"Morning Glory" is a term in horse racing given to a horse that lights up your stopwatch in morning workouts but runs poorly on race day. Many times these horses are gifted, super star athletes that wilt under the pressure of racing, and often times to inferior or less talented horses. That expression got me to thinking about the Dallas Maverick's win over Lebron James and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
I will not call Lebron James a "morning glory" but I will call him a front runner. Front runners are horses that have great speed and run like the greatest of all time, as long as no other horse challenges them, but just as soon as another horse looks them in the eye, they wilt under pressure and fade back into the pack. This is what Lebron did during the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitski has nowhere near the athletic talent that Lebron possesses, but when the game was on the line, in the fourth quarter, he looked Lebron in the eye and he wilted.
What is it about less talented horses and athletes that give them the will to win when they probably should not? Why do they call on an inner strength and leave the more talented foes in their wake? Could it be that they have not had it as easy as the more gifted, anointed ones have? Sometimes when these gifted athletes rest on their laurels they forget that all glory is earned, not handed out like so much fan fare. Front runners do occasionally win, but when they do, they better never forget that there is always a stalker of the pace, lying in wait, for a show of weakness, ready to strike with a vengeance on those that think they will always have everything their own way.
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