Pt. II Born to compete

Part Two: Nurture 

The Underdog

Sometimes, there are instances where nurture can defy the situations where nature (physical capabilities and natural talent) would usually be triumphant. Take the underdog for example, “the person or team considered to be the weakest and least likely to win.” Time and time again through sporting history, we are shown that hard work and dedication can indeed win against nature.

Tom Brady, who is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL (National Football League) history, is an example of this. Brady was drafted in the 6th round, 199th overall to the New England Patriots in the 2000 NFL draft. Despite this, he then guided the Patriots to 3 Superbowl victories in just 4 years. 

In the draft combine, Chad Pennington who was drafted as the first quarterback in that year’s NFL draft at 18th to the New York Jets, outperformed Brady in drills such as the 40-yard dash and vertical jump.

Tom Brady

40-yard dash: 5.28 seconds 

Vertical Jump: 24.5 inches  

Chad Pennington 

40-yard dash: 4.81 seconds 

Vertical Jump: 33.5 inches

Despite being more athletic than Brady, Pennington has zero rings in comparison to Brady’s 7 and his most notable accomplishments would be winning Comeback Player of the Year in 2006 and 2008. 

 

Psychological Development

When you think of hard work and resilient mindsets, Mamba Mentality, a nickname adopted by Kobe Bryant inspired from the film, Kill Bill comes to mind. The late Kobe Byrant who is a 5x NBA champion and Hall of Fame member, played 20 seasons in the NBA (National Basketball Association) and was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers as the 13th pick in 1996, is the only player in NBA history to have 2 jerseys retired.

Kobe defined Mamba Mentality as a “constant quest to try to be better than you were yesterday” which can be seen in his book, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play. Throughout his career, he placed work ethic, discipline and resilience over just talent. This can be seen with his 4 am workouts, sacrificing his sleep to put more hours into training, studying his opponents and being the last to leave the basketball court. Or even in competition, when after tearing his achilles tendon when driving to the basket, he went and scored both free throws afterward, which further cemented his dedication to the game of basketball, playing even in physical pain. This relentless drive allowed him to surpass the first overall pick Allen Iverson, who was drafted to the Philadelphia 76ers, in terms of career achievements and accolades. 

Kobe Bryant 

NBA Championships: 5

NBA Finals MVPs: 2

NBA MVP Awards: 1

All-Star Selections: 18

Scoring Titles: 2

Career Points: 33,643

Allen Iverson

NBA Championships: 0

NBA Finals MVPs: 0

NBA MVP Awards: 1

All-Star Selections: 11

Scoring Titles: 4

Career Points: 24,368

 

Conclusion

However, oftentimes the underdog does not win and more effort does not always equal a better performance. These players are anomalies with Brady showing that athletic capability does not equal success at the highest level of professional American football and Bryant showing that mentality can trump natural talent and help you become one of the greatest players in NBA history. They show that it can be done, though they do not show that it can be replicated.

Photo by RDNE Stock Project

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