“ Athletes carry forever the triumphs from their youth. Anyone who has ever competed in team sports can recall with amazing clarity feats that occurred decades earlier. A fastball launched over the fence in the ninth inning. The touchdown pass that won the game. The last-second shot that miraculously found the net. Ask those same athletes about their failures and their recall is often more precise. The missed free throw. The dropped pass. The swing and miss and shameful walk back to the bench. Often, the richness of detail in those stories surpasses those from their triumphs. As E.M. Forster wrote, a win always seems shallow; it is the loss that is so profound and suggests ‘nasty infinities.’
— George Dohrmann, in his book Play Their Hearts Out
