Throughout my life, I’ve often liked to think of myself as an underdog.
I’m fighting the odds, proving the critics wrong, accomplishing the unexpected.
I want people to say “Where did that guy come from?”
This fueled my college swimming performances, at each level.
And I’m pretty sure this attitude started when I was 7 years old and saw the movie “Rocky”.
Down on his luck, barely scraping by, and very unknown, Rocky trains in a run down gym, in the ghetto, and his heart, and a burning desire propel him all the way to fight the world champion (later this was referred to has having the “Eye of the Tiger”.)
And lately, I’m personally making a bit of a swimming comeback of sorts, and swimming in the equivalent of a Rocky pool- 4 tiny lanes, cloudy water, chlorine fumes penetrate the air, no triathletes or competitive swimmers anywhere in site.
Here I am at my Rocky pool: