“Playing Guilty” is one of the great terms to come out of hockey culture.
It’s an unwritten rule that celebrates a certain level of grit, loyalty, and perseverance among teammates.
Its origins are a little hazy, but it goes something like this …
The phrase is quietly applied to an individual player, or group of teammates, who test the typical boundaries and somehow end up exposed to an above-average dose of shenanigans the night before a game.
A few become a few too many and curfew becomes an afterthought.
The problem: tomorrow’s expectations don’t change.
If anything, they are now heightened by guilt and loyalty.
Because truthfully, no one gives a shit about yesterday.
“Playing Guilty” is a state of mind.
It’s a sacred promise to yourself and a shared code among teammates that regardless of what happened the night before, you can still be counted on.
No excuses. No sympathy.
You made your choices. Now fucking perform.
For whatever reason, that ridiculous little piece of hockey culture followed me long after I stopped playing.
But the late night isn’t really the point. It’s simply a metaphor for yesterday making today more difficult. And right or wrong, today doesn’t always care why.
Through athletics. Through entrepreneurship. Through good decisions and some spectacularly shitty ones. Through wins, losses, relationships, fatherhood, and whatever comes next.
Playing Guilty is an internal promise to show up and perform every single day.
Not because yesterday doesn’t matter. It does. But yesterday is a game you don’t get to play anymore. Today still expects something from you.
Maybe that’s why, all these years later, that phrase still speaks to me.
Whether it’s a coach breathing down your neck, employees leaning on you for leadership, your kids needing your full attention, or your partner deserving your support, every role comes with expectations.
You have a duty. You have loved ones to provide for, teammates and partners to do right by, dreams to chase, and people to prove wrong.
Playing Guilty. PLYN GLTY.
Same idea. Different chapter.
Brandon Cullen
In search of life’s [im]perfect soundtrack ...
Amen 🙏 Carry on ❤️🔥