When you were a kid, did you ever join a pick-up game of football? Did your neighborhood divide into teams, and play its own version of the Super Bowl on a vacant lot near your home?

On my street, we did every afternoon when we came home from school. And on my team I always played quarterback because I was afraid of getting tackled by the fat kid or the tall, aggressive kid. The conversations in the huddle were always the same. Every wide receiver would always whisper in my ear, "I'm going deep. Hit me with a long bomb. It will be an easy six points."

In fact, in those days, everybody went deep-on every play. It didn't matter what play we called in the huddle-everyone went long. Screen play? Forget it. Running play? No way. I once tried to implement the wishbone offense, but my teammates always broke out of the huddle into the usual "long ball" formation.

Unfortunately, when you throw the long ball on every down, you either score a touchdown, or risk throwing the ball into the hands of the defense. And on my team, we threw a lot of interceptions.

I share this childhood story with you, because it's quite a good comparison to where the private broadband industry has been over the past few years. In recent times, many private broadband providers attempted to go long on every play. They didn't set up the sixty-yard scoring strike with a couple of fullback runs up the middle. They simply came out of the gate with their business plan and funding in hand, and stormed the MDU front, with the goal of being a national player immediately.

They set up shop in every major market, hired a sales force, cranked out very attractive 4-color brochures and announced that they could meet the needs of any MDU portfolio, no matter where it was. In the mid to late-90's, we experienced this with private cable companies. More recently, we've seen it with the high-speed data guys.

But you can't build a successful company if you go long on every play.

I recently attended a conference sponsored by Waller Capital in New York, which attracted the senior executives of operators like Charter and Adelphia, as well as investment bankers, lenders, equity guys and brokers. And everyone I spoke with said the same thing. It's not about the business plan, the technology or how much money you can raise. It's about your ability to execute.

"It's simple blocking and tackling," reported Leo Hindery at lunch, who is formerly of AT&T Broadband and Global Crossing. "Those that do it right will focus on doing the basics well."

Oh sure, tell that to my football team. Blocking and tackling? That's not glamorous. If you make a good tackle, you don't get to spike the ball, or do a "touchdown dance."

But that was exactly the point. The mood right now in the broadband industry is that too many companies have attempted to go long, and failed. They never paid attention to the basics.

In private broadband, I consider focusing on items such as excellent picture quality, accurate billing, appropriate programming line-ups, quick installation periods, response to MDU owner requests, etc. as proper "blocking and tackling."

Did you watch the Super Bowl this year? The winning teams, the Baltimore Ravens, were neither flashy nor bold on offense. But they were unbeatable at the basics - controlling the line, owning better field position and forcing turnovers. That's the type of effort we need to see right now from private broadband providers. Don't focus on throwing bombs - focus on making tackles. This philosophy is what the financial community is thirsting for. Blocking and tackling means effective execution, which can lead to positive cash flow, and maybe a Super Bowl ring.

And the private broadband industry could sure use another Super Bowl ring.

Oh, and if you're wondering, I didn't play football in high school. Are you crazy? I got hit one time too many by the fat kid during our pick-up games.