History Main / SecondPlaceIsForLosers

* In the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], losing the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl is always going to be a crushing disappointment that pretty much overshadows the accomplishment of getting there in the first place. Additionally, while a few teams have at least managed to salvage a little of their legacy and go down in history as losing despite a valiant effort because the showing they put up was ''just that good'' (such as the 1999 Tennessee Titans, the 2008 Arizona Cardinals and the 2021 Cincinnati Bengals), it's more likely that the loser will be remembered as a team that choked or otherwise couldn't get it done on the biggest stage. See below for some egregious examples:

* In ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'', upon finishing a race, if your character takes 1st place, he or she (or it) will be happy and excited. Taking any other position, however, including 2nd, will have them look disappointed and depressed. Contrast this to the VideoGame/MarioKart series, where characters are pleased as long as they didn't place in the bottom half of the positions.

** The 2022 Philadelphia Eagles had a 14-3 record with quarterback Jalen Hurts taking a mammoth leap in his second full season. Their defensive line was also the best in almost four decades, amassing a whopping 70 sacks in the regular season. They were the top seed in the NFC playoffs and steamrolled the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers by a combined score of 69-14 to reach Super Bowl LVII, where his team jumped out to a 10-point lead right before halftime. Unfortunately, the defense was nonexistent in the second half, and the final score ended up being 38-35 in favor of Kansas City (aided by a controversial holding call after the two-minute warning). However, Hurts put up an amazing performance, being the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, run for 70 yards, complete 70% of his passes and rush for three touchdowns in any NFL game. The Eagles did fall short, but because of Jalen's amazing performance, which Patrick Mahomes even praised in his postgame presser despite the loss, you can almost argue that this trope was averted.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Presidential elections. Even if you have a distinguished political career and win a hard-fought primary to secure your party's nomination, you'll still be a loser in the eyes of history unless you win the general election. To add insult to injury, in the country's earliest elections (prior to a change in the election system), the prize for coming in second was getting the oh-so-glamorous position of... [[VicePresidentWho Vice-President!]]
* UsefulNotes/BuzzAldrin was described by Michael Collins as letting his disappointment at not being ''first'' on the moon, to cause him not to appreciate being second. Aldrin had lobbied hard to be the first man, and there were several arbitrary factors that led to the decision to have Usefulnotes/NeilArmstrong go first instead (the positioning of the two men in the capsule, plus Aldrin being an Air Force officer, which would've made his going first seem like a military statement during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar).[[note]]That said, once Armstrong got the nod, he was given the choice to replace Aldrin with Jim Lovell on the mission because of the possible tension, but Armstrong elected to keep Aldrin[[/note]] Oddly, Aldrin's legacy probably ended up stronger ''because'' of the novelty of having ''almost'' the been first to walk on the moon, coupled with his outgoing, colorful personality (like punching a guy who claimed he didn't go to the moon). With the quieter, more reclusive Armstrong generally staying out of the spotlight, Aldrin filled a bit of a void among the Apollo 11 crew. Meanwhile the other Apollo astronauts who made it to the moon felt lucky to have been on the moon at all.
* A common saying regarding not winning is "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades". The former, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoes_(game)#Scoring because you win points for almost hitting the post]], and the latter because [[SplashDamage the shrapnel ensures damage even without a direct hit]].
* Famed music producer Music/QuincyJones has a saying that his least favorite numbers are 2, 6, and 11: You never hear about a song that makes the Billboard Top 11, nobody congratulates you for your Top Six hit, and if you get the Number Two record, all you'll be able to think about is why it wasn't Number One!
[[/folder]]

Contrast TheRunnerUpTakesItAll, SecondPlaceIsForWinners. Compare and contrast DisqualificationInducedVictory. See also MedalOfDishonor and DamnedByFaintPraise.

* This is basically Characters/DoctorDoom's fatal flaw. Yes, he's a brilliant scientist, a powerful sorcerer, and the ruler of a successful nation... but because there's always ''someone'' who is [[AlwaysSecondBest better than him]] at each of those things ([[Characters/FantasticFourTheFantasticFour Reed Richards]], ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ArchEnemy Reed Richards]], ComicBook/BlackPanther, and ''especially'' [[RuleOfThree Reed Richards]]) his ego does not allow him to leave well enough alone. Never mind that his rivals only best him in one field each, being merely a MasterOfAll just isn't good enough for him.

* ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'': [[spoiler:In her epilogue, Rachel wins the bronze medal in the Olympics. She’s down in the dumps, mainly because nobody will ever remember her for it, but the protagonist tells her that the silver medalist probably feels worse, since they were only one place away from the top spot.]]

* A common saying regarding not winning is "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades". The former, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoes#Scoring because you win points for almost hitting the post]], and the latter because [[SplashDamage the shrapnel ensures damage even without a direct hit]].

* Subverted in ''Bill's New Frock'' by Anne Fine. During a race in gym class, all the other kids agree that they will let a disabled boy win, but because of this trope, Bill can't bear to come second and so he speeds up and wins. However, the disabled boy is ''thrilled'' with second place because it's the best performance he has ever made in the class.

* Creator/NealShusterman's ''The Shadow Club'' takes and deconstructs the trope. Perennial second-place kids decide to play pranks on the first place kids to show them up, but soon things violently escalate. Its sequel, ''The Shadow Club Rising'', has the kids suspected of doing it again to a new, popular boy.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' at the end, when Dash (who has SuperSpeed and could win extremely easily) deliberately takes second place in a race to maintain the {{masquerade}}. Dash was more interested in the socialization than the actual race.

* Averted by the Croatia national basketball team in the 1992 Olympics; they talked about how happy they were to be winning silver ''before the gold medal game was even played''. They were going up against the DreamTeam led by UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, and had no illusions about winning. In the event, they put out a respectable performance.

* Kaiba's ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' {{expy}} Jack Atlas gets hit with this ''hard'' in his duels with Yusei Fudo. When their first turbo duel gets interrupted by the Crimson Dragon crashing the final play, Jack sees a video recording of their cards and is shocked to learn that Yusei would've won the duel, sending him into a funk until he gets the chance for a rematch in the Fortune Cup. This duel ends with Yusei winning; once Jack loses his champion status, his fanbase almost completely disappears. On the plus side, this teaches Jack a hard lesson about the fickle nature of fame and the need to stick with one's true friends.

* ''Literature/TheWitchOfKnightcharm'': This viewpoint is expressed by Ceranna Babineaux, who ironically is the second-ranked student in the evil WizardingSchool called Myth/TheScholomance. Ceranna was allowed to select two handpicked rookies to join a new class of student witches, but all the rookies are required to attempt a dangerous and potentially lethal obstacle course, and her handpicked choices only come in third and eighth on their first run through the course. Even though forty of the fifty rookies didn't finish at all, and even though the first and second students are both extremely powerful in their own right, Ceranna is infuriated that her students did as 'badly' as they did.

* This is Archer's attitude in an episode of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', where he's is remembering humanity's first Warp 3 flight. Archer is upset to be passed over for the test flight. When a bartender points out that he'll probably fly the next one, Archer asks her if she knows what Buzz Aldrin said after stepping on the Moon. She doesn't. Archer says that no one does, because Neil Armstrong was first. His attitude changes later, though. In fact, he ends up captaining Starfleet's first Warp 5-capable ship.

* UsefulNotes/BuzzAldrin was described by Michael Collins as letting his disappointment at not being ''first'' on the moon, to cause him not to appreciate being second. Aldrin had lobbied hard to be the first man, and there were several arbitrary factors that led to the decision to have Neil Armstrong go first instead (the positioning of the two men in the capsule, plus Aldrin being an Air Force officer, which would've made his going first seem like a military statement during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar).[[note]]That said, once Armstrong got the nod, he was given the choice to replace Aldrin with Jim Lovell on the mission because of the possible tension, but Armstrong elected to keep Aldrin[[/note]] Oddly, Aldrin's legacy probably ended up stronger ''because'' of the novelty of having ''almost'' the been first to walk on the moon, coupled with his outgoing, colorful personality (like punching a guy who claimed he didn't go to the moon). With the quieter, more reclusive Armstrong generally staying out of the spotlight, Aldrin filled a bit of a void among the Apollo 11 crew. Meanwhile the other Apollo astronauts who made it to the moon felt lucky to have been on the moon at all.

* Normally averted on ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'', where simply appearing on the show is enough to grant a DragQueen superstar status in the gay community and nightclub circuit. However, Season 4 runner-up Chad Michaels did little to hide her disappointment at losing to Sharon Needles. When Chad reappeared on ''All Stars'', she joked that Sharon was "borrowing" her crown and the other queens commented that she seemed to be still sore about losing. She would go on to win the ''All Stars'' season, but a UsefulNotes/{{Conspiracy Theor|ies}}y is that [=RuPaul=] only conceived of it in the first place as a ConsolationPrize for Chad.

* Until 2021, Mexican side Cruz Azul hadn't won a [=LigaMX=] championship since 1997. They reached the finals six times in between (1999, 2008-I, 2008-II, 2009-I, 2013-II, 2018-I), losing them all. What makes it more aggravating is that in most of those tournaments (and in 2011-I, where they didn't reach the final) they '''completely''' dominated the table and showed the makings of champions, only to lose them miserably in the final. A verb ("Cruzazulear" or ''to-Cruz-Azul'') has been colloquially coined by Mexican fans to describe domineering teams that lose at the very last minute. And is now ''an officially recognized Spanish word''.

* The Argentina National Football Team is considered one of the most important national teams in the world and a powerhouse of South American football ever since its inception. However, the last international championship they've won has been the 1993 Copa América. Ever since then, they've reached four Copa América finals (2004, 2007, 2015, 2016) and a FIFA World Cup final (2014) and lost them all while boasting some of the highest-profiled, highest-paid, and most celebrated players in the world in their ranks ever since the '90s. Though there have been call-outs about the players' lack of commitment to the national colors, it's largely blamed on AFA's mismanagement of the team and lackluster oversight over benefits and logistics. This, however, has finally ceased in 2021, as Argentina won the Copa América against Brazil.

** The 2022 Philadelphia Eagles had a 14-3 record with quarterback Jalen Hurts taking a mammoth leap in his second full season. Their defensive line was also the best in almost four decades, amassing a whopping 70 sacks in the regular season. They were the top seed in the NFC playoffs and steamrolled the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers by a combined score of 69-14 to reach Super Bowl LVII, where his team jumped out to a 10-point lead right before halftime. Unfortunately, the defense was nonexistent in the second half, and the final score ended up being 38-35 in favor of Kansas City (aided by a controversial holding call after the two-minute warning). However, Hurts put up an amazing performance, being the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, run for 70 yards, complete 70% of his passes and rush for three touchdowns in any NFL game. The Eagles did fall short, but because of Jalen's amazing performance, you can almost argue that (at least in the eyes of the general public) this trope was subverted.

* In the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], losing the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl is always going to be a crushing disappointment that pretty much overshadows the accomplishment of getting there in the first place. Additionally, while a few teams have at least managed to salvage a little of their legacy and go down in history as losing despite a valiant effort because the showing they put up was ''just that good'' (such as the 1999 Tennessee Titans and the 2008 Arizona Cardinals), it's more likely that the loser will be remembered as a team that choked or otherwise couldn't get it done on the biggest stage. See below for some egregious examples:

** The 2014 Seattle Seahawks were down by 4 in prime position to score a winning touchdown in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLIX, only to instead lose on a goal-line interception. The question of exactly what went wrong and who if anyone is to blame has been a [[BrokenBase hotly debated one]] in NFL circles ever since, but there's no doubt it was a bitter pill to swallow for the Seahawks.

** To say nothing of the 2016 Atlanta Falcons, who had their best season of the 21st century and made it to Super Bowl LI against the Patriots, where they squandered a ''25-point lead'', allowing the Patriots to tie the game and ultimately win in overtime when it had looked like they were going to walk out with an easy victory.

* In the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], losing the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl is always going to be a crushing disappointment that pretty much overshadows the accomplishment of getting there in the first place. Additionally, while a few teams have at least managed to salvage a little of their legacy and go down in history as losing despite a valient effort (such as the 1999 Tennessee Titans or the 2008 Arizona Cardinals), it's more likely that the loser will be remembered as a team that choked on the biggest stage. See below for some egregious examples:

** To say nothing of the 2016 Atlanta Falcons, who had their best season since their last Super Bowl appearance 18 years ago and made it to Super Bowl LI against the Patriots, where they squandered a ''25-point lead'' and the Patriots forced overtime for the first time in the history of the big game, and it wasn't long before that lead was entirely for naught.

* UsefulNotes/DaleEarnhardt was often quoted saying "Second place is just the first loser".

* American gymnast [=McKayla=] Maroney has been gracious in her public comments, saying that she is grateful and appreciative of her silver medal in the vault despite being an overwhelming favourite for gold. Still, her face when receiving her medal could sour fresh cream, as well as having launched a meme (which, to her credit, she's had fun with) – and, given that she ''would'' have won if she'd not sat down her second vault, it's difficult to blame her for kicking herself.

* American gymnast [=McKayla=] Maroney has been gracious in her public comments, saying that she is grateful and appreciative of her silver medal in the vault despite being an overwhelming favourite for gold. Still, her face is the picture for this trope, and it could sour fresh cream, as well as having launched a meme (which, to her credit, she's had fun with) – and, given that she ''would'' have won if she'd not sat down her second vault, it's difficult to blame her for kicking herself.

[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/McKayla_is_not_a_happy_camper_8462.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[=McKayla=] Maroney has won Olympic silver, but seems... not thrilled.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[=McKayla=] Maroney has won Olympic silver, but doesn't seem... thrilled.]]

You gotta face it: no matter how happy you are to be on that awards stand, first place is still better than second. But sometimes a person takes this a bit too far. When somebody starts acting like second place is for losers, it doesn't matter if you were in a race against everyone earth and beat 7,999,999,998 people. All that matters is you didn't beat the one.

* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse:'' Some years on, Moondancer is still steaming over not making class valedictorian, believing Twilight Sparkle snubbed a party of hers as a ''deliberate'' plot to sabotage her (rather than just having the social skills of a brick). Moondancer is not very sane.

* In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', all Vanellope has to do to be un-glitched is finish a race; it doesn't matter about her placement. Ralph acknowledges this, but she's insistent on winning, even though it puts her in more danger.

[[caption-width-right:350:[=McKayla=] Maroney has won the Silver. And just look at how angry she is!]]

You gotta face it: no matter how happy you are to be on that awards stand, first place is still better than second. But sometimes a person takes this a bit too far. When somebody starts acting like second place is for losers, it doesn't matter if you've won a footrace with everyone on the planet and bested 7,999,999,998 people. All that matters is you didn't beat the one.

Essentially it's being a SoreLoser, just, y'know, for those in the top rank.

Some real-life athletes feel that way quite deeply, coming so close and yet missing the mark. For example, one scientific study analyzed photographs of the facial expressions of many Olympians as they learned how they had placed. Gold of course was almost always ecstatic, and Bronze medalists were happy to have placed at all, but a Silver winner usually showed disappointment or dejection at coming in second best, unless it was their first time competing. This is especially true in tournament-style sports like basketball and hockey, where the bronze team had won their game, but the silver medalists ''lost'' the game for gold. And then the presentation ceremony takes place immediately upon conclusion of the last match, giving the runners-up no time to compose themselves and put on a sporting face.

Please note that many leagues (especially youth leagues) consider this ''very'' bad sportsmanship.

* When the character(s) entered the contest specifically to win the first-place prize, such as money to save their beloved school from closing, or there's some other consequence for not coming in first.

* When there really is [[AllOrNothing no prize for second place]].

[[folder:Pinballs]]
* Discussed in one of the callouts for ''Pinball/NoFearDangerousSports''
-->'''Skull:''' "Second place is the First Loser!"
[[/folder]]