"Adversity Is Your Companion"

Appreciate adversity. Failure shares feedback. "This is who we are" and "That is how we respond."

Volleyball informs a near-infinite set of variables. A ball ticks over the net, a block barely lands out, a float "knuckles" at the last minute and finds a point. You control none.

The Dodgers came off two consecutive World Titles with a massive payroll and hubris to match. 

Three of the four MLB finalists appeared in the bottom 12 of payroll. The Dodgers had over twice the payroll of the Brewers. "Money can't play." 

Consider great leaders like Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln. Mandela suffered 27 years of imprisonment and Lincoln lived crippling depression, "Lincoln's Melancholy," to become who most historians consider a nation's greatest president. You've heard about Wilma Rudolph, born prematurely, later with crippling polio, told she likely would never walk, and won three Olympic Golds in sprinting in 1960 at Rome. Maya Angelou recovered from childhood abuse and mutism to become one of America's great literary voices. 

Hyperbole, thy name is blogging. Comparing a couple of volleyball wins under adversity to legendary historical figures ranges far over the top. A relevant quote, "Sports doesn't build character; it reveals it." 

Rolling over opponent and opponent would be great. MVB doesn't bring that overwhelming size or talent to the court. At times, the lineup looks like 5'8" clones carved from the same marble. Often, that's enough with "No mind."