FARK.com: (7258115) When being second best in the world isn't good enough: A phototour of sore losers

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		When being second best in the world isn't good enough: A phototour of sore losers (dailymail.co.uk)		40
		More: Amusing, sore loser, Ryan Lochte, medalist, freestyle relay, Olympic medals, McKayla Maroney, road racing, judo

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4577 clicks; posted to Sports » on 08 Aug 2012 at 9:21 PM | Favorite | share:

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Walker		2012-08-08 08:25:21 PM

They are the second best in the world out of billions of people and they can't muster a smile. Pathetic.

impaler		2012-08-08 08:40:46 PM

Why you no over joyed to be the first loser in something you trained your whole life for?

Gig103		2012-08-08 09:29:44 PM

Anyone know what the "prank" in the last photo is supposed to be?

Representative of the unwashed masses		2012-08-08 09:31:49 PM

Gig103: Anyone know what the "prank" in the last photo is supposed to be?

They enjoyed life and got laid once in a while?

Thanks for the Meme-ries		2012-08-08 09:32:37 PM

McKayla Is Not Impressed

AntonChigger		2012-08-08 09:49:24 PM

Thanks for the Meme-ries: [i291.photobucket.com image 373x417]

McKayla Is Not Impressed

Hahaha oh please can this be a meme?

/Too lazy to make more pics myself

edmo		2012-08-08 09:50:15 PM

McKayla Maroney looks ultra high maintenance.

PowerSlacker		2012-08-08 09:50:37 PM

AntonChigger: Thanks for the Meme-ries: [i291.photobucket.com image 373x417]

McKayla Is Not Impressed

Hahaha oh please can this be a meme?

/Too lazy to make more pics myself

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184688/London-Olympics-The-h i larious-memes-gymnast-McKayla-Maroney.html?ICO=most_read_module

Angry Buddha		2012-08-08 10:02:44 PM

PowerSlacker: AntonChigger: Thanks for the Meme-ries: [i291.photobucket.com image 373x417]

McKayla Is Not Impressed

Hahaha oh please can this be a meme?

/Too lazy to make more pics myself

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184688/London-Olympics-The-h i larious-memes-gymnast-McKayla-Maroney.html?ICO=most_read_module

Worst URL-fu ever!!

Death Eats a Cracker		2012-08-08 10:03:18 PM

PowerSlacker		2012-08-08 10:08:17 PM

Angry Buddha: PowerSlacker: AntonChigger: Thanks for the Meme-ries: [i291.photobucket.com image 373x417]

McKayla Is Not Impressed

Hahaha oh please can this be a meme?

/Too lazy to make more pics myself

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184688/London-Olympics-The-h i larious-memes-gymnast-McKayla-Maroney.html?ICO=most_read_module

Worst URL-fu ever!!

I took the too lazy route that was paved for me.

The Smails Kid		2012-08-08 10:37:05 PM

Those are big farking medals

r1niceboy		2012-08-08 11:56:00 PM

They're unhappy at not winning the chunk of cash that the US Olympic committee has been put up for them competing in an amateur event.

Thanks for the Meme-ries		2012-08-09 12:15:52 AM

AntonChigger: Thanks for the Meme-ries: [i291.photobucket.com image 373x417]

McKayla Is Not Impressed

Hahaha oh please can this be a meme?

/Too lazy to make more pics myself

Here it is (not mine) - LINK

/i am a tumblr addict too

SpaceyCat		2012-08-09 12:54:46 AM

Thanks for the Meme-ries: Here it is (not mine) - LINK

I definitely like some of those pictures. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm tasty

Khazar-Khum		2012-08-09 01:34:08 AM

NBC isn't helping. "You trained your whole life for this...so, how does it feel to be a complete loser?"

UncleStumpy		2012-08-09 02:17:50 AM

That was stupid. Two things bugged me about that story;

None of those athletes posted were from team GB. It's always hilarious when it's not one of your own that's dissapointed.

Also, these are athletes who train their entire lives to be the best in the world, not second best.

Lastly, 90 percent of the awards ceremony are immediately following the event. Of course they are going to be still upset. Give them time to reflect on what they've accomplished. Almost everyone of them will be quite happy with their medal, as the years go by .

One more thing, in the majority of those pics, it's quite obvious they were oblivious to the fact they were being photographed at that moment

/end rant
//lighten up Francis

tbhouston		2012-08-09 03:54:13 AM

Some people just aren't use to losing...

Baryogenesis		2012-08-09 05:04:12 AM

Newsflash! Hyper-competitive people who train intensely for years might be disappointed when they don't win the single biggest event of their lives.

If you're good enough to be in contention for an Olympic medal then you're sure as shiat not aiming for 2nd or 3rd.

SamFlagg		2012-08-09 06:14:17 AM

In this thread, people who say "hey that's pretty cool" when they come in second place for a job interview.

thisone		2012-08-09 06:26:40 AM

SamFlagg: In this thread, people who say "hey that's pretty cool" when they come in second place for a job interview.

one of these things is not like the other

sparkyjones23		2012-08-09 07:01:55 AM

What 2nd place looks like to the British

i.minus.com

MAYORBOB		2012-08-09 07:26:58 AM

You know what happens when you're not good enough?

SURPRISE BUTT SEX!

Grimthorn		2012-08-09 07:44:52 AM

sparkyjones23: What 2nd place looks like to the British

[i.minus.com image 850x523]

Here's the thing. The Silver Medal, or the Bronze, is not a consolation prize. You win a medal, regardless of color. The idea that "second place is the first loser" misses the whole point of competition.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Better to finish dead last in the Olympics than a non-competitor who calls a silver medalist a "loser".

abhorrent1		2012-08-09 08:38:00 AM

Oh god, I'm going to the labor camp.

hugram		2012-08-09 08:58:05 AM

I disagree with the Colombian cyclist's picture showing that he is upset by getting a silver.

He was not a favorite to win anything in the road race. I think he was just tired after racing for 160 miles.

"Vino" (the gold winner) was not favorite to win anything either. He is a very well known rider (unlike the Colombian guy) but even he was not favorite to win gold. Those two successfully survived the late breakaway, which it is rare on a flat or semi flat stage...

Cubs300		2012-08-09 09:22:25 AM

The things is, especially in this country, we put such a premium on being first. If you're not first, no one cares and you're a loser. That type of mentality is great if you are playing for the Yankees, running for President, or fighting world wars. In most everything else, it just makes a person look like a spoiled child. As the Maroney pictures demonstrate.

bacongood		2012-08-09 09:48:41 AM

Two things:

1. People who win silver tend to focus on how close they were to gold; while people who win bronze focus more on how close they were to fourth (and nothing). This has been true for the Olympic medals for a long time.

2. A lot of people who get silver just lost a direct match (i.e. judo, most team sports, fencing, etc.). It is hard to adjust from "I just took 2nd out of 2" to "I just took 2nd in the world".

RichieLaw		2012-08-09 09:52:07 AM

So many people sit and pontificate on how these athletes should be grateful for their silver medal and ignore the amount of training and perseverance and pain that these people go through to get to this level of competition. If you spend your ENTIRE LIFE training for something and come within tenths of a point or a second to realizing it, only to not quite be able to pull it off, it is something that can be very upsetting. Give these athletes time.

As far as Maroney, she is 16. Effing, 16. She was obviously upset with herself, not with the medal and was very happy with it as her own twitter states. Give her a break. These aren't celebrities or vapid music stars here, they are amateur athletes that have given up their lives to compete for the United States and other countries, they don't deserve this.

Mr Guy		2012-08-09 10:29:46 AM

hugram: I disagree with the Colombian cyclist's picture showing that he is upset by getting a silver.

He was not a favorite to win anything in the road race. I think he was just tired after racing for 160 miles.

"Vino" (the gold winner) was not favorite to win anything either. He is a very well known rider (unlike the Colombian guy) but even he was not favorite to win gold. Those two successfully survived the late breakaway, which it is rare on a flat or semi flat stage...

Did you watch the race? He was pretty upset he bit on a head fake and lost the race in the last 15m.

hugram		2012-08-09 10:55:29 AM

Mr Guy: hugram: I disagree with the Colombian cyclist's picture showing that he is upset by getting a silver.

He was not a favorite to win anything in the road race. I think he was just tired after racing for 160 miles.

"Vino" (the gold winner) was not favorite to win anything either. He is a very well known rider (unlike the Colombian guy) but even he was not favorite to win gold. Those two successfully survived the late breakaway, which it is rare on a flat or semi flat stage...

Did you watch the race? He was pretty upset he bit on a head fake and lost the race in the last 15m.

I watched part of the race but I did not see the finish. I actually had a race myself that day in Virginia (I'm from North Carolina) and so I watched as much as I could before checking out from the hotel.

I still believe he was not 'upset' of getting a silver. He was never mentioned as a favorite to win any medals. I think it was more of a reaction like 'wow, I came so close to winning the gold medal' instead of the reaction you might expect if he was the actual favorite to win the gold and then got the silver instead (ala the American swimmers FTA)...

Mr Guy		2012-08-09 11:18:47 AM

hugram: I still believe he was not 'upset' of getting a silver. He was never mentioned as a favorite to win any medals. I think it was more of a reaction like 'wow, I came so close to winning the gold medal' instead of the reaction you might expect if he was the actual favorite to win the gold and then got the silver instead (ala the American swimmers FTA)...

I think that's true for MOST people, though. You WIN the gold, and you HANG ON to a bronze, but you lose the gold to get a silver. He wasn't upset that he was second, but he was absolutely annoyed at himself for being second, and how it played out. It was a brilliant move on the other guy's part. For whatever reason, the leader checked over his left shoulder and drifted slightly left to see where the rest of the pack was, and the instant the second guy realized he was out of line of sight he bolted on the right for the finish. He looked back and fought him for it, but his reaction time was a fraction too slow. I, personally, was shocked that two hours of bike racing held me so riveted. I think the fact that it was people pushing themselves and not driving a machine that made the strategies so much more obvious than in NASCAR to me. It was interesting watching how they matched their limits against what they believed their opponents limits to be, and even more interesting that confident (and confidently wrong) the team UK was in leading the chase pack, and they just made their move too late.

Eventually, the sting will fade, but at that moment, he was absolutely upset about his "failure" by winning silver.

IAmRight		2012-08-09 12:16:27 PM

Documentation for bronze being looked at more positively than silver.

Boeheimian Rhapsody		2012-08-09 01:43:51 PM

i can't stop laughing at this one:

25.media.tumblr.com

factoryconnection		2012-08-09 02:14:59 PM

A lot of this has to do with how close gold was. Someone like Maroney, who is right now the best in the world at vault hands down, and had already proven it in earlier rounds, just had to do HER THING and walk off with the gold medal. This may be her only chance; competitive gymnasts rarely get a second gymnastics. She was about 30 degrees of body rotation from a gold medal, that's it. So she's rightfully very disappointed, and let her emotions show. Not the best sportsmanship, but far better than the two Russians in the all-round final that were shoving their coach and falling off things like "IDGAF." I'd hate to be in either situation, given the sacrifices that those women have endured for their sport, with the freaking cameras shoved in their faces to catch every trembling lip and falling tear in stunning, high-definition 3D.

I feel that someone that was nowhere near the gold but had a neck-and-neck duel for silver will show a much different face.

I saw the 100M women's hurdles final last night, and the American silver medalist lost by about 4 inches... out-leaned really as she made her charge on the Australian. It was a photo finish, and a minute later when the officials posted the results, the Australian collapsed in overwhelming joy while the American clapped for her, knowing she'd gave it her all to try to beat the WR holder. Major class the whole way.

The American that came in at bronze? She was overjoyed regardless! Very mature.

Bleyo		2012-08-09 03:53:40 PM

I lol'd

SamFlagg		2012-08-09 05:45:54 PM

thisone: SamFlagg: In this thread, people who say "hey that's pretty cool" when they come in second place for a job interview.

one of these things is not like the other

One is a job interview and one is something you've spent your life training for, and probably will not have a second chance at?

Phins		2012-08-10 03:15:46 AM

I think that when you get silver, you can't help felling like you lost. I've heard athletes say that after some time has passed, they're happy to have a silver medal.

UncleStumpy		2012-08-11 01:53:02 PM

sparkyjones23: What 2nd place looks like to the British

Nice pic, but I can pretty much gaurantee not all gb athletes felt that way immediately after.

I do love that picture as it really puts everything in perspective, doesn't it?

I hate the England part of gB almost much as I hate the French

UncleStumpy		2012-08-11 01:55:51 PM

Thanks for the Meme-ries: AntonChigger: Thanks for the Meme-ries: [i291.photobucket.com image 373x417]

McKayla Is Not Impressed

Hahaha oh please can this be a meme?

/Too lazy to make more pics myself

Here it is (not mine) - LINK

/i am a tumblr addict too

That's pretty hilarious

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