The Agony of Defeat

[geminigirl]

While watching the coverage of the Olympics (particularly skiing,) an oft repeated phrase in our house this week has been...

"The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat."

So, we're both wondering who else remembers it, since neither of us has heard it for years.


[Poll #675498]

Comments

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

The footage changed over time. I remember the agony footage changing from a ski jumper who landed wrong to one who crashed right off the runway. Or maybe the other way around. I think the thrill footage, at least part of the time, was a runner raising his hands above his head in exultation. There may also have been (in different years) another runner (hurdler?) crossing breaking the tape.

[scherzoid.livejournal.com]

Here's the show open from 1978: http://espn.go.com/media/2001/q1/classic-intor-78(2).avi

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

Do you remember Chris Economaki and Chris Schenkel, as well as Jim McKay?

[slfisher.livejournal.com]

Jeez, y'all are making me feel old.

I remember the skier pinwheeling. Don't specifically remember the thrill of victory footage.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Gee, thanks for making the age brackets so that I have to check the next highest one. Couldn't break it like 35-45, could you? ;-)

And I remember the whole thing, vividly. You should have also asked who did the voice-over (Jim McKay).

[entirelysonja.livejournal.com]

John says the thrill of victory changed over time, but when they tried to change the agony of defeat, people complained so they had to put it back.

In our house, we've used "the agony of defeat" a fair amount this week, but not "the thrill of victory".

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I changed my answer about remembering the "thrill," because I thought I did, but didn't recall when it came down to it. Did it change over time?

I remember hearing, a billion years ago, after having watched the agony of defeat since childhood, that the skier it showed was from eastern Europe, and had no idea his spectacular crash had been showed every Saturday morning for years in the United States, and was appalled to find out about it.

The ABC Wide World of Sports thing is a given, though. That was one of our regular family things, to see what was on Wide World of Sports, though we often didn't watch much or all of it once we found out what we'd be watching.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Oh, poor old Dan. ;)

[zenmondo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this small trip down memory lane. I haven't thought of the Agony of Defeat guy in years. I think I saw an interview with him in the 80s though.