If you could lose, what’s the fucking point? You see, you need the risk. The Sopranos s6e16: Chasing It
Then give me leave, for losers will have leave
To ease their stomachs with their bitter tongues. William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus III i 231-232, Titus to Marchus
My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice! the law! my ducats, and my daughter! William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice II viii 15
Irreparable is the loss, and patience
Says it is past her cure. William Shakespeare, The Tempest V i 142-143, Alonso
Mr Kane was a man who lost almost everything he had. Citizen Kane 1941 starring Orson Welles & Joseph Coten & Dorothy Comingore & Everett Sloane & Ray Collins & George Coulouris & Agnes Moorehead & Paul Stewart & Ruth Warrick & Erskine Sanford & William Alland et al, director Orson Welles
If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery – isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is. Charles Bukowski, Factotum
Sometimes a loss is the best thing that can happen. It teaches you what you should have done next time. Snoop Dogg
I know you. I think you’re the kind of guy that likes to lose. The Gambler 2014 starring Mark Wahlberg & John Goodman & Brie Larson & Michael K Williams & Jessica Kange & Anthony Kelly & Alvin Ing & Domenick Lombardozzi & Emory Cohen & Steve Park & Leland Orser & George Kennedy et al, director Rupert Wyatt, gambler to Wahlberg
The losing side is full of suspicion. Syrus
Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose. Lyndon B Johnson
... But, Lizbie Browne,
I let you slip;
Shaped not a sign;
Touched never your lip
With lip of mine.
Lost Lizbie Browne! ... Thomas Hardy, To Lizbie Browne
To have lost is less disturbing than to wonder if we may possibly have won; and Eustacia could now, like other people at such a stage, take a standing-point outside herself, observe herself as a disinterested spectator, and think what a sport for Heaven this woman Eustacia was. Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native
You have to take pride in losing. Bruce the Mouse Strauss, journeyman boxer
‘I went three,’ he insisted indignantly. ‘Well, two and a half. I could have gotten out in one, but I didn’t want to cheat the fans.’ Bruce the Mouse Strauss
Oliver, there is no winning in this. There is only degrees of losing. The War of the Roses 1989 starring Michael Douglas & Kathleen Turner & Danny DeVito & Marianne Sagebrecht & Sean Astin & Peter Donat & Heather Fairfield & G G Spradlin et al, director Danny DeVito, DeVito to Douglas
We’ll still be happy if we lose. It’s on at the same time as the beer festival. Niall O’Mahoney, Cork manager, before game with Bayern Munich
The more you lose, the more you don’t win. Alex McLeish
A game is not won until it is lost. David Pleat
I have long understood that losing always comes with the territory when you wander into the gambling business, just as getting crippled for life is an acceptable risk in the linebacker business. They both are extremely violent sports, and pain is part of the bargain. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Hunter S Thompson
‘The game,’ said gem, ‘is never lost till won.’ George Crabbe, 1754-1832, Tales of the Hall, 1819
In war, whichever side may call itself a victor, there are no winners, but all are losers. Neville Chamberlain
How can you lose something as conspicuous as an atomic bomb? Phenomenon: The Lost Archives: Irretrievably Lost: The Search for the Savannah Warhead, 1998
On February 13th 1950 America loses its first atomic bomb … in the Pacific. ibid.
1956: Over the Sahara desert but no trace of the bomber, its crew or its nuclear cargo is ever found. ibid.
Some crashes were different; some involved nuclear bombs. ibid.
And exclude all other thoughts but this one from your mind – you’re a loser. Bill Hicks, Ninja Bachelor Party, Karate guru, 1991
Nobody knew who this man was. Until we identified him from an old high-school picture. So how did an American with dementia end up lost in England? How an elderly man was dumped on the British care system by his family. Panorama: The Mystery of the Unknown Man, BBC 2017
Could Kevin be to blame for what happened to his dad? In America old people are sometimes deserted because of the medical bills – it’s called Granny dumping. ibid.
I have lost two jobs, a husband and a best friend because of you. Killing Eve s1e8: God I’m Tired, Caroline to Konstantin, Eve to Villanelle, BBC 2018
I first went into a boxing gym as a child … I didn’t like to get punched in the head, man. My father didn’t give a fuck. My dad wanted me to be a boxer because he was trying vicariously to live life through me. Losers I:The Miscast Champion ***** Michael Bentt, Netflix 2019
Someone did not give Jerry Jones the fucking script [Lost KO1]. The most singular humiliating thing to a boxer is getting knocked out in public, man. My father was present. He went ballistic … I had never encountered like that kind of darkness before, that self-hatred, self-loathing. ibid.
Tommy Morrison v Michael Bentt: ‘And a good right by Bentt and Tommy Morrison is down in the first round!’ … Morrison down again … ibid. US fight commentary
You can have all the talent in the world but if you’re not brought along the right way, if you don’t have someone who’s looking out for your best interests, you’re fucked. ibid. Mickey Rourke
96 hours I was out for. And I see a light … I was always in conflict in like why I fought in the first place. ibid. Bentt
Most of us don’t prepare ourselves for failure. ibid. Freddy Roach
And I wrote a piece, Anatomy of a Knockout. ibid. Bentt
With all the problems that come with running a small-town football club. Losers s1e2: The Jaws of Victory, fan#1
Anybody who goes to a football match and expecting Torquay to win is an idiot. ibid. fan#2
Will the club survive? Will we have a club next year? ibid. fan#1
We only need one goal. A draw will keep us up. ibid.
The Dog that Saved Torquay. ibid.
Constable Harris and Bryn retired together in 1993 ending decorated careers in the canine unit. ibid.
Ice skating is not used to black skaters [Surya Bonaly]. Losers s1e3: Judgement, fan
I was raised with white parents. ibid. Surya
I was only 11 when I first moved to Paris. ibid.
Surya’s talent was of momentous proportions. ibid. contemporary
Surya enters the world of major international competitions. She is not welcomed by the judges. ibid.
It was more of a court jester’s outfit. ibid. white judge
Suzanne and Giletti coach to the 1993 world championships. Surya skates well: she lands seven triple jumps and a triple combination: she wins silver; Oksana Baiul lands five triple jumps and no combinations: she wins gold. ibid.
1994 world championships: The gold medal went to Yuka Sato. ibid.
‘The system is broken. We need help.’ ibid. expert
It’s like going into a state of weightlessness. Losers s1e4: Stone Cold, Pat Ryan
Any chance I had I threw rocks. ibid. opponent
It became known as the Hackner Double. ibid.