1. Internal competition is playing with gasoline next to a fire. There is nothing more petty and dangerous than spite. Managers and coaches often try to pit people against one another to "get the best out of them." Bad managers just end up creating enemies, cliques, and toxic cultures.
The Olympics tried to put some fun into the internal departmental rivalries. It made them so much worse
2. Test everything! No matter how good the idea, product, or event looks, always test it first. Seems so simple but thank goodness we did it internally first. I can't imagine the lawsuits had we sold it to someone else.
3. Move. Seriously, move a lot. 12k-14k steps per day. "95% of people over 30 will never sprint again in their lives." Watching people drop like flies was a great life lesson. We've had people talk about races in the parking lot, softball teams, and hoops. Cover your butt b/c people are going to get hurt.