Nobody relishes failure or its halfway house, adversity. Everyone in sports experiences failure.
Dean Smith was labeled a "failure" until his Tarheels won a national championship. Great players in every sport never grasp the brass ring. Dan Marino, Charles Barkley, and Carl Yastrzemski never won championships.
Yaz had a 1.047 OPS in seventeen postseason games but still wore the loser's label.
Fate is a cruel mistress. The Patriots' march to five Super Bowl rings began with a fumble against the Raiders canceled by the "Tuck Rule". The Red Sox had Pedro Martinez on the hill and the Yankees down four runs in 2003 in Game 7 (see above). No matter.
Cervantes' message that "the journey is greater than the inn," doesn't hold water for many sports fans. For some, it's champs or chumps.
Failure is the tuition we pay before we sometimes graduate. We all can remember games won with mediocre play and lost despite superb performances. Michael Jordan won six NBA championships...and lost in seven other postseasons. Victory produces convenient amnesia.
What matters most are our attitudes and responses to failure. We can implode or rise. Donnie Moore committed suicide in 1989 after surrendering playoff homers in 1986. Abraham Lincoln suffered a lifetime of melancholy but channeled that to electoral success and an epic presidency. Coach John Wooden said, "don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses." Urban Meyer preaches "don't blame, complain, and defend yourself." Get better, not bitter.
Great effort might not yield success, but isn't failure. We fail when we quit, disengage, or have no process. Sometimes we fail because we lack self-awareness or self-analysis. Einstein noted "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." We have to do more of what works and less of what doesn't.
When we hone our craft, we succeed. When we learn from failure and correct our process and choices, we succeed. Failure is our best teacher, but never our favorite.