# Athlete whose life changed the most following one performance **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** golf\ **Created:** [June 16, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705 "2025-06-16T15:26:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/61 "2025-06-23T05:55:14Z")
Yes. To the point where we GenXers often think of it (sometimes aloud) when we (say) take off our boots after a long hike: in a Brooklyn accent, “da agony of da feet” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/62 "2025-06-23T05:58:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I think that “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” is a part of shared Gen X culture (and probably Boomers.) Definitely Boomers. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/63 "2025-06-23T11:33:22Z")
As a quick aside, I was surprised to find out that ABC’s Wide World of Sports ran through 1997. I would have sworn it was over about ten years previous to that. The more interesting thing, at least to me, I found was that the footage over “thrill of victory” changed by season. One year it was a Little League team in red, another time a different team in blue, one year Ali, another Team USA hockey, another Jordan, etc. But “Agony of Defeat” guy was always Vinko Bogataj, at least since the early 70s (his jump was in 1970 as mentioned above). Before that, I was able to find a downhill skier wiping out for 1969’s intro, but Wikipedia also mentions footage of another ski jumper with a less dramatic wipeout previous to Bogataj as the “agony of defeat” footage. The last weird thing (not so weird given how memory works) is that the Bogataj jump doesn’t look at all like my memory of it. I remembered the ski jump as much larger and the tumble much more dramatic. That ski jump looks positively puny and amateur compared to today’s ski jumps. I have no memory of the guy he almost clips on the way over, nor the crowd being that close. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/64 "2025-06-23T12:59:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > As a quick aside, I was surprised to find out that ABC’s Wide World of Sports ran through 1997. I would have sworn it was over about ten years previous to that. Same. It was neat to be able to regularly see coverage of less usual sports. IIRC, I used to also enjoy American Sportsman, which aired just before WWS. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/65 "2025-06-23T14:25:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The more interesting thing, at least to me, I found was that the footage over “thrill of victory” changed by season. One year it was a Little League team in red, another time a different team in blue, one year Ali, another Team USA hockey, another Jordan, etc. But “Agony of Defeat” guy was always Vinko Bogataj,… I remember Pele being carried off a soccer pitch, and Mario Andretti spraying champagne after winning a race. There are a lot of good visuals for the thrill of victory. Nothing worked for the agony of defeat better than a ski jumper falling before he even got to the end of the jump. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/66 "2025-06-23T14:42:46Z")
Maybe Ben-Hur? From slave to national hero. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/67 "2025-06-27T00:12:44Z")
And, since 1997, fewer and fewer people have understood the joke in, “What in the _Wide, Wide World of Sports_ is a-goin’ on out here?” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/68 "2025-06-29T21:44:48Z")
WWoS’s peak was in the 1970s, whenever they would have live Evel Knievel motorcycle jumps. I remember ca. 2000 when a female soccer player celebrated her team’s victory by tearing off her shirt and running around the field in her bra. Some people were saying what a victory it was for women, when in fact it gave her 15 minutes of fame, as it should have. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/69 "2025-06-30T15:58:42Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I remember ca. 2000 when a female soccer player celebrated her team’s victory by tearing off her shirt and running around the field in her bra. Brandi Chastain, in 1999. She’s generally regarded as one of the best female soccer players in U.S. history, but that moment, and the photos of it, became what she’s known for by the general public. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/70 "2025-08-18T02:14:03Z")
Mike Jones on the Rams who saved 2000 Super Bowl and wasn’t heard from again ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/71 "2025-08-18T02:40:48Z")
Not only do they not get the reference, they don’t get the reference to the reference! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/72 "2025-08-18T03:53:55Z")
And it was something like 25 years before that record was broken! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/73 "2025-08-18T05:19:05Z")
Christopher Reeve’s accident was at an equestrian event, when he fell off his horse and landed on his head. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/74 "2025-08-18T06:20:24Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > The athlete that comes to mind to me is Nadia Comăneci. She was pretty much an unknown until she scored that perfect 10 at the 76 Olympics in Montreal. Then overnight the whole world knew her name and story. And what a wild ride she’s had in the years since. As for fame being both a blessing and a curse, she’s definitely seen a lot of both sides. Life changing is an understatement in her case. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/75 "2025-08-18T06:28:32Z")
Well then, by definition, it sounds like his life **didn’t** change much at all following his one performance, per the OP question. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/76 "2025-08-18T06:55:20Z")
I probably didn’t say it very well–I should have said he went from, zero to hero–and then back to zero ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/77 "2025-08-19T18:17:20Z")
Michael David Edwards aka Eddie The Eagle became world famous for representing Great Britain in the 1988 Olympics as a ski jumper despite being very far sighted, 20 lbs heavier than the other competitors, and lacking financial support for training. He did poorly but he became a media celebrity due to his participation. The IOC made stricter rules for entry into the event, requiring hopefuls to compete in international events prior. Edwards failed to qualify for the 92 and 94 games. Following the Olympics, Edwards became a media celebrity, appearing on numerous commercials, recording a song in Finnish (despite not knowing the language), appearing on numerous TV shows, and even carrying the torch for the 2010 Olympics. He is also the subject of a 2015 biopic. ---
**Author:** ![NotEncinoMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@NotEncinoMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotEncinoMan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/78 "2025-08-23T04:07:10Z")
Andrés Escobar had his life change quite dramatically after one performance in that his life was ended by murderers because he fucked up. He scored an own goal at a FIFA event called the World Cup, a type of soccer match tournament that is very famous around the world. Colombian gangsters later shot him dead. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/79 "2025-08-23T17:22:48Z")
This is what I came here to say, even though it technically wasn’t a single game. Also it bears mentioning that Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudamire, the actual Knick stars, were BOTH injured during the seven game stretch Lin carried the Knicks. He also hit several game winners. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705/80 "2025-08-23T18:08:24Z")
I’ll nominate Kerry Wood. A legendary 20-strikeout game early in his career earned him the nickname “Kid K,” and I imagine he didn’t pay for a drink in Chicago for at least a year afterwards. The remainder of his career was pretty lackluster. And for the sake of fighting ignorance, was Diego Maradona a big (figuratively speaking) soccer star before he scored those two legendary goals against England in 1986? (I’m asking because I genuinely don’t know; this American had never heard his name until that fall when I read about him in Spanish class and couldn’t have been less interested.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/athlete-whose-life-changed-the-most-following-one-performance/1019705.md?page=5)