For almost forty years (1961 – 1998) ABC’s Wide World of Sports held a special place in sports broadcasting.  Who could forget those iconic words “The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat” coupled with clips of spectacular sports feats and unbelievable calamities.  My favorite was the ski jumper that crashed as he got to the bottom of the 90-meter jump flying off into the crowd; truly the agony of defeat.

As the years have passed by, I am amused by the change in perspective of losing.  Back then, the thought of losing was a great motivator not only in sports but in life in general.  Losing made you feel bad; and it made you want to work harder to win the next time.  I can still remember the time I didn’t make a little league baseball team when all my friends did; I wasn’t good enough.  What a…