Brody’s triumph of persistence
GOOGLE maps says it takes 12 hours and 55 minutes to get from Burnie to Collingwood in a car, inclusive of the ferry ride.
It’s a 25-hour walk and a 14-hour bike ride, should your wheels be designed with water travel in mind.
It’s amazing what a Steven Febey (Febey short for amfebeyian [amphibian]) footy card in your back wheel as a clicker can do for flotation.
Google Maps lacks some smarts on that front. Or believes that the skill set of Jesus lies in us all. Either way, there is delusion aplenty.
But perhaps most importantly, as we swim closer to me making a point out of all this, it does highlight that it’s taken Brody Mihocek way too long to get from Burnie to Collingwood. Seven years is at a slower pace than an asthmatic ant carrying a load of heavy shopping.
But heck, to actually make it there having gone through a lifetime of ventilators, broken antennae and the type of hardship experienced by a colony that’s been trampled on, dug up by a stupid retriever and blown up by a fire cracker-wielding teenager, well, that is some remarkable effort!
Of course, Brody Mihocek is not an asthmatic ant carrying a load of heavy shopping and the following play on that was more for my entertainment — born through a love of Blackadder — than yours, but you get the point.
Put simply, the pathway from Burnie to Collingwood for the 18-yearold version of Brody Mihocek has taken all the possible twists and turns, ups and downs, highs and lows, insert your own cliche, broken antennae and loss of fully developed colonies to achieve the ultimate goal: AFL footballer.
Unlike Paul Kelly. who very simply bussed his way from St Kilda to Kings Cross, Mihocek went from Burnie to Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District Football League to VFL clubs Werribee and Port Melbourne before reaching Collingwood as a contracted rookie.
Undrafted in 2011, having made the All-Australian under-18 team following a successful national carnival, it would have been far easier for Brody to sulk a little, drink some cans and get washed away by the feeling of hopelessness that can invade your mindset when dealt a bad hand at age 18.
Too many quit on themselves for the easy option, in this scenario, that sees way too many talented kids playing sport at levels many rungs below their capabilities. Rather than chasing the grind to the very elite stage, like Mihocek, Ben Brown or even a Trent Keep who took off to South Australia to pursue cricket opportunities that would carry him to the elite level, others chase their search for “elite fame” in being the biggest possible fish to seek out the smallest possible pond.
Mindset. Drive. It’s all that separates Mihocek from those more skilled than him who seek solace in their own local fame. He flew the coop to pursue his dream, to grind, to hurt, to be rejected more times than he ever thought possible. But when the hard work pays off and you kick four goals on debut in front of 80,000 fans of the biggest club in all the land, well, the seven-year thirst for misery, rejection and pain becomes the most remarkable investment you could make.
Message: Don’t quit on yourself for the easy option. Allow the pathways to elite success of Brody Mihocek and Ben Brown to inspire you to drain the very best out of yourself. Because if you don’t, you’ll regret it when you are sipping lagers as the local who could’ve, should’ve and would’ve.