# People Whose Reputations Changed the Most From a Single Act or Event **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518 "2005-11-04T18:50:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/21 "2005-11-05T02:41:24Z")
Rosa Parks ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/22 "2005-11-05T03:50:28Z")
Bill Buckner. He’ll forever be remembered and cursed for one error, though I think he may finally find some salvation now that Boston’s won one. Scott “Wide Right” Norwood. Poor guy missed one not-exactly easy field goal under intense pressure, and never lived it down. Todd “Sucker Punch” Bertuzzi. A good player whose legacy now is overshadowed by one stupid decision. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/23 "2005-11-05T04:31:55Z")
Yeah, that Clinton “scandal” made his approval ratings go up to one of the highest ratings ever. What President would actually want to be liked by 2/3 of the country! Talk about your mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/24 "2005-11-05T05:33:23Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > Bill Buckner. He’ll forever be remembered and cursed for one error, though I think he may finally find some salvation now that Boston’s won one. And along those same lines, [Scott “Wide Right” Norwood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Norwood), possibly the only person who can credibly claim to have single-handedly lost the Super Bowl. I doubt that anyone but Bills fans knew much of him before January 27, 1991, but no one who was watching will ever forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/25 "2005-11-05T05:38:34Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > Was there really just one single event that pushed MJ over from “good” to “bad” though? I thought people had been finding him quite odd for awhile, and all the kiddie diddling charges just added to it. But it wasn’t as if those charges had come out around the time of “Thriller” or anything, when he was really popular. Right? He was already very weird and he might not have been at his peak. But he was sued in '93 and still very popular. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/26 "2005-11-05T06:21:26Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > And along those same lines, [Scott “Wide Right” Norwood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Norwood) Hey, isn’t that the guy said to have single-handedly lost the Super Bowl back in '91? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/27 "2005-11-05T06:24:14Z")
Hey jackelope, read the post YOU QUOTED: > [@soulmurk](#): > > Bill Buckner. He’ll forever be remembered and cursed for one error, though I think he may finally find some salvation now that Boston’s won one. > > **Scott “Wide Right” Norwood. Poor guy missed one not-exactly easy field goal under intense pressure, and never lived it down.** > > Todd “Sucker Punch” Bertuzzi. A good player whose legacy now is overshadowed by one stupid decision. bolding mine 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/28 "2005-11-05T06:34:32Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/29 "2005-11-05T06:40:33Z")
That whole fruit thing with Adam. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/30 "2005-11-05T07:04:21Z")
Shoeless Joe Jackson. Arguably Roman Polanski. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/31 "2005-11-05T07:08:20Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > Rosa Parks We wouldn’t be living in Stone Mountain today without her! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/32 "2005-11-05T12:54:01Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > Wasn’t Rudy Guillani pretty much dimissed as a viable politician and seen as lackluster at most as a leader… then 9/11 happened. I’d say no. He was famous for cleaning up a lot of Manhattan and making it liveable once more. He was the politician who said that criminals and decay were not to be considered part of NYC’s ‘charm’ any more. Hardly a lackluster reputation. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/33 "2005-11-05T13:37:10Z")
> [@Mr. Miskatonic](#): > > I’d say no. He was famous for cleaning up a lot of Manhattan and making it liveable once more. He was the politician who said that criminals and decay were not to be considered part of NYC’s ‘charm’ any more. Hardly a lackluster reputation. His immediate reputation pre-9/11 was mostly for the Rudy-Judy-Donna soap opera that was going on at the time. 9/11 skyrocketed his reputation through the roof (and deservedly so, IMHO). Police Commissioner Bernard Kerak was a hero in 9/11, but his illegal alien maid sent him downward. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/34 "2005-11-05T13:52:07Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Clinton really screwed the pooch with that Lewisnky nonsense. It was hard to take him seriously after that. I’d say it was _ **her** _ reputation that had the more drastic change. One day: successful up-and-coming young’un getting a taste ( 😉 ) of government. Next day: permanent BJ joke, fat joke, ugly joke, cigar joke, dress joke, etc. Definitely her, not him. He’s still the pretty cool ex-president that most of his supporters feel disappointed in, but still love. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/35 "2005-11-05T14:43:29Z")
From a Behind the Music episode: Billy Squire who had video of himself dancing very badly on MTV. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/36 "2005-11-05T14:52:31Z")
Woodie Hayes, who punched a player during a bowl game. Al Campanis/Jimmy the Greek with their comments on black athletes. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/37 "2005-11-05T16:02:50Z")
I think we should make it a rule that these people needed to have an established reputation before it was changed - OJ Simpson yes; Scott Norwood no. Otherwise we’re mostly asking for people who became famous for doing something bad. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/38 "2005-11-05T16:08:56Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I should probably start a thread about this, but this mis-use of the phrase “screwed the pooch”, “fucked the dog”, “making puppies”, etc. bugs me. “Screwing the pooch” means you are doing nothing of any real use, usually on company time (and usually starting around 3 pm Friday afternoon.) It doesn’t mean screwed up or made a mistake. Every single time I’ve heard this phrase it was in the context of making a mistake. For example, in the film “The Right Stuff”. If it ever meant doing nothing, the meaning has long since changed. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/39 "2005-11-05T16:23:37Z")
I’ve always heard “screwing the pooch” used to describe inattention to work related actvities, whether willful or accidental. I was in the military for 23 years and it was a popular euphemism for a period of time, I think during the 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-whose-reputations-changed-the-most-from-a-single-act-or-event/329518/40 "2005-11-05T16:52:29Z")
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