History Main / TheBenchwarmer

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'': In "Big Ball", Mung Dahl, after taking over as coach for one of the teams, invokes this with Chowder, due to the kid's lack of athleticism, and claims that warming the bench is an important job. Chowder takes this [[LiteralMinded literally]], trying to warm the bench with radiators and hairdryers, then finally setting it on fire.

* ''Film/BlaackRat'': As one of her 'elimination games', the Black Rat tells Takashi that, as he is a member of the school soccer team, if he can block her shot on goal them she will let him go. Takashi protests that he is a 'phantom player' and has never actually been on the pitch.

* ''Literature/Slapshots}}'': Coach Boom-Boom Boltisky's career lasted sixteen years after he first joined the [=NHL=], but he only ever scored nine goals and spent a lot of time on the bench, recovering from head injuries, being traded, or being temporarily bumped to the minors.

[[folder:Live-action TV]]

* In TheNineties, Liverpool FC (and Israeli international) Ronny Rosenthal had the misfortune to be a merely above-average player in a team squad made up of world-beating excellence. Ronnie very rarely started a game and was often found on the subs' bench, but whenever he was brought on, he changed the game, getting him the nickname of "Supersub"[[note]]Ronny rescued a game against Spurs, coming on as sub and scoring a hat-trick to put victory beyond the London side's reach[[/note]].

** Despite Wakabayashi being a better goalkeeper than Wakashimazu, he didn't play for Japan's National Team's main Goal Keeper during the U16 World Cup until the finale against Germany, after Wakashimazu was injured during the semi-finals against France. The reason why Wakabayashi didn't attend the previous matches was to give Japan a DramaPreservingHandicap and to help his teammates grow over themselves.

%% * ''Ganbare, Kickers!'': The ''Kitahara Kickers''' Taichi Ota is fat and unathletic. But he's later given the role as a Specialist, as he can perform wide throw-ins.

** Seirin High's Basketball Club has six benchwarmers, but they fall into two categories. The three second year benchwarmers, Mitobe, Koganei and Tsuchida are the overshadowed players, who aren't bad as players, but they are not central to Seirin's strategy. However, due to Kuroko's nature as a BenchedHero and Kiyoshi's being a DentedIron, those two have to leave the field very often (especially Kuroko), thus these three benchwarmers are often given the chance to play on the field until the next change. The first year benchwarmers (Furihata, Kawahara and Fukuda) however are simply not good enough and are inexperienced and they are given little to no opportunity to play on the field and they are usually delegated as cheerleaders.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}:'' Satoshi/Ash has a lot of Pokémon, but since he can only carry six at the same time, most of them have to stay at Professor Ookido/Oak's laboratory. They belong to the All-Star category since Satoshi tends to carry only those Pokémon he caught in the current region he's in, and they do come back at some given points. Some of them also serve as Jokers.

* ''Literature/OperationDoOver'': Mason does display some good stamina and tolerance for pain on the football field, but he's only ever the backup for another backup player. He only gets to play when the coach is desperate or wants to teach Dominic a lesson for mocking Mason's inclusion on the team. Mason does get some good accidental athlete moments, like causing another a rival team's player to accidentally trip over him, earning a pivotal moment, but he never reaches the level of the other players. [[spoiler:Even in the altered timeline, back in 2021, Mason still gets minimal playing time after five years on the team, although he's fine with this.]]

In team sports or other team games, if there is a given limit of how many players are allowed to participate (either on the field or in the game itself), it is not unusual to have reserve players in your team. Actually, it is often necessary to have those. If one of your players is unable to participate because e.g. of an injury or from being absent, the reserve player comes in play to takes their place. But why aren't they main players?

There could also be other reasons why someone sits on the bench. Maybe it's their personality or the way how they play, maybe it's their relationship with other player, maybe they have a deeper purpose for sitting on the bench, etc.

Sometimes, a character might be DemotedToExtra because a superior character has taken his place and the former main player is now degradated to a benchwarmer. However, in other cases, a character might become an AscendedExtra, ranking up from a benchwarmer to a main player.

Compare and contrast BenchedHero, when a main player sits on the bench because he is injured, exhausted or ill, not because there are too many main players. When the benchwarmer is allowed to play and wins the game, see PutMeInCoach and MiracleRally. Closely related to PickedLast. In role-playing video games with a PlayerParty, this trope often overlaps with LazyBackup and CantCatchUp if there is no LeakedExperience.

** In ''G Revolution'', only two players are allowed to attend in World Championship matches, which is the reason why Kai, Rei and Max leave the Bladebreakers, so none of them would end up as benchwarmers or as a {{sidekick}} while Takao would get all the glory the third time again. With only three members left, BBA Revolution has Manabu/[[DubNameChange Kenny]] as their benchwarmer, and thanks to DramaPreservingHandicap, he gets a chance to shine once, despite being a bad Beyblader. White Tiger X, the PPB All Starz and the Blitzkrieg Boys range between four to five members, and all of their benchwarmers are simply overshadowed by their respective main duos. The PPB All Starz benchwarmers are especially unhappy about the degradation they earned, since their main duo weren't even members of the original All Starz team. And then we haveBarthez Battalion, a (weak) team where all members are interchangeable except their main player Mihaeru/[[DubNameChange Miguel]].

** Nankatsu SC's reserve Goal Keeper Morisaki was originally overshadowed by Wakabayashi, but due to the latter's injury, Morisaki had to took over until the the beginning of the National's Finale, giving Nankatsu SC a DramaPreservingHandicap. But once Wakabayashi left Japan, Morisaki served as the number 1 Goal Keeper for Nankatsu Middle School's team, and now he is the third Goal Keeper in Japan's National Team, behind Wakabayashi and Wakashimazu.
** Despite Wakabayashi being a better goal keeper than Wakashimazu, he didn't play for Japan's National Team's main Goal Keeper during the U16 World Cup until the finale against Germany, after Wakashimazu was injured during the semi-finals against France. The reason why Wakabayashi didn't attend the previous matches was to give Japan a DramaPreservingHandicap and to help his teammates grow over themselves.

*** Sugawara is the Overshadowed type. He's the vice-captain, but he rarely plays as he acknowledges he's not as good as a setter as the talented freshman Kageyama. However, he still possess some qualities that Kageyama doesn't have, namely experience with the team and calm demeanor, so he can be switched with Kageyama whenever the situation demands.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}:'' Satoshi/Ash has a lot of Pokémon, but since he can only carry six at the same time, most of them have to stay at Professor Ookido/Oak's laboratory. They belong to the All-Star category, since Satoshi tends to carry only those Pokémon he caught in the current region he's in, and they do come back at some given points. Some of them also serve as Jokers.
* ''Manga/SlamDunk'': Team Shohoku heavily relies on their starting lineup, composed of Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, Miyagi and Mitsui. Kogure is usually the go-to member when there's need for a substitute, and while Yasuda gets some moments to shine in the nationals, the rest of the members barely get any chance to play at all. Interestingly, Sakuragi himself served as a joker during the practice match against Ryonan, and all of the other starters (except Akagi) were also benched during the Miuradai game as punishment for the fight at the gym.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': Aki Izayoi from Team 5D's is even titled as the "Benchwarmer" in the fifth ending. She took over for the Second Wheeler Crow when he was injured before the first match began. Aki was injured before the second match and the injured Crow had to take over his position again. Since then, Aki has never attended an official Riding Duel for Team 5D's again, being overshadowed by Yusei, Jack and Crow in terms of dueling skills and riding skills. Notably, Team 5D's is the only team to have a benchwarmer at all, which makes Aki unique in that regard.

* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Peter really, really sucks at baseball, so he is usually a reserve player when on the team. Note that he's only let on the team when the coach has no choice (like when half the players were caught cheating on tests).

* In ''Film/BetterLuckTomorrow'', Ben makes the basketball team, but never gets to play because he isn't very good. This becomes a plot point when Daric convinces the whole school that Ben's been benched due to racism. The publicity from this causes Ben to quit the basketball team, but draws him closer to Daric's influences.

* The title character of ''Film/{{Rudy}}'' busts his body, heart, and soul to get on Notre Dame's college football team. In spite of this, the coaches never put him into the actual games, preferring to keep Rudy on the practice squad in spite of his passion and talent for defense. Eventually, the entire team refuses to dress for a game unless Rudy allowed to play in what would be his last chance. Even then, Rudy still ends up as a benchwarmer until the very last play.

* ''Literature/OperationDoOver'': Mason does display some good stamina and tolerance for pain on the football field, but he's only ever the backup for another backup player. He only gets to play when the coach is desperate or wants to teach Dominic a lesson for mocking Mason's inclusion on the team. Mason does get some good accidental athlete moments, like causing another in a rival team'd player to accidentally trip over him, earning a pivotal moment, but he never reaches the level of the other players. [[spoiler:Even in the altered timeline, back in 2021, Mason still gets minimal playing time after five years on the team, although he's fine with this.]]

** On another Goofy cartoon, "Double Dribble", one of the players on the visiting basketball team is ridiculously short, and is always on the bench, begging to be let in. During the second half, the players keep getting fouled out and alternates are sent in; eventually, all the alternates are out... except for the little guy. The coach reluctantly lets him play, and against all odds he ends up sinking the winning basket.

* An infamous example of a benchwarmer was Winston Bogarde, who signed for Chelsea in 2000 and made just eleven appearances in four seasons after falling out with manager Claudio Ranieri. Bogarde was earning £40,000 a week at Chelsea (which was a ''huge'' amount back then, especially for a defender), and knew no-one else could or would match it, so he stuck around partly to [[MoneyDearBoy carry on earning that massive wage]], and partly to spite Chelsea for refusing to play him in the first place.

-->-- ''Anime/InazumaEleven''

* ''Anime/InazumaEleven'':

The most common reason for being a benchwarmer is simply that the player is lousy at the sport, or at least worse than other players on the team. The rest of the team considers this character TheLoad. Other times, the player may suffer from CripplingOverspecialization, or have a rare skill that is only occasionally useful in the game. More rarely, the player may be skilled, perhaps the best on the team, but is being benched to tactically conceal this fact, or to invoke PutMeInCoach to pull off a surprise, last-minute victory.

* Invoked by [[MyBelovedSmother Vivy's mom]] in ''Literature/GetAGripVivyCohen'' [[spoiler:After Vivy is hit by a ball and gets a concussion, her mom bans her from playing in anything other than practice games for over a month.

* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Peter really, really sucks at baseball, so this is his usual role when on the team. Note that he's only let on the team when the coach has no choice (like when half the players were caught cheating on tests).

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Leela's short run as a blernsball player was a cross between this and DancingBear. She was terrible at it, due to her [[{{Cycplos}} cyclopean]] lack of depth perception, but her status as the first female blernsball player (combined with her tendency to accidentally hit opposing players with her pitches) meant she would often be brought off the bench just to entertain the crowd.

* In ''VideoGames/FootballManager'', and just about any other sports management game, this trope is guaranteed to occur - you ''will'' have players who aren't good enough to make the starting line-up, or don't fit the tactics you're using, or who, for whatever reason, you just don't like. Some players are content to be benchwarmers, but most will grow unhappy about it and eventually request a transfer.

* The ''WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'': In "How to Play Football", star player Swivel Head Smith is only brought into play when the team needs a winning touchdown. When Smith is incapacitated, the coach desperately tries to revive him while the other players get creamed by the opposing team. When Smith shows meager signs of life, he gets thrown back into the field and, with help from the rest of the team, staggers half-conscious to the end zone for the win.

----
-> '''Fudou:''' Benched again?
-> '''Kudou:''' Being on reserve doesn't mean you're on break.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}:'' Satoshi/Ash has a lot of Pokemon, but since he can only carry six at the same time, most of them have to stay at Professor Ookido/Oak's laboratory. They belong to the All-Star category, since Satoshi tends to carry only those Pokemon he caught in the current region he's in, and they do come back at some given points. Some of them also serve as Jokers.

* ''ComicBook/{{Noob}}'' has a story in which the characters need to build teams of nine people (five on the field, four backups) to play a FictionalSport that was recently introduced in the {{MMORPG}} in which the story is set. The team made of the game's top players from both the Empire and the Coalition only adds up to eight and [[ThePerfectionist Saphir]] interviews people to fill the vacant slot. Saphir is so picky that she just plain runs out of applicants and chooses the last guy in line just so the team technically has nine people, explictly telling him he won't be allowed to actually play. Subverted in that the guy is so happy that he blurts out that he'd be fine just being the team's mascot and a later panel shows that Saphir took him up on that offer.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'': When the titular character decides to sign up for baseball in hopes of redeeming himself to the public, he is treated the same way as before with the team not even giving him a chance to go up for bat and just keeping him on the bench for all the games. In the one game where he finally does get to go up for bat, he is told not to swing and go for a walk by the coach while the audience complains that he's going to lose the game. Not only does Chicken Little ignore the coach's demand, he manages to score the winning run for the team.

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

[[folder:Newspaper]]
* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Peter really, really sucks at baseball, so this is his usual role when on the team. Note that he's only let on the team when the coach has no choice (like when half the players were caught cheating on tests).
[[/folder]]

* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Peter really, really sucks at baseball, so this is his usual role when on the team. Note that he's only let on the team when the coach has no choice (like half the players are caught cheating on tests).

** Manabu Okawa was a reserve player in Nankatsu's elementary school and middle school teams, due to being their worst player and it is implied that he has eventually given up on playing soccer.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' Leela's short run as a bleernball player tended to involve her getting benched until the coach wanted her so poor skills that she'd accidentally hit an opposing team member and hurt them.

* In TheNineties, Liverpool FC (and Israeli international) Ronny Rosenthal had the misfortune to be a merely above-average player in a team squad made up of world-beating excellence. Ronnie very rarely started a game and was often found on the subs' bench: but whenever he was brought on, he changed the game, getting him the nickname of "Supersub"[[note]]Ronny rescued a game against Spurs, coming on as sub and scoring a hat-trick to put victory beyond the London side's reach[[/note]].
* An infamous example of a benchwarmer was Winston Bogarde, who signed for Chelsea in 2000 and made just eleven appearances in four seasons after falling out with manager Claudio Ranieri. Bogarde was earning £40,000 a week at Chelsea (which was a ''huge'' amount back then, especially for a defender), and knew no-one else could or would match it, so he stuck around partly to [[MoneyDearBoy carry on earning that massive wage]], and partly to spite Chelsea for refusing to play him in the first place.