If you were a child/teen living in the US during the ’70s chances are that at some point in time you came across or watched ABC’s Wide World of Sports. The link takes you to a page that offers a video the opening to that show.
Jim McKay offered the following narrative against a montage of athletes performing in their various sports:
“Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport…
the thrill of victory…
and the agony of defeat…
the human drama of athletic competition…
this is ABC’s Wide World of Sports!”
The key part of that was always the line about the agony of defeat. Why? Because of Vinko Bogataj. He was the skier who had that awful crash. More than 30 years later he has become one of those people that stands out from our childhood.
Apparently the man has done ok for himself, which is a good thing considering how his misfortune made him the butt of so many jokes.
Ooh, thanks for that link- I got chills watching the Wild World of Sports opening- took me right back to my childhood.
I’m going to have to go back to that site, it looks like fun with all the old TV shows it features.
WBM,
My sister did the same thing.
Stephen,
It is nice to see so many people cheering for him.
That’s priceless, Jack. I’m glad you posted that. It’s great to see everyone applauding him. Sometimes our failures can be our biggest moments, and it’s OK.
I used to cover my eyes every time it came on…I couldn’t stand seeing him wipe out