"-Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
--Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.
--It doesn’t matter whether you are the lion or the gazelle — when the sun comes up, you’d better be running." - Origin unknown
The harsh reality of sport is that predators dominate prey.
In most matches, one team becomes the hunter and the other the hunted. That balance can shift—sometimes within a single game, as it did against Belmont, and sometimes from season to season. Coaches encourage that mindset across the year, but ultimately the choice rests with you.
Most teams prefer the predator’s role, for obvious reasons. Yet even in nature, it isn’t instinct alone—orca parents teach their calves the hunting skills needed to survive.
Your identity isn’t assigned; it’s chosen. The transformation begins with your daily approach.
Art and literature celebrate "the underdog story." That's unfamiliar territory for MVB. I asked ChatGPT Plus to share some underdog stories about women.
The underdog story is one of the most enduring motifs, and many of the most famous examples skew male. But there are powerful female-centered underdog stories in sport, film, and literature worth highlighting. Here are some:
🏅 Sports
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Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs (1973 “Battle of the Sexes”)
King was pressured, doubted, and told she represented all of women’s tennis. She beat Riggs, a self-proclaimed male superior, in straight sets, marking a cultural victory for women in sport. -
U.S. Women’s Soccer Team (1999 World Cup)
Despite skepticism about women’s soccer drawing attention, the U.S. women beat China in a dramatic penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl. Brandi Chastain’s iconic celebration symbolized not only victory, but legitimacy for women’s athletics on the global stage. -
Rulon Gardner’s female parallel: Helen Maroulis (2016 Olympics, Wrestling)
Maroulis shocked the world by defeating Saori Yoshida of Japan — a 13-time world champion — to win the first U.S. women’s wrestling Olympic gold. She went in as a clear underdog against the sport’s most decorated star. -
Serena and Venus Williams (early years)
Compton girls trained on cracked courts, dismissed as outsiders, then took on the country-club establishment of tennis to become dominant champions.
🎬 Film
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“A League of Their Own” (1992)
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, formed during WWII, tells the story of women overcoming ridicule and doubt to prove they could play at a high level. -
“Million Dollar Baby” (2004)
Maggie Fitzgerald, a waitress with no prospects, persuades an old trainer to coach her. She rises against poverty and doubt to reach the championship stage of women’s boxing. -
“Queen of Katwe” (2016)
Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan girl from the slums of Katwe, learns chess and rises to compete internationally despite extreme odds. -
“Whip It” (2009)
A small-town misfit joins a roller-derby team, carving out an identity and proving toughness in an often-dismissed sport.
📚 Literature / Biography
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Malala Yousafzai (nonfiction, I Am Malala)
From being targeted by the Taliban to becoming a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala’s story is one of education, resilience, and triumph against systemic oppression. -
“Wild” by Cheryl Strayed (2012)
Strayed, reeling from personal tragedy, takes on the Pacific Crest Trail with no experience, and survives, rebuilds, and reclaims her strength. -
“Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly (2016)
The African-American women mathematicians at NASA overcame both racial and gender barriers to contribute critical calculations to the U.S. space program. -
“Educated” by Tara Westover (2018)
Raised in an isolated, survivalist family with no formal schooling, Westover fought her way into education, eventually earning a Cambridge PhD.
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