DAYTON, Tenn. — As Brock Mosley waited in line during Championship Sunday’s drive-thru weigh-in for the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake, we all dreaded what was about to happen.
The seventh-year Elite Series pro from Collinsville, Miss., was about to finish second.
Again.
For the fifth time in his career — and the third time in two seasons — he was going to be the first man to congratulate the man with the trophy.
In one of the more unbelievable developing stats in pro fishing, it would also mark the third time Mosley has finished second to Oklahoma hammer Jason Christie.
Talk about knowing your nemesis.
My B.A.S.S. colleague Steve Wright and I felt so bad for Mosley when he exited the stage into the interview area, that we both drew blanks when it was time to start asking questions — until Mosley himself lightened the mood.
“Y’all ask me anything you want,” he said. “I’m fine.”
That’s when it hit me: This guy’s time is eventually gonna come.
Every competitor despises losing, but the smart ones know it’s inevitable. They get disappointed, but they don’t get crushed to the point that it drags them down for months or years.
When the dust settles, an angler understands that finishing second means beating every competitor in the field but one — and these days, beating everyone but Christie is nothing to sneeze at.
I guess Steve and I were hesitant to ask Mosley a question because we’ve both covered other sports. We’ve both encountered players and coaches who’d just suffered devastating losses and were very much not fine.
They wanted someone to blame — and since we were the first ones in line, we took the brunt of it.
Mosley’s response, after ensuring us he was fine, was the polar opposite of that.
“I caught the crap out of them today,” he said. “I just never ran into any big fish. I just got beat, plain and simple.”
In my mind, how you carry yourself in failure says a great deal about the success you’re likely to have in the future.
Mosley handling another near miss with such class just made me believe he has big things ahead.
Leading an event with Christie nipping at your heels will always be a frightening thing. But there’ll come a day when Mosley hoists the trophy with Christie looking on clapping from the crowd.
I believed it last year when Mosley finished second in back-to-back events — and I believe it now more than ever.
