UConn Not Unanimous #1

[RegisteredUconn]

I've posted several times why I think the polls are important, although most will say they care little or nothing about them and the only poll that matters is in April. For one thing, I believe polls affect recruiting. When a team is in the polls, they're in the "conversation" and when they're in the conversation, recruits take notice.

I've been tracking certain aspects of the polls since 2003 -- well, one aspect of the polls, anyway, first place votes. A first place vote means that someone with enough respect to have been chosen by the poll's administrators to cast a ballot sees that team as the best.

A special aspect of first place ballots is that it signifies that ALL voters agree. Unanimous agreement is far from simple to achieve. 30+ opinionated individuals must all think the same team is the best. Achieving unanimous agreement in both polls is harder still.

Want an example of how difficult it is to achieve unanimity? I offer boy genius Seth Soffian. Seth writes for something called the News-Press and has been given a vote in the AP poll. Anyway, Seth doesn't deserve his #1 vote. As Seth put his rationale for choosing a team other than UConn this week, "Everyone knows UConn is still going to be the team to beat. But the Huskies haven't played a game yet, and South Carolina beating an Ohio State team that's good enough to be a Final Four contender is impressive enough to warrant a No. 1 vote, at least for now."

So UConn won't be the unanimous #1 in the AP this week. Anybody want to offer that mindless pot-stirrer Seth a one-finger salute?

Know what's even more difficult than being the unanimous in both polls for a given week? Being the unanimous #1 in both polls for an entire season. Any guesses as to which team achieved that? Unfortunately, as dominant as UConn may prove to be this season, they won't be unanimous all season. Thanks, Seth.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Considering some posters had concerns about this game.... And polls mean nothing... I have no issue with his logic for this round.

 

[Adesmar123]

Want an example of how difficult it is to achieve unanimity? I offer boy genius Seth Soffian. Seth writes for something called the News-Press and has been given a vote in the AP poll. Anyway, Seth doesn't deserve his #1 vote. As Seth put his rationale for choosing a team other than UConn this week, "Everyone knows UConn is still going to be the team to beat. But the Huskies haven't played a game yet, and South Carolina beating an Ohio State team that's good enough to be a Final Four contender is impressive enough to warrant a No. 1 vote, at least for now."

And Seth picked up a whole lot of views to his by line this week. He won the week.

 

[JudgeSCR]

I don't really care about polls until NCAA seeding time but Mr. Soffian's reasoning is ridiculous. The #2 team beat the #6 team at home in unconvincing fashion and they now deserve the #1 ranking because the #1 team has not yet played? #2 is supposed to beat #6 at home, if the rankings mean anything. I could imagine an argument if #2 destroyed #3 (or visa versa) by say ... 44 points.

If you are ranked #1 you should not lose that before your first game. Period. Mr. Soffian just wanted to either: make a name for himself; be a contrarian; or be a soothsayer if UConn lost to that same #6 team. Unfortunately UConn won by 44 and Mr. Soffian looks rather foolish.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I've posted several times why I think the polls are important, although most will say they care little or nothing about them and the only poll that matters is in April. For one thing, I believe polls affect recruiting. When a team is in the polls, they're in the "conversation" and when they're in the conversation, recruits take notice.

I've been tracking certain aspects of the polls since 2003 -- well, one aspect of the polls, anyway, first place votes. A first place vote means that someone with enough respect to have been chosen by the poll's administrators to cast a ballot sees that team as the best.

A special aspect of first place ballots is that it signifies that ALL voters agree. Unanimous agreement is far from simple to achieve. 30+ opinionated individuals must all think the same team is the best. Achieving unanimous agreement in both polls is harder still.

Want an example of how difficult it is to achieve unanimity? I offer boy genius Seth Soffian. Seth writes for something called the News-Press and has been given a vote in the AP poll. Anyway, Seth doesn't deserve his #1 vote. As Seth put his rationale for choosing a team other than UConn this week, "Everyone knows UConn is still going to be the team to beat. But the Huskies haven't played a game yet, and South Carolina beating an Ohio State team that's good enough to be a Final Four contender is impressive enough to warrant a No. 1 vote, at least for now."

So UConn won't be the unanimous #1 in the AP this week. Anybody want to offer that mindless pot-stirrer Seth a one-finger salute?

Know what's even more difficult than being the unanimous in both polls for a given week? Being the unanimous #1 in both polls for an entire season. Any guesses as to which team achieved that? Unfortunately, as dominant as UConn may prove to be this season, they won't be unanimous all season. Thanks, Seth.

Pretty much agree, but the transition from preseason to the first week of a season is a little tricky as some teams are being judged on potential and others to at least some extent on their actual play. If instead of UConn not having played, they had beaten a #250+ or #300+ team in its first game (not naming any particular T10 team here, so I hope Bears, and Vols, and Terps fans won't get cranky), and Soffian had said, "Well the C-cks had a more impressive win," then you might find an iota of logic as "I'm rewarding another team until the champs prove themselves against a more quality team like OSU." Since both UConn and USCar played the same team with the result of a gaping difference in victory margin, Soffian will likely become a true believer in the next poll. If he doesn't, then obviously he's a flame-job pollster, which unfortunately happens sometimes.

I run a rankings service in another sport where sometimes a few top teams do not engage in ranking-criteria action until three weeks after the season begins for the other teams. It becomes very difficult to juggle preseason potential versus actual results and be fair to all the teams. Fortunately in the WCBB there's probably only one week where a a usually unknown pollster can set himself to get his name in the spotlight for deciding to stick up for those "principles" that maybe he never decided to apply in the past until a light bulb went off in his head and he said, "I'm going to get my 5 seconds of fame."

 

[Kaizen]

I am sure Seth Soffian must feel very miserable now....

 

[BroadwayVa]

I've posted several times why I think the polls are important, although most will say they care little or nothing about them and the only poll that matters is in April. For one thing, I believe polls affect recruiting. When a team is in the polls, they're in the "conversation" and when they're in the conversation, recruits take notice.

I've been tracking certain aspects of the polls since 2003 -- well, one aspect of the polls, anyway, first place votes. A first place vote means that someone with enough respect to have been chosen by the poll's administrators to cast a ballot sees that team as the best.

A special aspect of first place ballots is that it signifies that ALL voters agree. Unanimous agreement is far from simple to achieve. 30+ opinionated individuals must all think the same team is the best. Achieving unanimous agreement in both polls is harder still.

Want an example of how difficult it is to achieve unanimity? I offer boy genius Seth Soffian. Seth writes for something called the News-Press and has been given a vote in the AP poll. Anyway, Seth doesn't deserve his #1 vote. As Seth put his rationale for choosing a team other than UConn this week, "Everyone knows UConn is still going to be the team to beat. But the Huskies haven't played a game yet, and South Carolina beating an Ohio State team that's good enough to be a Final Four contender is impressive enough to warrant a No. 1 vote, at least for now."

So UConn won't be the unanimous #1 in the AP this week. Anybody want to offer that mindless pot-stirrer Seth a one-finger salute?

Know what's even more difficult than being the unanimous in both polls for a given week? Being the unanimous #1 in both polls for an entire season. Any guesses as to which team achieved that? Unfortunately, as dominant as UConn may prove to be this season, they won't be unanimous all season. Thanks, Seth.

From Seth's comment Uconn had not as yet played OSU. The OHIO USC game was a good game--everyone was told that OSU was a Final 4 Contender as was USC. Using that rationale his comment may have been correct.
As we have seen, maybe OSU is overrated. If they are overrated and USC played from behind on their own floor. What does that make USC. Considering the 44 point win Uconn put on OSU one would think they'd drop below number 10 (OSU that is).

 

[BroadwayVa]

I am sure Seth Soffian must feel very miserable now....

People who make predictions hardly ever feel poorly about them. Ego is a great thing, when you believe you are right--you are right!!

 

[EricLA]

From Seth's comment Uconn had not as yet played OSU. The OHIO USC game was a good game--everyone was told that OSU was a Final 4 Contender as was USC. Using that rationale his comment may have been correct.
As we have seen, maybe OSU is overrated. If they are overrated and USC played from behind on their own floor. What does that make USC. Considering the 44 point win Uconn put on OSU one would think they'd drop below number 10 (OSU that is).

I agree with you except for one thing - I don't believe OSU is over rated (you didn't say that they were, but that maybe they were)... this is an OSU team that was ahead of SC at the half, down by 2 at the end of the 3rd quarter, and eventually lost by 8. The game was played at SC, and had it been at OSU, it likely would have been even closer (give maybe 5 points in a close game for home court advantage?)...

So I know you didn't stay it, but I'd like to nip in the bud any thoughts that OSU is not that good, or over rated. The "problem" with the game we just witnessed is that UCONN is that good. And we ALL know that is "bad" for the game! LOL

 

[BlueDevils]

So I know you didn't stay it, but I'd like to nip in the bud any thoughts that OSU is not that good, or over rated. The "problem" with the game we just witnessed is that UCONN is that good. And we ALL know that is "bad" for the game! LOL

After last night I'm convinced there's only ONE team this year who could pull off the upset ... Baylor.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I agree with you except for one thing - I don't believe OSU is over rated (you didn't say that they were, but that maybe they were)... this is an OSU team that was ahead of SC at the half, down by 2 at the end of the 3rd quarter, and eventually lost by 8. The game was played at SC, and had it been at OSU, it likely would have been even closer (give maybe 5 points in a close game for home court advantage?)...

So I know you didn't stay it, but I'd like to nip in the bud any thoughts that OSU is not that good, or over rated. The "problem" with the game we just witnessed is that UCONN is that good. And we ALL know that is "bad" for the game! LOL

C'mon, you gotta at least give us a link to the first "UConn Dominance is Bad for Women's Basketball" story of the regular season. Isn't that what the action is all about? Maybe we can get an article out of some Boston Globe guy or a long-ago player or faded-away coach who wants to get back in the news.

 

[EricLA]

After last night I'm convinced there's only ONE team this year who could pull off the upset ... Baylor.

I think Baylor is a better team, and certainly deeper, than Tennessee, but I'd love to see them match up in the elite 8. I really think Tenn will have a hard time making it to the FF when they would need to get past ND, UCONN or Baylor (no way are they in the same region as SC, and if they aren't a 1 seed, I don't see how they make the FF)...

 

[BroadwayVa]

I agree with you except for one thing - I don't believe OSU is over rated (you didn't say that they were, but that maybe they were)... this is an OSU team that was ahead of SC at the half, down by 2 at the end of the 3rd quarter, and eventually lost by 8. The game was played at SC, and had it been at OSU, it likely would have been even closer (give maybe 5 points in a close game for home court advantage?)...

So I know you didn't stay it, but I'd like to nip in the bud any thoughts that OSU is not that good, or over rated. The "problem" with the game we just witnessed is that UCONN is that good. And we ALL know that is "bad" for the game! LOL

Actually that was a dig at USC--who are really good. Some where I read that OSU was "overrated" so the MAYBE.

I only watch WBB anymore. Once I was a huge UConn Men's team BB--went to hundreds in the old Field house. Saw a lot of REAL Student Athletes (Doctor candidates, Engineers, etc). So I agree with you in NOT making a win less than it was--because this was a big win in so many ways for us fans, Geno and the Freshmen and Sophs. Appreciate that you acknowledged the MAYBE.

 

[willtalk]

Perhaps there should be no rankings or at least rankings should not be taken seriously until a number of games have been played. The worst effect of preseason rankings is the residual effect they have for the rest of the year. It is harder to establish an objective evaluation while dealing with a preconceived perception. It takes teams that start out over rated much longer to drop to their actual level and the same applies to teams that start out underrated. But it doesn't only affect the teams themselves, but also the teams they end up playing. I remember seasons when a ranked team that beat an over rated team shot up in the rankings because of that victory. That aspect might be applicable in the case of SC and OU. At least this season UConn played OU right after but the comparative results still create more questions than they answer. Often preconceptions affect perceptions voters have in respect to the strength of the leagues the teams play in. So losing in a perceived strong league the losses are not as damaging while winning a perceived weak league gets little respect.

Another example is the fact that Louisville is ranked higher than Cal even though they lost at home. Why because Cal started un-ranked and Louisville probably was over rated. People also believed that the loss of two WNBA caliber players would affect the team more. Not considering that the dynamics of the actual team might change as well. Sometimes there is addition through subtraction. Also pollsters and people in the new media are not the sharpest tools in the shed. Unfortunately in WCBB there are often not enough games between the top teams for these things to work themselves out before the NCAA's. People tend to see reality through the glasses of their own preconceptions. They see what they want to see.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

The purpose of my post wasn't to discuss the guy who obviously doesn't take his vote seriously if there's an opportunity to grandstand. He knows UConn's the best. He said as much. My purpose was to laud the mind boggling excellence of the UConn program. Doofus was just a tool (no pun intended) to illustrate that. All it takes is one to destroy unanimity.

In my data of teams receiving #1 votes (going back to 2002/3 season), only seven teams have been unanimous #1. Maryland, once in the Coaches. North Carolina, 4 times in the AP. Tennessee, 3 times in the AP, twice in the Coaches. Duke, 2 times in the AP and 4 times in the Coaches. LSU, 9 times in the AP and 7 times in the Coaches. Baylor, 23 times in the AP and 13 times in the Coaches.

Only 4 teams have ever been the unanimous #1 in both polls in the same week. Duke, twice. LSU 7 times. Baylor, 11 times.

UConn has been #1 in the AP 83 times, 87 times in the Coaches, and 75 times in both. That's what boggles my mind. Of all the records UConn has established, which boggles your mind? If you couldn't pick the 10 titles, what would be your second choice?

 

[Billybonggg]

I've posted several times why I think the polls are important, although most will say they care little or nothing about them and the only poll that matters is in April. For one thing, I believe polls affect recruiting. When a team is in the polls, they're in the "conversation" and when they're in the conversation, recruits take notice.

I've been tracking certain aspects of the polls since 2003 -- well, one aspect of the polls, anyway, first place votes. A first place vote means that someone with enough respect to have been chosen by the poll's administrators to cast a ballot sees that team as the best.

A special aspect of first place ballots is that it signifies that ALL voters agree. Unanimous agreement is far from simple to achieve. 30+ opinionated individuals must all think the same team is the best. Achieving unanimous agreement in both polls is harder still.

Want an example of how difficult it is to achieve unanimity? I offer boy genius Seth Soffian. Seth writes for something called the News-Press and has been given a vote in the AP poll. Anyway, Seth doesn't deserve his #1 vote. As Seth put his rationale for choosing a team other than UConn this week, "Everyone knows UConn is still going to be the team to beat. But the Huskies haven't played a game yet, and South Carolina beating an Ohio State team that's good enough to be a Final Four contender is impressive enough to warrant a No. 1 vote, at least for now."

So UConn won't be the unanimous #1 in the AP this week. Anybody want to offer that mindless pot-stirrer Seth a one-finger salute?

Know what's even more difficult than being the unanimous in both polls for a given week? Being the unanimous #1 in both polls for an entire season. Any guesses as to which team achieved that? Unfortunately, as dominant as UConn may prove to be this season, they won't be unanimous all season. Thanks, Seth.

 

[Billybonggg]

A turkey is easy to find this time of year- sometimes in your own state. A girl who wrote for a paper in Bridgeport a number of years ago somehow had a vote and wasted it on a Rutgers team that went nowhere.

 

[Bigpetunia]

I'm sorry...and I know I've said this a lot, but I just don't get this obsession with the polls. Obviously, regional prejudices will inevitably come into play, as well as the fact that some people who get a vote in this beauty contest know less about the game than my grandmother did, which is nothing! The idea that we UConn fans should get our collective noses out of joint because some halfwit's vote will adversely affect Geno's recruiting is beyond dignifying with a response. There is nothing I'd rather see than have the majority of the "expoits" somehow rank UConn at #2 and ND #1 in the week before that match-up of probable undefeateds. I know that won't happen, and I know the person LEAST interested in seeing it happen is Muffett herself, but can you imagine the resulting motivation factor for our favorite players? Yeah, really, the only poll that matters, and the only one that might affect recruiting one way or another is, in fact, that one that comes out in April.

 

[uconn34]

Bet he changes his vote next week!

 

[watanabe]

People who make predictions hardly ever feel poorly about them. Ego is a great thing, when you believe you are right--you are right!!

UConn women's BBall team undefeated this year. I feel GREAT about this prediction. I anyone backing me up here? Hate to think it's just me.

 

[BroadwayVa]

UConn women's BBall team undefeated this year. I feel GREAT about this prediction. I anyone backing me up here? Hate to think it's just me.

Ego issues?? Need the re-affirmation of others to validate YOUR opinion?? Are you on the right board???

 

[RegisteredUconn]

I'm sorry...and I know I've said this a lot, but I just don't get this obsession with the polls. Obviously, regional prejudices will inevitably come into play, as well as the fact that some people who get a vote in this beauty contest know less about the game than my grandmother did, which is nothing! The idea that we UConn fans should get our collective noses out of joint because some halfwit's vote will adversely affect Geno's recruiting is beyond dignifying with a response. There is nothing I'd rather see than have the majority of the "expoits" somehow rank UConn at #2 and ND #1 in the week before that match-up of probable undefeateds. I know that won't happen, and I know the person LEAST interested in seeing it happen is Muffett herself, but can you imagine the resulting motivation factor for our favorite players? Yeah, really, the only poll that matters, and the only one that might affect recruiting one way or another is, in fact, that one that comes out in April.

I disagree with your post in general and your mischaracterizations and misrepresentations in specific. I've spent some of my career in the field of organizational development and I retain an interest in organizational excellence.

Excellence is difficult to achieve. What Geno has done is mindbogglingly far beyond mere excellence and those polls are one reflection of that. Of course regional prejudices put teams in holes not of their own digging. My point writ large. To achieve unanimity, teams not only have to be the best, they have to be so easily identifiably as the best they overcome those prejudices.

Nowhere did I suggest anyone (let alone all of us) seek treatment for a disjointed nose because some "halfwit" (at least we agree on something ) has been throwing punches. Again, my point isn't to bemoan the ballot of one attention seeker hellbent on displaying his lack of credentials to hold his position. (See what I mean about organizational excellence? That guy just provided Exhibit A as to how easy it is to discredit.)

Naturally results on the court can never (rationally) be trumped by opinion. But championships can't be held every week, polls can. More data points mean better differentiation. And sometimes actual results may never be available. The entire field of insurance, warrants, etc. is based on informed opinion. You never know how long a particular tire will last until it fails. The whole point of a poll is to crystallize informed opinion.

I never suggested the nonsense of some halfwit's single vote could or would affect UConn's recruiting. AT ALL. The process of selecting where one will attend college starts WAY before that. It starts with people telling a kid she's really good. It starts with parents and youth coaches suggesting ways a child can use her talent to better her lot in life. It starts with her beginning to dream.

It continues with her forming opinions of her own. How does she form and opinion? Information and advice. Where does she get information? From results and conversations about the sport. Who do those conversations focus on? Why the best, that's who. Where can a list of the best be found? The polls. Think kids don't read polls? Think the South Carolina players and fans didn't rejoice last November when Stanford toppled UConn? I guaraneffingtee you they did. That next poll validated them. Think the kids SC was recruiting didn't see that poll and file it as one more data point in their recruitment? Was it the tipping point? Of course not. But which side of the balance do you think that gets added to: In the Gamecock's favor or against them? Maybe you think they wouldn't consider it at all. I don't.

Communication is absolutely essential to building organization excellence. Clear, unambiguous messages repeated over and over. UConn huddles before every foul shot to remove any confusion about what's next. Both Stewart and Jefferson have acknowledged they needed to improve their on-court communications in order to maximize their effectiveness.

I think it was Bria Hartley who said they don't practice something until the get it right. They practice until they can't get it wrong. I have no doubt Geno uses that technique in his communication. Geno is obviously a master communicator and that plays an enormous role in his success. Communicate, communicate, communicate until all confusion and doubt are removed.

Recruiters need to employ every advantage they enjoy. Every kid with aspirations to play college ball, at some point, hears about UConn. In part, that knowledge gets UConn's coaches' calls returned. In part, that knowledge puts UConn on every elite player's list of colleges to seriously consider. What they hear is the Huskies are the best. That conclusion, to a degree, is advanced by the polls. In many cases, the polls may be the first exposure kids get to who's best. Ignore that if you choose. I won't. Here's a point I'd like to see raised. One notion of which team is the best at any given moment (save after the last game, which only occurs once a year) is when all the experts agree on who that team is. Since 02-03 UConn has achieved that agreement more times than any other program. In fact, they are so far ahead they've lapped the rest of the field combined three times over.

 

[watanabe]

I disagree with your post in general and your mischaracterizations and misrepresentations in specific. I've spent some of my career in the field of organizational development and I retain an interest in organizational excellence.

Excellence is difficult to achieve. What Geno has done is mindbogglingly far beyond mere excellence and those polls are one reflection of that. Of course regional prejudices put teams in holes not of their own digging. My point writ large. To achieve unanimity, teams not only have to be the best, they have to be so easily identifiably as the best they overcome those prejudices.

Nowhere did I suggest anyone (let alone all of us) seek treatment for a disjointed nose because some "halfwit" (at least we agree on something ) has been throwing punches. Again, my point isn't to bemoan the ballot of one attention seeker hellbent on displaying his lack of credentials to hold his position. (See what I mean about organizational excellence? That guy just provided Exhibit A as to how easy it is to discredit.)

Naturally results on the court can never (rationally) be trumped by opinion. But championships can't be held every week, polls can. More data points mean better differentiation. And sometimes actual results may never be available. The entire field of insurance, warrants, etc. is based on informed opinion. You never know how long a particular tire will last until it fails. The whole point of a poll is to crystallize informed opinion.

I never suggested the nonsense of some halfwit's single vote could or would affect UConn's recruiting. AT ALL. The process of selecting where one will attend college starts WAY before that. It starts with people telling a kid she's really good. It starts with parents and youth coaches suggesting ways a child can use her talent to better her lot in life. It starts with her beginning to dream.

It continues with her forming opinions of her own. How does she form and opinion? Information and advice. Where does she get information? From results and conversations about the sport. Who do those conversations focus on? Why the best, that's who. Where can a list of the best be found? The polls. Think kids don't read polls? Think the South Carolina players and fans didn't rejoice last November when Stanford toppled UConn? I guaraneffingtee you they did. That next poll validated them. Think the kids SC was recruiting didn't see that poll and file it as one more data point in their recruitment? Was it the tipping point? Of course not. But which side of the balance do you think that gets added to: In the Gamecock's favor or against them? Maybe you think they wouldn't consider it at all. I don't.

Communication is absolutely essential to building organization excellence. Clear, unambiguous messages repeated over and over. UConn huddles before every foul shot to remove any confusion about what's next. Both Stewart and Jefferson have acknowledged they needed to improve their on-court communications in order to maximize their effectiveness.

I think it was Bria Hartley who said they don't practice something until the get it right. They practice until they can't get it wrong. I have no doubt Geno uses that technique in his communication. Geno is obviously a master communicator and that plays an enormous role in his success. Communicate, communicate, communicate until all confusion and doubt are removed.

Recruiters need to employ every advantage they enjoy. Every kid with aspirations to play college ball, at some point, hears about UConn. In part, that knowledge gets UConn's coaches' calls returned. In part, that knowledge puts UConn on every elite player's list of colleges to seriously consider. What they hear is the Huskies are the best. That conclusion, to a degree, is advanced by the polls. In many cases, the polls may be the first exposure kids get to who's best. Ignore that if you choose. I won't. Here's a point I'd like to see raised. One notion of which team is the best at any given moment (save after the last game, which only occurs once a year) is when all the experts agree on who that team is. Since 02-03 UConn has achieved that agreement more times than any other program. In fact, they are so far ahead they've lapped the rest of the field combined three times over.

dang RegisteredUConn, just tell the guy who said it to go pound stones already...

 

[Bayareahusky]

i am of the mind that the polls do not matter at all..... unless you are an up-and-comer, and want to establish a footing through a run up the polls...... for UConn, it just does not matter.......

One big reason polls do not matter, is in WCBB, the "players" are going to be the top 4 or 5 teams, and that is all !!!! When is the last time someone out of the top 5 in the polls going into the tournament won the whole thing?

 

[RegisteredUconn]

i am of the mind that the polls do not matter at all..... unless you are an up-and-comer, and want to establish a footing through a run up the polls. for UConn, it just does not matter..

One big reason polls do not matter, is in WCBB, the "players" are going to be the top 4 or 5 teams, and that is all !!!! When is the last time someone out of the top 5 in the polls going into the tournament won the whole thing?

I agree to an extent. It's easy, when you're UConn, sitting atop the polls virtually all the time, "owning" the polls, to dismiss them, to forget about them, to refer to them a irrelevant. When you've been king of the mountain long enough your focus drifts to the horizon, not those coming to push you off. No good general disregards what's important to his opponent. If the opponent thinks the polls are important, we should too.

In the larger scheme of things, polls are a nit, a detail. But it's precisely the attention to detail where excellence is forged. The higher the expectation of excellence, the greater the detail that must be attended. The kingdom didn't fall when the king lost his head in battle. The kingdom fell when one blacksmith was one nail short of completing the re-shoeing the horse of one impatient knight.