From the world’s flukiest boxer to a berserk tale about Torquay United, sporting fails are so much more glorious than successes – and these epic tales of defeat shine
I have come to the conclusion that I vastly prefer sporting documentaries to actual sport. American football might be a tedious procession of stops and starts, but Last Chance U is a Shakespearian masterpiece. Similarly, Formula One the sport is just a lot of stupid noise, but Netflix’s upcoming Formula 1: Drive to Survive is as gripping as any thriller you’re ever likely to see.
Now I have hit the mother lode. Netflix’s new documentary series Losers is ostensibly about sport: eight different sports, across eight different episodes. But the real subject, as you might have gleaned from the title, is defeat. Every episode tells the story of a notorious sporting failure, told by the people who were there at the time. And it is absolutely wonderful.
Failure is much more common than success, but less often discussed. Indeed, with sport – which is built upon a teetering narrative of victory against all odds – there are many more failures than victors. One team might win the Premier League every year, after all, but 19 do not. Their stories are never heard, because the spotlight always swings around to the winners.
from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Vv3H1T
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