TORRANCE, Calif. – Upon arrival at the New England Revolution’s team hotel outside Los Angeles on Thursday evening, Jermaine Jones spoke with the media for approximately 10 minutes.
At times, Jones took a deliberate tone, noting the magnitude of Sunday’s MLS Cup final against the LA Galaxy while reiterating – on several occasions – that he’s not a fan of losing.
But there were also a series of lighter moments during Jones’ interview. He smiled broadly and nodded when it was pointed out that head coach Jay Heaps has praised his abilities as a leader, drawing laughs from the assembled journalists. A few jokes were spread casually throughout his answers, as well.
Those 10 minutes were, in essence, a microcosm of the Revolution’s locker room; all business when it comes to completing a task – preparing for MLS Cup, for example – but with the understanding that a bit of banter is necessary to create a well-balanced atmosphere.
“This is why we stand here right now (in LA for MLS Cup),” Jones said. “We have that in the locker room. You can see that everybody in the team has fun together.”
“I think locker rooms are living, breathing things,” said Heaps. “There’s a right time for everything, and there’s definitely a time to be loose. I think our guys have that.”
New England’s first training session on the West Coast is scheduled for Friday afternoon, when they’ll ramp up final preparations ahead of Sunday’s title game. MLS Cup will be just 48 hours away by the time the Revs take the field at StubHub Center, so focus will be fixed on the task at hand.
That focus will remain singular until the final whistle blows on Sunday afternoon – everyone knows they’re here to win a trophy – but as has been the case all season, there will be an appropriate time for a laugh or two, as well. The key, of course, is distinguishing when that appropriate time arrives.
“There’s good banter, they joke with each other,” said Heaps. “But when you’ve got to tighten the screws, the right guys are tightening the screws. There’s no one that doesn’t get it – when it’s time to focus on the task at hand, when it’s time to prepare for the other team, there isn’t a person in that locker room who’s not dialed in.”
