Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat!

“Wide World of Sports” was the weekly ABC Sports program that aired 1961-1997. It is a predecessor of today’s constant satellite coverage of virtually any event on every continent. The “Wide World” athletic competitions varied, but the intro was the same for every broadcast. “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.” For decades, viewers were introduced to sports from around the world that ranged from the obscure to the wildly popular.
The most memorable feature of the weekly broadcasts is the agony of defeat illustrated by the spectacular crash of ski jumper Vinko Bogataj. His crash March 21, 1970 was featured from the early 1970s onward. An Indianapolis 500 accident was also used for a few episodes of Wide World, but it is this stunning skiing mishap that is forever ingrained in American culture and consciousness as a picture of the “agony of defeat”.
To paraphrase the Wide World intro, Christians also live with the thrill of victory and agony of defeat as you play your role in the human drama. This drama is far more than athletic competition. The arena of real life is success and failure in relationships, finances, education, career, marriage, parenting… and at times even sports. The Wide World intro teaches a spiritual truth in contrast to the vivid imagery of the spectacular Wide World skiing crash. The lesson is that success or failure is not defined by your performance in any of the events of this life. Success comes as you achieve your deeper purpose in life. True purpose is through a life that honors God and this success is received, in a faith relationship in Jesus. Biblical truth is that you cannot earn success by your performance nor will you be labeled a failure due to your defeats. Victory is through God’s Grace. Do not replay the crashes of your human drama over and over. Affirm with Paul the true victory in the human drama. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us Romans 8:37