What one person would you say really “took one for the team”?
I’m going with Jesus Christ.
Beat that. 
Can’t beat that one, duffer.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Excellent submission, definitley in the running.
Should we include the size/members of said team? I have total respect for MLK (well, minus the alleged womanizing) and he did a lot to promote black rights around the world. But I’m thinking there are a hell of a lot of blacks that believe in Christ, so maybe it’s a moot point. (I should have seen that one coming.) The only other ones than MLK I can think of would be Ghandi or Mother Theresa. All three have suffered, but only one made money from the endeavors. (I’m really trying to avoid flame wars)
Are we looking for like, the All-Time Greatest? Because this is going to be very subjective.
I’ll mention those that died in the service of the military. One could certainly argue upon the merits of any given war…but I don’t really care to. Not right now anyway.
“I am just going outside and may be some time”
Captain Lawrence Oates 1880-1912, English Polar explorer, Last words, in Scott’s Last Expedition 1913 (Scott’s diary entry 16-17 March 1912, as Oates, suffering from gangrene left the tent to die, leaving the precious provisions for the remaining party, who nod understandingly)
In the interest of keeping this thread lively and being a dick, I’ll say I don’t think Jesus can win. If you accept that the bible is true (which you have to in order to nominate him), the dude was god. All he had to do was endure three hours of pain - terrible pain, I’m sure, but I think my mother was in labor with me for 36 hours - and then that was it. He dies, he ascends to heaven, whatever. The whole thing was planned in advance, and three hours of anything is no big deal if you’re god. Judas, on the other hand, had an essential part to play in the story because Jesus had to die, and look what he got out of it: he was hanged and disembowled, if I remember right, and Dante says he got the single worst seat in Hell. Now that sucks.
I’ll grant you that other writers much less contemptuous of scripture than myself have made the same point. Anyway, I’ll take MLK over Jesus.
That’s the kind of stuff I’m looking for. Thanks OAOW
Marley23, that’s not being a dick. This is IMHO after all.
I was being self-deprecating, but thanks. I think it’s a legit argument, anyway.
Shit. I forgot to ask how you temper this. If it was only 3 hours, and he knew it was destined, wouldn’t you count the years of his life that he lived knowing he was going to be sacrificed/crucified? My mom went through 25 hours of labor before having a C-section for my brother. 32 hours for me that resulted in a C-section, 30 hours for my sister (again, C-section, didn’t want to risk ruptures), younger sister was 18 hours, youngest borther was 20 hours. (Again, all C-sections). I get the feeling Christ felt a little more pain. I’m just saying. But yay your mom, she brought you here! 
The Bodhisatva would be in the same league as Jesus, IMO.
Plus, his dad was god and he could have made the whole thing not hurt if he wanted to. Unfair advantage. He could have gotten out of it.
I nominate every slave that had to endure the pain and humiliation of being owned by another person.
Tyr.
The legitimate passengers and crew members of Flight 93.
The inhabitants of Masada under seige by the Romans.
The American soldiers on Wake Island.
King Leonidas and his Spartan army at Thermopylae!
Prometheus.
I think it’s also true to say that the hijackers themselves “took one for the team.” In fact, you could say that about any suicide terrorist.
We might hate the team, and abhor the methods they use, but they’re still taking one for their team.
“Taking one for the team” hmmm… I seem to recall seeing that phrase quite often on the Cover of FreshMen magazine, and other male only adult puplications…
I’m not sure if that’s what you meant though…