| 1 | ->'''Terry:''' Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson." You remember that? "This ain't your night"! My night! I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit, so I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short-end money.\ |
| 2 | '''Charley:''' Oh, I had some bets down for you. You saw some money.\ |
| 3 | '''Terry:''' You don't understand. I coulda had class. [[TropeNamers I coulda been a contender!]] I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley. |
| 4 | -->-- ''Film/OnTheWaterfront'' |
| 5 | |
| 6 | {{Retirony}} is especially cruel when it strikes a character down in their prime just as they begin embarking on success and glory. At least [[ShellShockedVeteran the old soldiers in combat made something out of their lives even if they found no peace afterwards]]. These young souls don't have the opportunity to become somebodies -- they get just a little taste of it before suffering a CareerEndingInjury or when circumstances, including their own deaths, force them to throw it all away. Naturally, this will be right after (or right before) they reach the point that would make them bona fide superstars. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Years after, the disillusioned nobodies still can't get the taste of what could have been out of their mouths. This may lead to them taking their pent-up frustration out on the youths who look to be fast becoming the kind of people Fate prevented them from joining. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | The lost opportunity or career is most commonly some form of sports, but non-sports-related careers are not unheard of. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | A SuperTrope to ThePeteBest (where someone left a team before big success hit). |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Compare CareerNotTaken, DreamCrushingHandicap, StageMom, GloryDays, TradeYourPassionForGlory, LifesWorkRuined. WhiteDwarfStarlet is a related phenomenon, where the person got their moment of glory -- it just didn't last long, and the bitterness is tangible. Sometimes associated with JadedWashout. The inversion is AccidentalCelebrity. Compare and contrast GoingHomeAgain, when the character makes it to the big leagues, flunks, and then returns home to reconnect with their roots. |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | !!Examples: |
| 17 | |
| 18 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 21 | * This happens at a pretty young age to Coco in ''Anime/{{Basquash}}''. After suffering a traumatic leg injury at the hands of a mecha, she became wheelchair-bound and unable to continue playing basketball, which is part of what kicks off the series' story. |
| 22 | * Invoked and subverted in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' with Tatsuki, who broke her arm after getting into the top eight in a fighting competition between girls of her age group, but still managed to earn second place despite the injury. She says that had it not been for the broken arm, she could have won the whole thing. |
| 23 | * In ''Anime/EarwigAndTheWitch'', the band Earwig was at its height when Erica's mother suddenly left without warning, presumably having to do with her then unborn daughter. It becomes clear that her bandmates never got over it, her absence why they are both so bitter. |
| 24 | * On ''Manga/Eyeshield21'', Doburoku Sakaki blew his chance at a professional sports career when he injured himself while recklessly trying to finish the [[TrainingFromHell Death March]] by himself. He seems to take it in fairly good stride though and respects the drive and camaraderie of the Devil Bats. |
| 25 | * This is how the plot of ''Literature/ICouldntBecomeAHeroSoIReluctantlyDecidedToGetAJob'' starts off. The protagonist Raul was the top of his class to become a hero, only for the [[BigBad demon king]] to kick the bucket. With peace brought into the world, the hero business was closed down and he's forced to work as a retail sales clerk, [[CripplingOverspecialization unable to find a job with abilities that he can't use in any other businesses]]. |
| 26 | * An example outside of sports: Oji Tanaka, the protagonist of ''Anime/TheLegendOfBlackHeaven'', was the guitarist for the titular heavy metal band. They had a single hit, and the group then drifted apart for reasons even they can't describe. Oji, now a browbeaten middle-management {{salaryman}} with an unaccommodating family, is deeply bitter about his life as it is and as it could have been. |
| 27 | * ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' provides another music example. Double H, the two idol singers that are all over the place, were originally Triple H before Himari's illness forced her to quit the band. |
| 28 | * ''Manga/SilverNina'': In his high school days, Shutaro wanted to hit it big and own his own company. Ten years after graduating, however, he's forced to return to his small hometown in failure and poverty, kicking off the plot as he becomes his niece Nina's primary caretaker. |
| 29 | * ''Manga/SlamDunk'': The StartOfDarkness for Mitsui Hisashi is this. In junior high school basketball, he's an MVP. He's surely on the way to repeat such feats in high school... then GameBreakingInjury kicked in. As he watched his friend Akagi get most of the glories in his place, Mitsui left the basketball court, bitter with the sport and become a delinquent. Subverted 2 years later, when he's given a chance to redeem himself and be a contender; a great contender he becomes. |
| 30 | * In ''Anime/YuGiOhTheMoviePyramidOfLight'', Joey distracts a number of duelists who want to challenge Yugi so that he can escape. When Yugi comes back and asks if the coast is clear, the duelists all charge at him and run over Joey and Tristan. Tristan tells Joey that they [[SarcasmMode respect him alright]], while Joey just mumbles that he could have been a contender. |
| 31 | * ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' takes this to its furthest extreme with two of its leads: |
| 32 | ** IdolSinger Ai Mizuno, who was [[HighVoltageDeath killed by a freak lightning strike]] right around the time she'd risen to the top of the charts and sold her first CD. Once she's reanimated as a zombie, she discovers that the world has largely moved on without her, remembering her more for her untimely death than her accomplishments in life, while she is unable to return to a society that would fear and shun her as an undead monster if she were to step into the light of day again. Her character arc is about her finding her second wind with Franchouchou, an idol group of zombies disguised as the living, once she gets over the sheer absurdity of the situation. |
| 33 | ** The late first season WhamEpisode twofer of 10 and 11 reveals that Sakura, while she was alive, was an aspiring extracurricular academic achiever throughout her short life, only for each of her attempts to be dashed by [[BornUnlucky some misfortune]]. First, she gets the lead role in a school play, only to get sick on the day of the performance. Then, she gets sick again when she tries for the relay team after getting some of the best practice times. Her later attempt to get into the top high school in the area, for which she gets some of the highest mock test scores, is dashed when she reaches the testing site late due to running into too many old ladies needing help crossing the street and answering the questions in a panic. She spent the next few years in a depressed funk until she saw Ai, then of the idol group Iron Frill, in a TV interview saying that mistakes aren't the end of the world. Inspired one more time, she ran out the door in the moment circling back to the beginning of the series where she [[LookBothWays ran into a truck and died]]. Coming back to the present, she's forgotten everything that happened since she died, pushing her through the DespairEventHorizon. Thankfully, her teammates help her get better. |
| 34 | [[/folder]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 37 | * In the ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica''/''ComicBook/IronMan'' miniseries ''The Armor and the Shield'', the two face a group of aspiring heroes who call themselves the Paladins, who were trained under the Fifty-States Initiative (''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'') but never had a chance to do anything before the program collapsed. They were manipulated into assisting a conspiracy that would allow Veronica Eden to take control of Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. to eliminate or control all superhumans, but when their role in the scheme was exposed, they tried to attack Rogers and Stark to cover it up. Team leader Vox observed that the team never had the chance to prove themselves, but Rogers countered that every day was a chance to prove themselves heroes, and the problem was that some people just didn't have the sense of responsibility to be real heroes, affirming that the Paladins had been tested and found wanting. |
| 38 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': |
| 39 | ** In the 'Club of Heroes' arc in Creator/GrantMorrison's [[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison run on]] ''Batman'', several of the Batmen of All Nations have fallen prey to this since the team-up which could have propelled them to international prominence and fame sputtered out after two meetings, one of which Batman himself didn't bother to show up for. [[spoiler:Wingman]], however, suffers most of all, since his bitterness at being denied what he sees as his chance to be in the big leagues leads to his FaceHeelTurn in that arc. Batman, naturally, is scathing: |
| 40 | --->'''Batman:''' You don't understand. We don't do what we do for ''fame''. How much were you paid to throw away your ''morals''? |
| 41 | ** It's common to portray many of Batman's RoguesGallery as frustrated geniuses undone by trauma and external malice. Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Scarecrow are seen as individuals with enough scientific talent that they can contribute legitimately to society, but instead use their abilities for evil schemes. |
| 42 | ** Batman himself often thinks that his parents will see him as having wasted his considerable potential becoming a crime fighter when he could have done far more for the world as a scientist, engineer and intellectual, skills he displays as Batman but conceals as "Bruce Wayne" to avoid drawing attention. This is, of course, {{depending on the writer}}, and some have Bruce Wayne as far more active and less of an UpperClassTwit. |
| 43 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', Jesse Custer becomes the sheriff of Salvation. His key officer is a woman who was going to join the Army, but her mother fell ill and she stayed to look after her. |
| 44 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': |
| 45 | ** One of the annuals gave the Sandman an entire story built on this idea, complete with reference to ''On the Waterfront''. One of the highlights was ruining his potential football career by fixing a game in high school (to help a friend square a mob debt, no less). |
| 46 | ** For a long time in the comics, many saw Peter Parker himself as this. He was a science prodigy as a high school student, but as an adult makes a living as a freelance photographer, and was traditionally seen as the underachiever in his social circle. The fact that by his mid-20s he kept having the same life as his high school days (balancing his aunt, his relationships, his rent, his superhero work) only cemented this. For a time, writers made him a CEO of his own corporation specifically to challenge this idea, and also to update the setting, since it strains credibility for Spider-Man to remain poor and struggling and ''still'' operate in a contemporary New York of high student loans, high rent and constant expenses. |
| 47 | * ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'': Boomerang deeply misses his days of being a professional baseball player before being kicked out over a bribery scandal, [[spoiler:and his overarching goal is to play one more game while in disguise]]. |
| 48 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Lex Luthor keeps thinking of how he could have saved the world and humanity with his great intellect if not for Superman, and that he actually hates developing {{Doomsday Device}}s and other MadScientist inventions. This is repeatedly shown as a self-delusion, however, and both in Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis stories, Superman has contempt for Luthor for wasting his genius on petty schemes when he could have saved the world years ago if he wanted. |
| 49 | * ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' portrays scientists like Doctor Octavius and Shocker this way: genuinely brilliant scientists and technicians who as a result of circumstances end up becoming villains. |
| 50 | [[/folder]] |
| 51 | |
| 52 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 53 | * After they beat back the newly emerging New Horde in ''Fanfic/SheRaInTheWake'', Hordak still feels like a failure, having needed help in fighting what he views as the person who usurped his accomplishments away from him. |
| 54 | * In ''Fanfic/ThievesCanBeHeroes'', Izuku feels this way about his inability to get into U.A. after his ChronicHeroSyndrome made him rashly come to the aid of a woman in the midst of being sexually assaulted by a drunken man. This decision ended with him being arrested, charged, and convicted with assault in a rigged trial. The legal proceedings made him miss the U.A. Entrance Exam while his new criminal record all but ensures that getting a job at any Hero Office will be all but impossible. Subverted in that he ultimately doesn't regret what he did despite the consequences of his actions. He completely gets over it after he realizes that he would have left all of his new friends to suffer under Kamoshida's thumb if he had never come to Shujin, allowing him to finally move on from his forlorn wish and look towards what he's able to do now as a Phantom Thief. |
| 55 | * In ''Fanfic/VengeanceOfDawn,'' Breaking Dawn is a highly intelligent, charismatic, and cunning unicorn mare with magical potential so powerful that even Celestia, her personal mentor, has almost never seen the like of it before. But her spoiled attitude and lack of dedication to her studies caused Celestia to set her aside in favor of a young Twilight. Heartbroken, Dawn's academic performance continued to worsen, and when she could not control her rage and assaulted Twilight, she was expelled from the School for Gifted Unicorns. In the present day, Dawn is living in a poor apartment and can't even hold down a job at a clothing store because she thinks her former status as Celestia's personal student makes her too good to work like an ordinary pony. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 59 | * In ''Film/NinetyNineRiverStreet'', Ernie had to give up boxing due to an eye injury which could have left him blind if he were ever hit there again too hard. But even though he can no longer compete, he's still able to put his boxing skills to good use when faced with violent criminals. |
| 60 | * In ''Film/AaronLovesAngela'', Aaron's father Ike spends much of his time drunkenly looking at slides of his college football days. He's sad and bitter that his career didn't work out, and his biggest wish for Aaron is that he'll have a successful basketball career, even though Aaron doesn't think he'll ever be tall enough. |
| 61 | * Angelo from ''Film/BackstreetDreams'' was once a highly skilled boxer, but by the time he got his shot at the belt, age had weakened him too much. |
| 62 | * ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'': Marty's BadFuture includes a car accident which resulted in a hand injury that left him unable to play the guitar. |
| 63 | * Billy's grandmother in ''Film/BillyElliot'' (who appears to be afflicted with dementia), rambles that she "could have become a professional dancer". |
| 64 | * ''Film/Carrie1976'' according to Sissy Spacek. As she explains in ''A Decade Under the Influence'': |
| 65 | -->''In the book, Carrie, she was just a complete loser and I felt there needed to be some... a little ray of hope... it would make it sadder if Carrie could have been the Prom Queen, that if there was a possibility she could pull it off. It would make it sadder when the walls came tumbling down.'' |
| 66 | * {{Inverted|Trope}} by ''Film/CitizenKane'', when he is forced to give up the control of his empire. Hardly a nobody. Very disillusioned, he reflects that it was his ''advantages'' that stole his chance at true greatness: |
| 67 | -->'''Charles Foster Kane:''' You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man.\ |
| 68 | '''Thatcher:''' Don't you think you are?\ |
| 69 | '''Charles Foster Kane:''' I think I did pretty well under the circumstances.\ |
| 70 | '''[[CorruptCorporateExecutive Thatcher:]]''' What would you like to have been?\ |
| 71 | '''Charles Foster Kane:''' [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Everything you hate.]] |
| 72 | * {{Double subver|sion}}ted in ''Film/Daredevil2003''. Matt Murdock's father used to be a boxer and ended up working as an enforcer for the mob. After Matt gets blinded, his father decides to clean up his act and become a boxer again. He does very well for himself. [[spoiler:Then, as he's preparing for a fairly major fight, he finds out that the mob's been behind all his victories, paying his opponents to throw fights.]] |
| 73 | * Wendover from ''Film/DoctorInClover'' is quite fond of ballet and bemoans the fact that his father stopped him from pursuing his dreams. |
| 74 | * This is the source of most of Evelyn's angst in ''Film/EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce''. She feels like she should have been something great, though she can't seem to decide exactly what. Turns out, she's right - she really did have the potential to make it big in a number of different fields, but for one reason or another, she managed to miss every single one of the pivotal moments that would have led to her actually realising one of the talents. |
| 75 | * Deconstructed in the film ''Film/TheFan''. Creator/RobertDeNiro's character is convinced that he could have been a major league baseball player and latches onto Creator/WesleySnipes' character as someone through whom he can live vicariously. Things go downhill fast. [[spoiler:Near the end of the movie, it turns out that De Niro's character had never played ball beyond ''Little League''.]] |
| 76 | * In the film ''Film/FridayNightLights'', the ex-star of the central football team's obsessing over his regrets turn him into a violent alcoholic. The current team members are painfully aware that a similar fate awaits them after the glory of the sport has long since faded. |
| 77 | * Played with in ''Film/TheGodfather'': Don Vito Corleone expresses his regret to his son Michael that he couldn't turn the family legit in his lifetime, or at least spare Michael from taking over as Don. In this case, it's the father despairing for his son: |
| 78 | -->'''Vito:''' There could have been a Senator Corleone. Governor Corleone. Something. |
| 79 | * ''Film/HappyGilmore'' features the main character becoming a pro golfer under the tutelage of Chubbs Peterson, a former golfer who was hyped up by ''Sports Illustrated'' to be "the next Arnold Palmer" until an alligator bit off his hand, forcing him to retire. |
| 80 | -->'''Chubbs:''' Yeah, tournament down in Florida. I hooked my ball in the rough down by the lake... damned alligator popped up! Cut me down in my prime! |
| 81 | * ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' - everything in George Bailey's life [[StatusQuoIsGod conspires to trap him in Bedford Falls]]. He couldn't go to college because his father died suddenly and he had to take over the family business, so he sent his brother Harry instead. Then when Harry returned to take over for him, it was with a new wife whose father offered Harry a job that was too good to pass up, so George insisted he take it. He couldn't even take his own wife on their planned honeymoon because he had to use their savings to protect the family business in the wake of the stock market crash. Sure, he eventually realizes it was all [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong probably better for everyone else]] that way, but Creator/FrankCapra doesn't [[BadNewsInAGoodWay sugarcoat]] the initial regret and frustration as it all piles onto George's shoulders. |
| 82 | * Munsen from ''Film/{{Kingpin}}'' was on his way to becoming a champion bowler until a bunch of guys he tried to hustle chopped off his right hand. Years later, his name is a byword for failure. |
| 83 | * ''Film/{{Ladybugs}}'': Rodney Dangerfield sucks up to the boss to get a soccer coach job, claiming the only reason he didn't get to the pros was because of injury. |
| 84 | * The March sisters in ''Film/LittleWomen2019'' never achieve their dreams. |
| 85 | ** Meg is unable to become an actress because of the stigma towards that profession and instead marries John. |
| 86 | ** Jo abandons her dreams of being an author and falls back on being a teacher. |
| 87 | ** Amy gives up on becoming a painter because of her mediocrity and settles on marrying Laurie. |
| 88 | * The saloon madam from ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' could have made it as a ballerina had Butch Cavendish not eaten one of her legs. |
| 89 | * Inverted in ''Film/{{Moneyball}}''. Billy Beane is bitter because scouts convinced him that he could be a baseball star and he gave up a college scholarship to play Major League Baseball straight out of high school. Instead of ending up with a degree from Stanford, he ended up with a mediocre baseball career that went nowhere. |
| 90 | * Spoofed with the Mary (Had A Little Lamb) character in ''Film/MotherGooseRockNRhyme'', who claims she could have been so much more if only that damn sheep weren't following her everywhere. |
| 91 | * Used directly in the film ''Film/MuppetTreasureIsland''. As the pirates sing (without regret) about the different possible paths they could have taken in life, one of them comments "I coulda been a contender!", prompting chuckles from the rest of the crew. |
| 92 | * In ''Film/NapoleonDynamite'' Uncle Rico is this character played for laughs. He firmly believes that if his high school coach had just let him carry a football during a crucial game back in 1982, he'd be a Hall of Fame NFL star today. Most of his screen time in the movie is spent passive-aggressively abusing his nephews and earning enough money for a time machine to transport himself back to his old high school glory days. It is revealed towards the end of the film that he was a benchwarmer, and was never actually in the game at all. |
| 93 | * ''{{Film/Nixon}}'': Exaggerated by Nixon. He is TheLeader of the most powerful country in the world. Even so, that is little compared to his dreams. His tragedy is that is played straight, not parodied. Nixon is full of bitterness: |
| 94 | -->'''John Ehrlichman:''' You got people dying because he didn't make the varsity football team. You got the Constitution hanging by a thread because the old man went to Whittier instead of Yale. |
| 95 | * The TropeNamer is ''Film/OnTheWaterfront'', which has Terry calling out his brother Charley for making him [[ThrowingTheFight take a dive]] against Wilson, thus ending his boxing career before it even had a chance to begin. A double-layered irony, as the claim is not even "I coulda been a champion" but merely "I coulda been ''a contender''" -- that is, he could have had a chance... at having a chance. |
| 96 | * ''Film/TheRocker'', in which ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'''s Rainn Wilson plays a Pete Best (see the music category below) analog. |
| 97 | * ''Film/{{Rocky}}'': |
| 98 | ** Rocky Balboa is only 30, but he's already past his boxing prime. He's never progressed past low-stakes fights in dive bars, and moonlights as an enforcer for a loan shark to pay his bills. As a gimmick to fill an empty fight card, he's offered a title shot against Apollo Creed, the reigning Heavyweight champion. Rocky knows that he has no chance of actually winning, but he decides to give it his all to prove that he's not just "a bum". |
| 99 | ** The old trainer Mickey Goldmill is crusty and bitter because he was never a success as a fighter, and he's particularly hard on Rocky because he sees that Rocky ''could'' have been successful, but became just another bum anyway. When Rocky gets his title shot against Apollo Creed, Micky gets to serve as his Manager so they can both make the most of it. |
| 100 | --> '''Rocky:''' You know, I been coming here for six years, and six years you been sticking it to me. I wanna know how come!\ |
| 101 | '''Mickey:''' You don't wanna know.\ |
| 102 | '''Rocky:''' Yeah, I wanna know how come!\ |
| 103 | '''Mickey:''' You wanna know?!\ |
| 104 | '''Rocky:''' I wanna know how!\ |
| 105 | '''Mickey:''' Okay I'm gonna tell ya! Because you had the talent to become a good fighter! And instead of that, you became a leg-breaker to some cheap, second-rate loan shark!\ |
| 106 | '''Rocky:''' It's a living...\ |
| 107 | '''Mickey:''' It's a ''waste'' of life! |
| 108 | * Subverted in the movie ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'', where in college David Dunn [[CareerEndingInjury faked an injury after a car accident to end a promising football career]], the reason was his fiancée Audrey was not happy with the violence of the sport and they likely wouldn't have remained together if kept playing. But he then forgot he faked it through the normal process of memory reevaluation and editing, leading to his dissatisfaction with his "lost chance" at greatness in the movie's present time. |
| 109 | * The male lead in ''Film/{{Wimbledon}}'' is a former tennis hopeful who just never quite made it. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, as the film ends with him winning Wimbledon, but choosing to retire on a high note.]] |
| 110 | * Parodied in ''Film/YouDontMessWithTheZohan''. Zohan's friend refuses to give him a job at his electronics store because the store sucks out people's ambitions. He points out his many employees initially had other dreams but they got stuck at the store and never left. |
| 111 | [[/folder]] |
| 112 | |
| 113 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 114 | * ''Literature/EndoAndKobayashiLive The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte'': While {{downplayed|Trope}} as the titular Endo actually knows he is unlikely to go pro even without his CareerEndingInjury, he is working actively to {{def|iedTrope}}y this trope. This is because his past has been so entwined with baseball (his father is the school baseball coach in a rural community) that he doesn't want to make himself ''hating'' the sport because of this. This is why he made a clear cut from competitive play (even declining an offer for a PostInjuryDeskJob from the school baseball team) and trying to explore the possibilities in a career in sports commentary. |
| 115 | * The book ''Literature/EthanFrome'' features a young man's frustration over being unable to pursue his scientific interests because of being tied to his small hometown with the illnesses of his parents and wife. |
| 116 | * Ursula Vernon wrote a poem [[http://ursulav.deviantart.com/art/It-Was-A-Day-398345793?q=gallery%3Aursulav&qo=4 "It Was a Day"]] which is partly about people who haven't succeeded in life and blame others for it. |
| 117 | -->''Eventually, it came to you that those people had a future, too,''\ |
| 118 | ''but they hadn’t quite realized they weren't going to find it''\ |
| 119 | ''and they blamed you for the fact it wasn't here.''\ |
| 120 | ''You were not the sort of person that lived in their future.''\ |
| 121 | ''You were still too fat and too wobbly and much too weird, and you laughed too loudly''\ |
| 122 | ''like a good-natured hyena''\ |
| 123 | ''and you were not supportive of their high and lonely destiny.''\ |
| 124 | ''And if you were here and their future wasn't''\ |
| 125 | ''it was probably your fault'' |
| 126 | * In ''Literature/KeepingYouASecret'', Holland's mother wanted to be a lawyer but never did because she got pregnant in high school. She both resents Holland and wants her to live out her mother's dreams -- she relentlessly drives Holland to take advanced classes, become student body president, apply to the country's top universities. She assumes that Holland is going to major in pre-law, and won't let Holland tell her otherwise. Furthermore, she micromanages her daughter's life, even spying on her, constantly telling her that she doesn't want her to "throw away her life" as the mother did. |
| 127 | %%* Literature/PhineasFinn. |
| 128 | * The first ''Literature/RedDwarf'' novel, like the TV version below, has Rimmer blame his whole failed career on the gazpacho soup incident. In this version, he'd only been with the company for five months at the time, but the book still points out that in truth Rimmer keeps failing because he has neither the aptitude nor, at heart, the ''desire'' to be a Space Corps officer. |
| 129 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': |
| 130 | ** Ned Stark thinks his late brother Brandon would have been the better Lord of Winterfell. |
| 131 | ** Rhaegar Targaryen was one of the most promising warriors in not only the history of his house but also the Seven Kingdoms, and was prophesied to become the Prince That Was Promised (although he thought that his son, Aegon, was the one). Unfortunately, he was born as heir to the [[TheCaligula Mad King Aerys]], who was jealous of his son's popularity, and then brought the fall of the entire house, the early deaths of Rhaegar and his children, and the exile of the remaining Targaryens to Essos. The only person who doesn't idolize Rhaegar in the present day is Robert Baratheon, and a few lament what could have been had he reigned on the Iron Throne. |
| 132 | ** Viserys Targaryen II was the longest-serving Hand and was already old when he became king. He reigned for only a year and it's thought he could have done the realm more good had he lived. |
| 133 | ** Daemon Blackfyre was considered the greatest uncrowned king of Westeros. His failed rebellion cemented him only as a villain. |
| 134 | *** His mother Daena Targaryen could have been queen in her own right after her brother King Baelor died, but she had no supporters after her [[GirlInTheTower long confinement]]. Also, the brutal civil war that happened when her grandmother Rhaenyra tried to become queen (after which [[HeirClubForMen women were de facto barred]] from the throne) was still fresh in everyone's collective memories. Her uncle Viserys ([[TheGoodChancellor who had pretty much ruled Westeros for the past decade and a half because his royal nephews couldn't be bothered to]]) took the throne instead. |
| 135 | ** Prince Baelor Breakspear shared the same reputation as Daemon but he got accidentally killed in a tourney melee. |
| 136 | ** "King" Renly Baratheon was popular but he was assassinated. Thanks to the regime's PR machine, he is remembered as a hero who lifted the siege of the capital instead of TheUsurper that caused the siege in the first place. |
| 137 | ** Subverted in the case of Willas Tyrell. Willas broke his leg in a tournament he entered at age fourteen, and the break never healed properly, effectively killing his dreams of knighthood. However, he quickly re-invented himself as a GentlemanAndAScholar and became one of Westeros' leading experts on falconry and animal husbandry, as well as something of a political prodigy. |
| 138 | ** After her little brother Jaehaerys became king (and generally held to be the ''best'' king Westeros ever had), Queen Rhaena spent the rest of her life grumbling about how he and his sister-wife "stole" the throne from her, even though she spent all her time in seclusion, had NoSocialSkills even before the massive TraumaCongaLine that followed her marriage, and never showed any interest in actually ruling to begin with. |
| 139 | * ''Literature/{{Under Suspicion|Series}}'': |
| 140 | ** Downplayed with Leo Farley. He muses that if he hadn't retired he could've made police commissioner of the NYPD and that he misses police work, but then tells himself that protecting his family is much more important to him, he having quit after Blue Eyes murdered his son-in-law and threated to kill his daughter and grandson. Getting the rank of First Deputy Commissioner is also still an impressive achievement and he remains highly respected by the police. |
| 141 | ** ''Literature/IveGotYouUnderMySkin'': |
| 142 | *** Blue Eyes complains that he could've done anything with his wide skill-set, especially in IT, if it weren't for him [[spoiler:getting arrested for drunk driving by Leo Farley]], which he attributes to screwing up the rest of his life. |
| 143 | *** Muriel likes to go on and on and ''on'' about how she could've become a famous actress and/or been the second Mrs Powell and be living the high life right now, if it weren't for her daughter Nina and Betsy screwing everything up (Nina introduced Rob and Betsy, resulting in Rob dumping Muriel for Betsy). Nina thinks that Rob Powell was never that into her in the first place and that she was always a second-rate actress. |
| 144 | *** Alison still feels sad and bitter she was never able to follow her dream of becoming a doctor, mostly because she was never able to afford the tuition costs and Betsy prevented her from getting a scholarship that would've resolved this issue. She hopes to use the $300,000 payout she's getting for appearing on a true crime show to cover some of the costs. [[spoiler:In the end, she finally gets to pursue her dream]]. |
| 145 | ** In ''Literature/YouDontOwnMe'', Kendra did well at medical school and was doing her residency to become a pediatrician when she got pregnant. She intended to go on leave to have her baby then return to her residency, but she struggled to cope and had leave her job within a month, later realising she was suffering from post-partum depression. Her husband persuaded her to become a stay-at-home mother instead, with Kendra telling herself she didn't really ''need'' to work because Martin made more than enough as a successful neurosurgeon. Unfortunately, her mental condition deteriorated so badly she could barely take care of herself, let alone her children. Kendra has now recovered and has a job as a dermatologist's assistant that she enjoys, but she admits she still feels sad and disappointed she never got to become a pediatrician, saying that no one would take her on as a resident because of the rumours she was a drug addict and had Martin killed. |
| 146 | [[/folder]] |
| 147 | |
| 148 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 149 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': |
| 150 | ** Bran wanted to be a knight, which becomes something of an impossibility after Jaime pushes him out a window. He's very angsty about it at first. |
| 151 | ** Ned and Lyanna actually saw a potential in Hodor to be a warrior when they were younger due to his immense size. His great-grandmother, Old Nan, politely brushes off her then little Lord and Lady's suggestions, citing it doesn't suit their social status for him to train with highborn children. Now imagine him as a MightyGlacier or LightningBruiser, maybe even an {{Acrofatic}} badass if he trained. |
| 152 | *** [[spoiler:Even more tragically, Hodor soon after had a seizure that reduced his mind to that of a child and the only word he could speak for the rest of his life was "Hodor". The reason it happened is even more tragic than the incident itself.]] |
| 153 | ** Played with, with Tyrion. Tyrion tells Varys that because of his dwarfism and his father's hatred for him as an InadequateInheritor, he never expected to have a real opportunity for his talents and his tenure as Acting Hand of the King is the only real chance he has had to apply himself in a meaningful way. |
| 154 | * Al Bundy from ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' is also an ex-high school football star whose plans for fame were dashed with an injury and [[ShotgunWedding marriage]] to his then-girlfriend, after which he was forced to settle into a banal life as a wage-slave shoe salesman. |
| 155 | * Star quarterback Jason Street suffers a spinal injury in the ''Series/FridayNightLights'' pilot. |
| 156 | * The Music/QuincyJones series ''Series/InTheHouse'' had Music/{{LL Cool J}} play a football star who gets taken out by a knee injury, and starts a gym. His leg eventually heals, and he gets back in the game. Guess what happens? |
| 157 | * The prevalence of this in sports films is parodied in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'', with a film (by the Lazy Writers) about cricket; the coach is bitter because he used to play cricket for a team that reached the "final of the Ashes", shyeah, but he never found fame, because he bowled a wide. |
| 158 | -->You bowled a wide in the Ashes final? How can you live with yourself? |
| 159 | * In ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', Marsha tells Daisy about how she could have been an Olympic sprinter had she not been knocked over by her first husband to be and introduced to alcohol. She still shows interest in it, though, on one occasion persuading Daisy to join her on a run. |
| 160 | * Ted, the co-pilot in ''Series/PanAm'', used to be a Navy test pilot... until he crashed his plane, [[spoiler: ruining his chances of getting into the space program]]. The worse part is, it was probably an equipment malfunction, but the faulty equipment was manufactured by Ted's father's company and his father killed the investigation to preserve his contracts. |
| 161 | * Invoked in an episode of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', Will tries to psyche up the college football team for the BigGame, encouraging them to give it their all because "I know some of you might get into the majors, but for most of you, this is the end of the line!", and then starts to go into detail about how their lives will be once their GloryDays end after graduation. It doesn't work. |
| 162 | * ''Series/{{JAG}}'': Bud's college roommate Ron Katz who became a dot com millionaire at one point had asked Bud to become his business partner. Bud ponders in "The Colonel’s Wife" what could have been if he had taken that path. Ultimately, he realizes that if so, he wouldn't have met his wife and had their kid. |
| 163 | * In ''Series/{{Graceland}},'' Johnny could have been a US Navy SEAL, but on the last day of Hell Week, he was hit by a boat. It's subverted because he is not really bitter about it. His time in the Navy got him US citizenship, and after leaving the Navy he easily landed a job as an FBI agent. |
| 164 | * In ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'', Princess Rhaenys had a chance to be chosen as the first queen regnant of the Seven Kingdoms and is known as "The Queen Who Never Was." She had a strong claim, but was passed over in favor of her (less skilled) cousin Viserys on the basis of gender. When Viserys decides being female isn't actually an issue after all and makes Rhaenyra his heir to the throne, it makes the whole thing pointless and frustrating for her. |
| 165 | * The central premise of ''Series/{{Suits}}'' is based on a subversion. Mike could have been a great lawyer but the ToxicFriendInfluence of Trevor got him expelled from college. When the series starts he is reduced to taking exams for other people for money and is about to be busted for being a drug courier. A chance encounter with Harvey, a top-level lawyer in one of the best law firms in the city, gives him a second chance. Harvey is so impressed by Mike that he hires him as his associate even though Mike has no law degree. Mike now has to use all his skills and talent to keep this dream job. |
| 166 | * Donaldson, the money-grubbing researcher from ''Series/{{Utopia}}'' claims he was a real scientific high-flyer until he discovered that the SARS epidemic did not actually exist and he was ReassignedToAntarctica for his troubles, and now the only job he can get is testing pet food. He is bitterly resentful of this and keeps trying to sell out the gradual uncovering of TheConspiracy to the very people that demoted him [[MoneyDearBoy just so he can be rich again]]. |
| 167 | * One episode of ''Series/MarcusWelbyMD'' deals with a promising young boxer who has to end his career due to epilepsy. |
| 168 | * The [=UnSub=] of one episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' was a former high school football star in a small, football-obsessed town, who was reduced to working as a garbageman after blowing out his knee in his senior year, while his teammates abandoned him and went to college on scholarships, and had the successful careers and families he believed he should have had. He got his "revenge" on the team by abducting their neglected, soccer-playing daughters and forcing them to kill each other. |
| 169 | -->You all have lives, I just clean up your mess. Well, now you have to clean up mine. |
| 170 | * ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow'' has two examples: |
| 171 | ** Elsa Mars is convinced she would have been a big star if not for Creator/MarleneDietrich eclipsing her as the nation's favorite German entertainer. |
| 172 | ** Paul believes that his handsome face would have made him a star had he been born with a "normal" body. It's also the reason why he decided not to have his face tattooed. |
| 173 | --->"I have the face of a pretty lad. Can you imagine this mug on a normal body? I could've ruled the world." |
| 174 | * Many of the victims in ''Series/ColdCase'' died before realizing their full potential. |
| 175 | * ''Series/{{MASH}}'': In "End Run", SGT. Billy Tyler, a former college football star, suffers a severe leg injury in combat and his dream of playing in the N.F.L. is dashed when Hawkeye has to amputate it. |
| 176 | * Many otherwise brilliant characters from ''Series/TheWire'' turned to crime for one reason or another and never became the people they wanted to be. Season 4 focused on Baltimore's faulty education system that forced kids to graduate despite them not being ready. |
| 177 | * Walter White from ''Series/BreakingBad'' could have become rich had his former friends not "betrayed" him. His resentment over being consigned to a monotonous, low-paying teaching job is part of what drives him to embark on a drug dealing career. [[spoiler:It is eventually revealed that [[SubvertedTrope it was Walt's own choice to leave their mutual company for a measly $5,000.00 buyout before they struck it rich]].]] |
| 178 | * ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': |
| 179 | ** Cyrus Beene is one of the greatest political minds in America and by all rights a man that should've been President. Unfortunately, Cyrus isn't particularly physically attractive and an unhappy marriage made him come to the realization that he was gay. The former made the Presidency improbable -- the latter made it a pipe dream, so Cyrus had to settle for Chief of Staff (all the power, none of the glory). Though he didn't voice it often, it's clear that he's very bitter about it. [[spoiler:Essentially, Season Six was him making one last stab at that pipe dream, saying just the right words to manipulate Luna Vargas into doing the dirty work for him]]. |
| 180 | ** Mellie was first in her class at Harvard Law and could've been successful on her own like Olivia is had she so wished. She gave that all up for her marriage to Fitz in hopes of becoming First Lady. While that did happen, considering what it cost her, it's obvious some part of Mellie regrets choosing Fitz at all. Mellie even admits that the real reason she stuck around after years of a dead marriage and finding out that her husband was cheating on her was in hopes that Fitz would make it up to her by helping her with her own political ambitions, making all the sacrifices worth it because it ''had to be''. |
| 181 | ** Season Five is Eli forcing Olivia into thinking she's this so he can have more power, as he sees his children's power as his own. Even though she's the successful head of a crisis management firm and has connections and contacts all over the world with ''very'' powerful people, Eli firmly believes she could be so much more than that. Thus, he manipulates his "son" Jake Ballard into taking initiative and becoming the National Security Advisor in hopes of convincing Olivia doing similar things. Olivia does, by becoming Mellie's campaign manager -- [[spoiler:a path that leads her to murder two US Vice-Presidents and resurrecting B613 with ''her'' as Command, all while also doubling as Mellie's Chief of Staff, effectively making her the most powerful person in the world. The Season Six finale implies that Eli has come to regret pushing her that far, even though she's become everything he wanted her to be]]. |
| 182 | * On ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' Sherlock tries to avert this for his colleague and friend Detective Marcus Bell. Marcus is a top-notch detective and his cooperation with Sherlock has produced spectacular results. However, Sherlock realizes that Marcus's career has become too tightly tied to Sherlock. When Captain Gregson retires, the new captain might have a less enlightened view of police consultants like Sherlock and Joan, so they would be forced to move and Marcus's career would likely be sidelined. To avoid this, Sherlock passes Marcus's file to a friend in the US Marshal Service, who's more than happy to offer Marcus a job. Becoming a US Marshal would be an ideal job for Marcus and would allow him to progress his career. Marcus is not happy with the meddling, but admits that if he did not take the US Marshal job, he would probably regret it for the rest of his life. |
| 183 | ** Sherlock discovers that a former Scotland Yard Detective Inspector is sabotaging Marcus Bell's transfer to the US Marshall Service as RevengeByProxy against Sherlock. Sherlock does not know what he might have done to turn the man into an enemy and is surprised to learn that this trope is the reason for the feud. During his final days as a Scotland Yard consultant Sherlock was barred from going to crime scenes due to his drug-addled behavior but he nevertheless barged his way into the investigation of the murder of a Member of Parliament and solved it with a brilliant deduction in a few minutes. The Inspector was the lead investigator on the case and was responsible for tying up loose ends after Sherlock identified the killer. The Inspector quickly discovered that there was enough physical evidence to solve the case even without Sherlock's help. He could have solved the case himself within a day and reaped all the glory for himself. He figures that if he was allowed to solve the case on his own, the prestige of closing such a prominent case so quickly would have earned him a promotion and led to a stellar career at Scotland Yard. Instead, he was upstaged by Sherlock and is now teaching a criminal statistics course at a US college. |
| 184 | * ''Series/MidnightCaller'': Skip Fillmore from the episode "The Fall" went to college on a basketball scholarship. Five years and a failed tryout for the pros later, he returns to San Francisco a failure. |
| 185 | * ''Series/RedDwarf:'' Arnold Rimmer insists he only ever failed his shot at greatness by a narrow margin. The episode that first delves into this, "[=Me2=]", has him claim his failure stems from a gaffe involving soup... wherein Rimmer completely fails to notice the disconnect between his story and the fact he'd been in the Space Corps for fourteen years before that and was still a nobody. A recurring theme of Rimmer is that he'll blame everyone and everything for his total inability to become an officer but himself. That said.. later in the series we meet "Ace", an alternate-universe version of Rimmer who did indeed become a dazzlingly-successful test pilot in the Corps (what a guy!) but the point of divergence came long before the soup incident, when Ace was held back a year in school while Arnold squeaked through to the next grade. |
| 186 | * Rom from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' is an absolute genius when it comes to engineering and could have very easily thrived had he pursued a career in that field, but instead chose to follow [[ProudMerchantRace Ferengi]] cultural expectations and become a businessman (for which he has zero talent). This is what motivates his son Nog to join Starfleet, because he knows that he isn't cut out to be a businessman either and [[LoserSonOfLoserDad doesn't want to make the same mistake]]. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted for Rom as well, as Nog's example makes him realize he can strive for better too and he steps away from business to start a career in engineering. Just before the [[GrandFinale series finale]] he's appointed to be the new Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance, so that he can oversee the transition of Ferengi society into a democracy.]] |
| 187 | * ''Series/SpinningOut'': Carol was an extremely skilled skater in her youth, but getting pregnant with Kat put an end to her career and Olympic dreams. |
| 188 | [[/folder]] |
| 189 | |
| 190 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 191 | * The show ''Unsung'' on the channel TV One is about black R&B, soul, and gospel artists who didn't manage to make it big. |
| 192 | * New Jersey band Music/TheGaslightAnthem has a song entitled "I Coul'da Been a Contender" which appears to follow the themes of messed up chances and regret; "You were gonna be my Creator/JudyGarland, we were gonna share your tinman heart." |
| 193 | * The subject, indeed the first line of the chorus, of "Heavyweight Champion of the World" by Reverend and the Makers: |
| 194 | -->I could've been a contender,\ |
| 195 | Could've been a someone,\ |
| 196 | Caught up in the rat race,\ |
| 197 | And feeling like a no-one,\ |
| 198 | Appearing in the papers,\ |
| 199 | With the money and the girls,\ |
| 200 | I could've been\ |
| 201 | The Heavyweight Champion of the World. |
| 202 | * "Duchess" by Music/{{Genesis|Band}}, about a failed pop star trying to relive her glory days. |
| 203 | -->But she dreamed of the times when she sang all her songs\ |
| 204 | And everybody cried for more,\ |
| 205 | When all she had to do was step into the light\ |
| 206 | For everyone to start to roar. |
| 207 | [[/folder]] |
| 208 | |
| 209 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 210 | * Ed Crankshaft in ''ComicStrip/{{Crankshaft}}'' was an aspiring baseball player and playing for the Toledo Mud Hens and the Detroit Tigers called him up to the Major Leagues. At the same time, the U.S. entered UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and he was drafted into the Army. |
| 211 | [[/folder]] |
| 212 | |
| 213 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 214 | * Wrestling/AJStyles was the first Wrestling/RingOfHonor Pure Wrestling Champion, a title that faded from existence when the world champion, Wrestling/BryanDanielson, defeated final Pure Champion Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness and merged the two belts. He fully recognized that that could have been him in that spot but his first Pure reign came to an end when he was pulled out of ROH by Wrestling/{{TNA}}, which was technically a breach of contract. Still, he was pretty much {{the face}} of TNA, rather than the soon-to-be face of ROH, until he kept being shoved to the side in favor of former Wrestling/{{WWE}} wrestlers, such as Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/ScottHall, and Wrestling/JeffHardy. By the time Wrestling/HulkHogan arrived, Styles basically ended up as a mid carder in the "house he built". Rectifying these events would be his drive in Wrestling/{{Fortune}} and Wrestling/BulletClub, although he still failed in his final bid to take ROH's World title from Wrestling/JayLethal. |
| 215 | * Wrestling/SamoaJoe, much in the vein of AJ, was a major star in TNA when he first debuted and one of its top draws. However, the success didn't last long, as soon after Wrestling/KurtAngle signed with TNA, starting a floodgate of ex-WWE and WCW talent signing with company, of whom Joe soon found himself playing second fiddle to. However, Joe didn't really get pushed down the card until Hogan and Bischoff came along and he never came even remotely close to winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship during that time. Eventually, Joe would follow AJ, Daniels, and Kazarian by leaving the company, and would go on to sign a full-time deal with the WWE. |
| 216 | * Wrestling/{{Chyna}}. To Chyna, Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon is to blame for her fall from grace. At one point Joanie Laurer had it all: fame, money, looks, and an [[Wrestling/TripleH awesome guy]] she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. And then (according to her), Steph steals her man, and she can't do anything about it because she's the boss's daughter. Her role on TV was gradually reduced, and eventually, they let her go. She basically became nothing, all because this one woman coveted her boyfriend. Her life ended up in downward spiral ever since, degrading herself to doing porn for a living. She was ultimately found dead in her home in 2016. |
| 217 | * A downplayed example would be Wrestling/RandyOrton, which Wrestling/JohnCena commented on during a promo right before the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships were unified in late 2013. Cena was actually ''fourth choice'' to be the face of the company. Wrestling/BrockLesnar was first choice, but after he left, the company turned their attention to Orton, leading to his first major push, where he defeated Wrestling/ChrisBenoit ''clean'' to win the World Heavyweight Championship and was promptly kicked out of Wrestling/{{Evolution}}. (Un)fortunately, the reign was cut short, due to a variety of factors: a still inexperienced Orton wasn't over enough with the crowd as a heel to really get cheered as a face, but what really sealed the deal was Orton's poor backstage behavior, including one rumor where he wrecked a hotel room in a fit of drunken rage. While Orton continued to have a steady push, his backstage attitude prevented him from becoming the face of the company, at which point they turned their attention to the third and fourth choices, Wrestling/{{Batista}} and Cena, respectively, before settling on the latter when he proved to be the most popular. Orton wouldn't win another world title until 2007, three years later, and it was as the company's top heel. |
| 218 | * Teddy Hart. A member of the famous Hart wrestling family, Teddy was signed to the WWF at the mere age of eighteen. By all accounts, Teddy is one of, if not ''the'' most talented wrestler that the family has ever produced, and considering this is the family of Wrestling/BretHart and Wrestling/OwenHart, that says a ''lot''. Teddy had everything in the world going for him -- and that became his downfall. As far as backstage attitudes go, Teddy made the above-mentioned Orton look like a ''saint''. He was so bad that WWE released him ''twice'' due to his bad behavior. Over the years since then, Teddy has been similarly fired and blackballed from nearly every major wrestling promotion in North America, with more than one promotion admitting to firing him for his own safety, as their respective locker rooms were that close to lynching him alive. More than one fan has lamented how much Teddy has wasted his talents over the years. |
| 219 | * As far as promotions go, Wrestling/{{TNA}}. Originally a small-time promotion established by Jerry and Wrestling/JeffJarrett to fill in the void left behind Wrestling/{{WCW}}, TNA gradually grew as a company, eventually escalating by signing other prominent stars from WWE, such as Wrestling/{{Christian}} and (most famously) Wrestling/KurtAngle, as well as WCW star Wrestling/{{Sting}}, who chose to join TNA instead of the WWE. By 2009, they had over a million people watching their flagship show, ''Impact!'', had a roster boasting some of the best young talent around, and all in all, seemed primed for greatness.\ |
| 220 | Then Wrestling/HulkHogan and Wrestling/EricBischoff [[AudienceAlienatingEra happened]]. These days, TNA is a running joke, mocked by the fans that once held it up as the future of ProfessionalWrestling, with constant shots at their nonsensical storylines, idiotic business management, and outright ''asinine'' PR decisions. Many are actually hoping it dies rather than continue on as a pale shadow of its former glory because TNA has fallen that far as a promotion. |
| 221 | * Wrestling/JeffHardy. In another life, one where he managed to keep off the drugs (or at least minimize his use of them), he'd probably be the current face of the WWE. He had everything going for him: massive PopularityPower, more merchandise sales than ''Wrestling/JohnCena'', and backstage support from Wrestling/VinceMcMahon himself. But in ''this'' life, he didn't, and while he's had an extremely successful career, his personal demons prevented him from reaching the heights could have at his peak. Jeff himself is aware of this, and aside from some bitterness towards himself, has made his peace with it. |
| 222 | * Wrestling/LowKi. He's from the same generation of indy talent as Wrestling/CMPunk, Bryan Danielson, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe, and is widely regarded to be just as talented as they are -- he was even the first ROH World Champion, a championship one of them (AJ) never won. Yet, while's he had a relatively successful career, it pales in comparison to the success they have all had, due to him being notoriously difficult to work with which has gotten him banned from several top indy feds and major promotions such as Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. While Low Ki has found success again in MLW, one can't help but wonder how much more successful he could've been if he hadn't gotten in his own way. |
| 223 | [[/folder]] |
| 224 | |
| 225 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 226 | * In the musical ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'', Albert Peterson plans to attend NYU and become an English teacher, until a need for money requires him to go into the music business. He ends up being the producer for a pop sensation (the titular Conrad Birdie) and stays for eight years. He spends most of the show trying to get out so he can marry his girlfriend and secretary, Rosie. |
| 227 | * [[Theatre/DeathOfASalesman Willy Loman]] could have been running the New York office by now. Or at least that’s what he believes he could’ve done. |
| 228 | * ''Theatre/BloodBrothers'' has an interesting variation, in the final words of Mickey ''I could have been him!'' - to his mother, who gave his twin brother to an upper-class family. |
| 229 | * In ''Theatre/MillionDollarQuartet'', Carl Perkins is portrayed this way. He was well on his way as a musician when a car accident put him on the shelf for months, meanwhile, Elvis Presley exploded onto the scene. He's frustrated that even though he wrote "Blue Suede Shoes", everyone thinks of it as Elvis's song. |
| 230 | * In ''Theatre/StarlightExpress'', when Rusty is disqualified from the race, the boxcars sing about how they could have been famous but failed to reach glory; including the line "Could'a been a contender, could'a been a star ..." |
| 231 | * James from ''Theatre/ThatChampionshipSeason'' thinks he could have been a successful congressman by now had he not been so busy taking care of his father, despite having no political experience. |
| 232 | * Aladdin in ''Theatre/TwistedTheUntoldStoryOfARoyalVizier'' played for laughs. Despite it happening well into his thirties[[spoiler: and him being the one who killed them]], he thinks he could've been a success if his parents hadn't died. |
| 233 | --> '''Aladdin:''' I could've been a contender |
| 234 | --> If not for the fact that my parents are dead |
| 235 | * Vanya in ''Theatre/UncleVanya'' says that if he didn't waste his life working as a property manager for a third-rate academic, he could have been a great writer or philosopher like Dostoevsky or Schopenhauer. |
| 236 | [[/folder]] |
| 237 | |
| 238 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 239 | * The protagonist of ''VideoGame/DigimonWorldNextOrder'' is said to have been a runner-up in the Digimon national tournament in fifth grade, but by the time the game begins, he's an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent studying for exams that's long put games behind him. Interviews with the game's character designer suggest his primary arc revolves around rediscovering his love for Digimon. |
| 240 | * [[spoiler: Yata/Wiseman]] in ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'' was once quoted as having a tremendous enthusiasm for football. His career ended up after he got a career-ending injury, ending his hopes of going pro. He's now one of the shareholders of CC Corp at ''seventeen'', yet he's still DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife |
| 241 | * The title character in the Creator/{{Sierra}} game ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfWillyBeamish'' uses this line in one of the game's many ItsAWonderfulFailure screens. |
| 242 | * ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' reveals Airi Ban to have been a great piano player. She even won several competitions, but because the life of a professional musician is expensive and her family wasn't wealthy enough, she had to give up her playing. Realizing that a world of Egalitarianism would mean lack of money would not keep people from achieving their dreams anymore, Airi chooses to follow Ronaldo's vision of a changed world. [[spoiler:The ''Restorer'' ending and the [[UpdatedRerelease Triangulum Arc]] show that Airi managed to become a professional piano player, performing alongside Hinako.]] |
| 243 | ** Similarly, Makoto was all set to become a professional swimmer until she got involved in a car accident that injured her shoulder. [[spoiler:In the UpdatedReRelease, in the Triangulum Arc, she subconsciously had knowledge of where the accident would take place and used a different route to avoid it altogether. Even so, she ended up dropping her dream and works with [=JP's=] once again out of a desire to protect anyway.]] |
| 244 | * While he doesn't seem bitter about it, ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'''s Coach used to be a potential star football player in his youth - before a knee injury meant he had to be content with being a high school coach. |
| 245 | * One of the random NPC guard lines in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' implies this, claiming that they used to be an adventurer like the PC, [[MemeticMutation but then they took an arrow in the knee]]. |
| 246 | * Sander Cohen from ''VideoGame/Bioshock1'' moved to Rapture because his career on the surface was waning and he liked the idea of being the only headliner in the city. Eventually, he grew bitter about giving up the opportunities to revive his career and become a Hollywood or Broadway star. |
| 247 | * Kul Fyra in ''VideoGame/NoStraightRoads'' was considered a rock legend as the lead guitarist of The Goolings. Unfortunately, she was unable to manage the conflicting needs of her bandmates, and they ended up splitting, with Kul Fyra herself unknowingly fading into obscurity afterwards. [[spoiler:As it turns out, she was so embittered by the experience that she rejected anything to do with her past, establishing No Straight Roads as its CEO Tatiana, making sure to cater to her EDM megastars and be a better, orderly leader.]] |
| 248 | * The Barons' Propaganda scheme in ''VideoGame/KingOfTheCastle'' involves trying to persuade the Kingdom that their claimant, a charismatic general, would be a much better King than the throne's current occupant. If the scheme fails, the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue reveals that they eventually became just another bitter old has-been, grumbling about how they could have been King. |
| 249 | * Yosuke Tendo from ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' was a famous boxer but never made it to the top because of a scandal. Nanba explains that Tendo was bribed to take a dive and beat the fixers to death when they didn't pay him. Tendo joined the Omi Alliance hoping he could get another shot at the top. It's worth noting that Tendo competed on the world stage in the men's heavyweight division, which most boxing bodies list as 200 pounds and over. In reality, no Japanese boxer has ever been a contender for the world title of any heavyweight boxing division ever. Japanese fighters tend to be shorter and lighter than western boxers, and though there are Japanese heavyweights out there, they tend to have few opponents domestically and perform poorly internationally due to inexperience. So while there have been many Japanese world champions, none have been heavier than Middleweight, or over 160 pounds. This would have made Tendo a trailblazer for Japanese boxing, and possibly a national hero had he succeeded. |
| 250 | [[/folder]] |
| 251 | |
| 252 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 253 | * ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'' has [[spoiler: Hideo]], who was apparently a genius baseball pitcher before getting caught up in a terrorist attack and suffering a career-ending injury. Particularly of significance in the [[spoiler: Wanko and Ryuuzetsuran]] routes. |
| 254 | * Mitsuki Hayase in ''VisualNovel/RumblingHearts''. At the beginning of the story, she's already a bona fide Olympic-grade swimmer. Then, [[WhamEpisode her best friend Haruka got hit in a car accident, all because she chatted with her other friend, Haruka's would-be boyfriend, Takayuki, way too long on his way to date Haruka]]. At that point, she became unable to swim further, eventually quits, and ends up as a [[{{Salaryman}} salary woman]]. Over time, when she passes a swimming pool, she's always reminded of this fact. [[FromBadToWorse And things just go downhill from that point on]]. |
| 255 | ** The anime version at the end also had a shot of her looking at the newspaper, and saw Haruka's sister Akane, also Mitsuki's 'protégée/successor', eventually making it to the Olympic championship, which makes [[BittersweetEnding the ending really bittersweet]], even if Takayuki returned his love to her and promises to restart anew together. |
| 256 | [[/folder]] |
| 257 | |
| 258 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 259 | * Simon Wood of ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' was an excellent footballer and was more or less set up for a career in the sport... then he is crippled in a horrible car crash. |
| 260 | * This article from ''Website/TheOnion'' tells of a contender that ''no one'' realized was a contender: [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/97yearold-dies-unaware-of-being-violin-prodigy,18194/ 97-year-old Dies Unaware Of Being Violin Prodigy.]] (Warning: Severe TearJerker alert) |
| 261 | * Parodied by WebVideo/{{Markiplier}} in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dcmkufzLto this video]], featuring Mark in a ShowerOfAngst over dropping out of college (Mark makes it very clear the scene was purely RuleOfFunny, and in reality, he does not regret choosing his fans over his degree). |
| 262 | ** The phrase "I coulda been an engineer!" has since been (jokingly) repeated by Mark on several occasions. |
| 263 | [[/folder]] |
| 264 | |
| 265 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 266 | * Francine from ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' blamed Creator/GeorgeClooney for stealing her one movie line that she believed could have made her a star. |
| 267 | * Despite having a life of fame and fortune, Sarah Lynn of ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' always wanted to be an architect - an aspiration shot down by everyone around her, including [[StageMom her own mother]]. This dream continues even in her adult years. [[spoiler:It even forms her final words before her fatal overdose.]] |
| 268 | -->'''Sarah Lynn's Mother''': Sweetheart, Mommy didn't do what Mommy [[CastingCouch did to that "Star Search" producer]] so that you could be an ''architect''. |
| 269 | * Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', where in one flashback, we learn Cleveland was a fast-talking auctioneer until a bop on the head turned him into the slow-talking man we know today. |
| 270 | * [[Characters/KingOfTheHillHankHill Hank Hill]] in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' definitely qualifies, albeit a milder example of the trope. He was a star high school running back that brought Arlen High to the Texas state championships, but a busted ankle pretty much ended his chances for the NFL. It's likely that his failure is why he's pushing sports and other activities toward his son. Nevertheless, Hank ended up content with selling propane and propane accessories. |
| 271 | ** It's also revealed in a flashback that Hank had an ambition since ''childhood'' to be a propane salesman. |
| 272 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': This is a broader theme across the show in general, with Creator/MattGroening noting that the show reflected the SmallTownBoredom he experienced and feared growing up. |
| 273 | ** [[Characters/TheSimpsonsHomerSimpson Homer Simpson]] admired UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and dreamt of being President one day during his childhood. As a middle-aged man, he remarks that the constant discouragement and contempt he received from his father turned him into [[TheAlcoholic an alcoholic]] and a deadbeat. For similar reasons, he also failed to be a gymnast. |
| 274 | ** Barney's alcoholism caused him to squander his talents. |
| 275 | ** Moe blames politics for the failure of his once-promising boxing career. [[ParodiedTrope That and his 46 straight losses]]. |
| 276 | ** This is also true of some of the female characters. [[Characters/TheSimpsonsMargeSimpson Marge Simpson]], while a dedicated housewife, occasionally wonders about what she gave up to be with Homer; Edna Krabbappel laments her poor love life and her boring job teaching disinterested fourth graders at a terrible school. Even the kids, however talented they may be, are probably stifled by the town and the education system, and [[Characters/TheSimpsonsLisaSimpson Lisa Simpson]] constantly fears that she will never fulfill her potential. |
| 277 | * Mr. Garrison from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' hated Kathie Lee-Gifford for beating him in a talent show that he thought could have made him famous. |
| 278 | * [[Characters/StarWarsDarthMaul Darth Maul]] in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' cites this as one of his main motivations for revenge, lamenting that all of Sidious' plans have proceeded with him being cast aside and forgotten. |
| 279 | -->'''Maul:''' I was apprentice to the most powerful being in the galaxy once. I was destined to become... so much more. But I was robbed of that destiny by the Jedi, by [[ArchEnemy Obi-Wan Kenobi]]. |
| 280 | * ''WesternAnimation/FIsForFamily'': Frank and Sue both suffer from this. Frank had dreams of becoming a pilot and joining the Air Force (which he started dreaming of during his days in the Korean War), and Sue wanted to become a scientist and went to college for that reason. One TeenPregnancy later, and they were forced to settle for an average life in suburbia, and by the time the series starts 14 years and two more kids later, the weight of their failed dreams is becoming unbearable. The first episode shows Sue having a breakdown over how boring and pointless her life as a homemaker is. |
| 281 | [[/folder]] |
| 282 | |
| 283 | [[folder:Real Life: Sports]] |
| 284 | * [[http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/honor-thy-father/ Bill Butterfield]], a high-school football player from Texas. It was evident that he was bitter about not going beyond high school football due to a TeenPregnancy, [[SportsDad given the way he tried to force his son]], Lance, into the spotlight. Said actions eventually resulted in his murder, when after years of abusive training Lance snapped and turned a .38 on him. |
| 285 | * Todd Marinovich, who briefly played for the Los Angeles Raiders. His dad, Marv Marinovich, was a coulda-been himself and resolved to train Todd from an early age to be the perfect athlete. It almost worked, and Marinovich seemed set for a lengthy professional career. The problem was that his sheltered upbringing - he had been forbidden from eating chocolates or takeaway food - failed him when he left home for college, and he quickly transformed into a drunk party animal who spent his free time smoking dope. He had enough residual strength and talent to last a year in the NFL but was eventually suspended for failing drug tests (he tried to avoid this by switching to LSD, which did nothing for his concentration). After a six-year layoff, he attempted to return to professional football, but his career was permanently derailed by injury and a new heroin habit. Frustratingly, he was still capable of producing good results, right up until the end of his career. |
| 286 | * Lenny Mancini was a promising and talented young boxer during the '30s and '40s, having actually become the # 1 contender for the world lightweight champion before he was drafted into the Army when UsefulNotes/WorldWarII broke out. He was wounded in action, and when he came back to the ring when the war ended, he simply wasn't the same. Instead, he supported his son Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini in his own boxing career, who in turn dedicated his title win to his father. |
| 287 | * Subverted by many people who succeeded later in life, such as [[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/arts/design/20herrera.html Carmen Herrera.]] |
| 288 | * Gretel Bergmann was a world-class high jumper in the 1930s, setting national records. She should have competed for her native Germany in the 1936 Games, but she was Jewish. In fact, the Germans initially let her on their team to placate the IOC and to prevent an American boycott. Once the Americans were on their way (and under the thumb of the pro-German Avery Brundage) the Nazis expelled her from the team, though she tied the German record a month before (and that height would have won her a medal in the event). |
| 289 | * The only two Jews on the US track-and-field team, Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman, were removed from the 4x100 relay and replaced by Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe. They were the only two healthy track-and-field athletes not to compete, even though their times were faster than the other two on the original team. |
| 290 | * Subverted by the Manning Family. While father Archie Manning was an NFL quarterback in the '70s (a good player on the abysmally bad Saints teams at the time) and both Peyton and Eli are Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks (Peyton with the Colts and Broncos and Eli with the Giants), there's a third Manning brother, Cooper (the oldest, actually), who was a hot prospect wide receiver in high school before a diagnosis of a spinal condition ended his career. He's not bitter about it, having gone into finance and later on getting his own football analysis show on Fox Sports; he has [[https://vault.si.com/vault/2003/11/10/the-other-brother-like-his-famous-father-archie-and-younger-siblings-peyton-and-eli-cooper-manning-had-nfl-caliber-talent-then-his-body-betrayed-him admitted]] to wishing he could have played professionally like his brothers did, but it's not because he wanted the fame or success so much as that he just loved playing football and wishes he could have had a chance to make a living out of it. (Although he can't resist the urge to [[SiblingRivalry tease his brothers]] on occasion by telling them he would have been more successful than either of them if he'd had the chance.) |
| 291 | * American Football safety Nick Collins, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Green Bay Packers who had set records with his interception returns, was on the path to a Hall of Fame career until a freak accident on a routine play in 2011 left him with a herniated disc in his neck. Collins was forced to undergo major spinal surgery[[note]]incidentally the same procedure that ended the career of another Packers player, Sterling Sharpe, 16 years earlier[[/note]], and [[CareerEndingInjury was never able to play professional football again]]. Collins did have a more successful career than many examples of this trope, having several standout years and a Super Bowl ring prior to the injury, but he and many of his former teammates believe he could have been one of the best safeties of his era (up there with legends like Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu) if his career hadn't been cut short. |
| 292 | * Jesus Chavez was a top Mexican boxing prospect whom many believed would have been the next great boxing star from México. He even gave Floyd Mayweather Jr. one of his toughest fights at the 135 division. However, that all ended when he got into a vehicular accident that permanently damaged one of his knee caps. He tried to make a comeback afterwards, but the injury clearly interfered with his boxing, forcing him to retire. |
| 293 | * Michael "The Force" Watson was a serious contender for the WBO Middleweight Title, getting a highly controversial loss (that the general public thought he won) against reigning champ Chris "Simply the Best" Eubank. In their rematch, he was unquestionably winning and ahead on all scorecards, beating Eubank soundly, when in the closing seconds of the 11th (out of 12) round, Eubank somehow managed to land a thunderous uppercut that left Watson dazed and groggy. When he came out for round 12, Eubank swiftly dispatched him to a TKO. Unbeknownst to everyone involved, Eubank's uppercut permanently damaged Watson's brain, sending him to a coma shortly after the match and rendering him effectively a vegetable for several months. Watson later woke up from the coma and miraculously regained his consciousness, speech, and movement over the years, but his career was finished as Watson is to this day partly paralyzed, suffering the lingering effects from that punch. |
| 294 | * A heartwarming variant: A New Hampshire college track star, Cameron Lyle, who registered as a potential bone marrow donor got a call that he was a match for a man with leukemia. Agreeing effectively ended his track career for the rest of his college life, but he said he'd do it again. Also rather awesome when you remember that donating bone marrow is far from painless. |
| 295 | * Russian gymnast Elena Mukhina, the 1978 All-Around World Champion, was considered one of the stars of the Soviet team and, if healthy, would have been a major medal threat at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Two weeks before the Games, after months of near-starvation, over-training, and pounding on a still-injured broken leg, Mukhina had a catastrophic fall while attempting a dangerous roll-out skill and was paralyzed from the neck down.[[note]]The skill and all other similar skills were [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique later banned]] because of the potential for serious injury.[[/note]] However, by this point, Mukhina was so broken down by her [[TrainingFromHell brutal training regimen]] that, far from being upset at missing her shot, she was actually relieved; she later said that her first thought as she lay on the floor was, "Thank God. I won't have to go to the Olympics." |
| 296 | * Similarly, American Julissa Gomez was considered a potential contender for a spot on the 1988 US Olympic team but broke her neck in a vaulting accident at a smaller competition in May of that year. While still hospitalized for the injury, Gomez was accidentally disconnected from her ventilator, and the lack of oxygen caused her to lapse into a vegetative state; she died three years later, never regaining consciousness. However, even if the ventilator accident hadn't happened, her gymnastics career would have been over, as, like Mukhina, it's extremely unlikely she would have ever walked again given the severity of the damage to her spine. |
| 297 | * In 2000, American gymnast Morgan White actually made it onto the Olympic team, but was forced to drop out days before the Games because of a foot injury that was only getting worse. While the injury wasn't totally career-ending, it cost White her only real shot at Olympic glory. Adding insult to injury (almost [[LiteralMetaphor literally]]), she was treated incredibly callously by the Olympic staff after her withdrawal, as she was immediately forced out of the athletes' village and had her credentials confiscated and destroyed in front of her; this experience was so unpleasant and humiliating that the national team coordinator, Marta Karolyi, made an unoffical policy of not subbing out athletes in the Olympics even if they were injured because she didn't want other gymnasts to have to go through that. |
| 298 | * In a less extreme example, any number of athletes in Olympic sports have lost their chance at the Olympics because of an ill-timed injury. Since the Olympics occur only once every four years, even if the injury wasn't career-ending, that sometimes turns out to be their ''only'' chance at an Olympics, because an athlete who was in the prime of their career leading up to one Olympics may be past his or her peak by the time the next Games comes around. (This is especially true in some sports, like women's gymnastics, where ''most'' athletes' peaks are a few years at most.) Defied on occasion when athletes have battled back from a potentially dream-crushing injury to make it back for the next Olympics, such as the case of Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi, who missed the 2016 Olympics -- in which he was favored to medal -- due to injury but came back in 2021 to tie for gold in the event. |
| 299 | * Creator/DwayneJohnson was first known as a talented collegiate footballer who played with the Miami Hurricanes as a defensive tackle for four seasons. He ultimately never broke through in that sport because also on his team was future Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, who consistently earned the starter position over him. It's fair to say that things ultimately worked out for both men in the end, and Dwayne Johnson has often paid tribute to his footballing roots even as he ultimately became a star in professional wrestling and acting. |
| 300 | * Vinod Kambli was seen as a cricketing prodigy alongside his classmate, one Sachin Tendulkar. Both of them were perfect foils for each other. While Tendulkar was a budding technical right handed batsman, Kambli was the flashier more aggressive left handed batsman. Tendulkar would be selected into the Indian cricket team as a sixteen year old in 1989, make his One-Day debut that year, make his test debut in 1990, becoming the youngest international test centurion ever and then go on to make history. Kambli would join Tendulkar on the One-Day squad in 1991, but he’d have to wait till early 1993 to make his test debut. And it was a memorable one, with Kambli scoring a double century on his home ground in Mumbai, then following it up with another double century in Kolkata a few months later against a different opponent. He’d reach 2000 test runs weeks later, becoming one of the fastest to reach it. Kambli was now being hailed as “Tendulkar’s left handed equivalent”, with some even claiming that he had more raw talent than Tendulkar. But the two men handled the sudden onset of wealth and fame in different ways. While Tendulkar was content to live a quiet private life with his physician wife, Kambli embraced a hard drinking party animal lifestyle. Which did neither his fitness nor his concentration any good, and his batting performance started to falter. Kambli also became complacent about his batting technique, never seeking to improve upon it. This led to the feared West Indies pace attack exposing his utter helplessness against the short pitched bouncer, leading to Kambli being dropped completely from the test squad. He’d remain in the one day squad, but his fitness issues and attitude problems (brought on by alcoholism) would see inconsistent performances throughout 1995. Then came the infamous Semi-final of the Wills World Cup, in which Kambli was seen publicly bawling his eyes out as the Indian team was punished with a loss for [[PowderKegCrowd disruptive crowd behavior]]. This led to him being axed from the One-Day squad too, for months, dealing a fatal blow to Kambli’s cricketing career. Although Tendulkar, upon becoming team captain in mid-96, would give his classmate several chances to resurrect his career in the Indian team, Kambli never capitalized on them; the lack of fitness and alcoholism having taken too much of a toll. In 2000, Tendulkar gave up the captaincy of the Indian team and with that, Kambli was dropped for good, never to play international cricket ever again. To this day, he is still bitter about that semi-final, going on any news channel that’ll have him and publicly crying about how the selectors and administrators “ruined his career”, how his captain “betrayed him” and how Tendulkar, his classmate “abandoned him, never helping him out”. |
| 301 | [[/folder]] |
| 302 | |
| 303 | [[folder:Real Life: Others]] |
| 304 | * Common enough in RealLife for Monster.com to advertise "When you were a kid, did you ever imagine that your job would suck this much?" |
| 305 | * Creator/CharlesLaughton directed just one film, ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'' and it was a flop in its day though it would be VindicatedByHistory well after Laughton's death. It's such an accomplished film that many feel that Laughton could have been a great film-maker had he started directing earlier in his career. As it is Laughton is still a highly respected stage and screen thespian. |
| 306 | * Barbara Loden, the wife of Creator/EliaKazan (aka the semi-TropeMaker) was a Broadway actress who played character roles in two of Kazan's films. In the late '60s, she directed a film called ''Wanda'' that would be highly praised in film festivals and be cited as one of the greatest film debuts of its age and the start of a promising new talent. Then just as she was getting funding for her next film, [[ShootTheShaggyDog she was diagnosed with cancer and would die a few years after her debut]]. |
| 307 | * Creator/ChristopherMarlowe was 29 years old when he died in a bar brawl at Deptford. He was the most popular and successful playwright of his time and highly admired. Today he's remembered for being the guy who influenced Creator/WilliamShakespeare which is a high honor at any rate, but his own plays ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'', ''Theatre/EdwardII'', ''Theatre/TheJewOfMalta'', and ''Theatre/{{Tamburlaine}}'' are far less performed and adapted than Shakespeare's, and he's read by academics and Elizabethan scholars rather than general public. Creator/JorgeLuisBorges noted that many of Marlowe's lines have power equal to Shakespeare, and note that at the time of Marlowe's death, Shakespeare had still to find his voice. Many critics have argued that if he had lived longer, he would perhaps have had a body of work equal to or ''greater'' than Shakespeare. |
| 308 | * There are many cases where princes that were seen and loved by many as TheWisePrince and potential harbinger of the GoldenAge die before their time, leaving the throne to be taken by HiddenBackupPrince to whom nobody had paid any attention. |
| 309 | ** The most famous example in English history is Edward the Black Prince, heir to King Edward III, a key commander at the Battle of Crecy during UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar, seen by many as the "flower of chivalry". He died in his 40s, a year before his father, and the reign passed to his young son, UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfPlantagenet. Indeed, historians note that the Black Prince's death and the SuccessionCrisis that stemmed from the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses could have been averted had the Prince lived longer. |
| 310 | ** This is the case for Richard, Duke of York. A good solider and a competent administrator, he decided to press his own claim to the throne after becoming disgusted by the corruption in PuppetKing Henry VI's court. During his stints as Lord Protector under Henry VI, the Duke made much needed reforms and by all accounts was fair and effective, but like many reformers he made more than his share of enemies. He also had a claim to the throne that was technically stronger than Henry's and when he felt threatened by the opposing factions in court, he finally rebelled. He gained much support, especially from his nephew-by-marriage [[TheKingmaker The Earl of Warwick]] and led the Yorkist faction in the Wars of The Roses. Unfortunately, he was killed at the Battle of Wakefield. His teenage son took up his claim and was eventually crowned UsefulNotes/EdwardIV. Edward was a good king, but he was young and [[BoisterousBruiser hot-blooded]] and did things like MarryForLove and run a DecadentCourt. Historians agree that if his more mature father had won the crown, history would have been very different. |
| 311 | ** [[FanCommunityNickname Ricardians]] argue this is the case for UsefulNotes/RichardIII, who was Richard of York's youngest son and the kid brother of Edward IV. Regardless of how [[RulesLawyer he took the throne]] and the aggressive way he tried to protect it, Richard was a fair king who made much-needed legal reforms that benefited the common people, owned an extensive library of books that he actual read[[note]]including a Bible in English[[/note]], ended restrictions on the ownership of books and was a WarriorKing. His death at the Battle of Bosworth led to the ascension of the Tudors and the eventual reign of wife-killer and monastery-burner UsefulNotes/HenryVIII. Given that Richard was in the process of making an alliance with Portugal at the time of his death, the entire history of the sixteenth and seventeenth century would have been different had he been victorious. |
| 312 | ** In the case of Indian history, the great example is the Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh (son of Shah Jahan of Taj Mahal fame). Dara Shikoh was an InterfaithSmoothie, who translated the Gita from Sanskrit into Persian. [[SiblingYinYang Aurangzeb was a religious fanatic]]. As a result of the Mughal's fratricidal succession policy, Aurangzeb went in rebellion against his father and his brother, leading to Dara's death. Aurangzeb's conquests created widespread resentment against the Mughals, leading to many revolts and breakaway kingdoms, marking the end of the GoldenAge of medieval India, [[DisasterDominoes the decline of the Mughal Empire, the power vacuum of the 1700s that would eventually be exploited by the East India Company and greater religious intolerance]]. As such, you can't blame later writers for romanticizing poor Dara Shikoh. |
| 313 | * UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution was [[YoungAndInCharge a young man's revolution]] (most of them being early to mid-30s) with a HighTurnoverRate resulting from bitter factional strife. The historian Jules Michelet especially lamented the downfall of Louis Antoine de Saint-Just. At the age of 25, he entered politics and in his less-than-two-year career, he was co-author of the constitution of 1793, introduced wealth redistribution measures, won the respect of troops while serving as ThePoliticalOfficer, he reorganized the Army of the Rhine from defeat to victory. His association and loyalty to UsefulNotes/MaximilienRobespierre led to his death at the age of 27. He would serve as an inspiration for young revolutionaries everywhere and he inspired Enjolras in Literature/LesMiserables. Michelet even went as far to assert that had Saint-Just lived, the rise of Napoleon might well have been averted, and R. R. Palmer wrote of him: |
| 314 | -->''This young man is one of the mysteries of the Revolution. He shot briefly across it, his time of prominence lasting less than two years, a flaming personality whose youth had been anything but promising, but whose mature years had he lived to attain them, might conceivably had rocked the world.'' |
| 315 | * Charles Stewart Parnell is this for UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}}. He was a Protestant who was popular and liked by Catholic Irish, sought to create consensus for Home Rule in the Parliament, and was a partial TropeMaker of the "Boycott" protest tactic[[note]]Named after an English land agent Charles Boycott who was ruthlessly preying on poor tenants. In order to make a protest, Parnell proposed to his constituents that they refuse to treat Boycott socially, refuse to work on his lands, and refuse to sell or treat him socially in any way, with Boycott's name becoming a verb. This protest was used in many non-violent resistance movements, most notably in UsefulNotes/{{India}}, UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica and is still a major part of the global protest toolkit and lexicon[[/note]]. He was regarded by historian A. J. P. Taylor as a founder of Irish nationalism. Yet, Parnell's career was undone by a sex scandal which led him to be abandoned by the fragile coalition that was kept around him, with the Catholic clergy especially abandoning him, creating divides between them and the Liberal Republican (such as Creator/JamesJoyce who kept referring to Parnell in his books in a very positive, even hagiographic, manner). Parnell is seen as the one politician who could have healed the Catholic-Protestant Divide and many in Ireland and England think that if his career was not disgraced, the UsefulNotes/TheIrishRevolution and UsefulNotes/TheTroubles could have been avoided entirely. He was known as "the Uncrowned King of Ireland". |
| 316 | * The history of Ancient Rome and Greece offers several examples: |
| 317 | ** What would history have been like had Hannibal Barca conquered Rome? Or if Queen Boudicca liberated Britain? Or Spartacus triumphed in the Third Servile War? Or if Arminius succeeded in uniting Germany into a counter-Empire of Rome as he envisioned? Could Hannibal have sustained and consolidated his conquests and then built and ruled a united Carthago-Roman Empire? Could Britain have maintained its matriarchal traditions and become a proto-feminist Kingdom? Could slavery have been abolished in the classical world? The spectacular, prodigious displays of talent in these individuals' brief careers, have made them a favorite of alternate historians and novelists. |
| 318 | ** Creator/MikeDuncan of Podcast/TheHistoryOfRome cites the little-known Emperor Aurelian as someone who would have been one of the all-time greats instead of the glorified footnote he is, had he not been assassinated. His seven-year reign and victory over Queen Zenobia potentially extended the lifetime of the Empire. Another example, more well-known than Aurelian, is the emperor Julian the Apostate, famous for his attempts to halt the rise of Christianity. He is cited by Creator/GoreVidal as a figure who could have preserved Rome's multi-religious and secular culture and halted the hegemony of Christianity, as well as provide competent, administrative reform across the Empire. He reigned for two years before dying in battle against the Parthian Empire. Mike Duncan, while skeptical of Julian, admits that he's someone "we'll never stop talking about". |
| 319 | * Dave Mustaine was kicked out of Music/{{Metallica}} shortly before they became famous. Although Music/{{Megadeth}} is still a respected and fairly well-known band, it's nowhere near as popular as Metallica. |
| 320 | * When guitarist Steve Gaines joined Music/LynyrdSkynyrd in 1976, he had so much palpable potential that front man Ronnie Van Zant once said the entire rest of the band would "all be in [Gaines'] shadow one day." A year after joining the band, Gaines (along with his sister Cassie, Van Zant himself, and three other people) died when the band's plane crashed in Mississippi en route from South Carolina to Baton Rouge. |
| 321 | * In the mid-'90s, people thought that the Music/DaytonFamily was going to be the next big GangstaRap group. However, they were derailed by legal troubles and never made it out of their underground fanbase in Flint, Michigan. |
| 322 | * R&B singer [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Jones_(radio_personality) Miss Jones]] had a lot of buzz in the mid-'90s after her guest appearance on Music/{{Nas}}' ''Sugar Hill'', especially since she was a singer's singer. However, a lot of setbacks (as well as a reportedly [[SmallNameBigEgo bad attitude]]) derailed her music career. She went into [=DJing=] after that, hosting the morning show on the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity rap station Hot 97, before she got fired from the station over the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD6zcN4V4R4 "USA for Indonesia"]], aka the Tsunami Song[[note]]The linked version starts with four minutes of Miss Jones ranting at her co-host Miss Info, who happened to be of Korean descent and personally offended by the song's racist lyrics, which caused her to walk off the air in disgust. None of Miss Jones' comments towards Miss Info helped her case.[[/note]], which [[ShockJock mocked the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami]]. She's now a DJ for a UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} radio station. |
| 323 | * Subverted by Music/ConwayTwitty. Baseball was his second passion and he received an offer to play for the Philadelphia Phillies but he was drafted into the Army. After Conway [[ReturningWarVet got out of the service]], he made it big as a country singer; country music was actually his first passion. |
| 324 | * Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino is considered the greatest Filipino politician who never became president, but even before his assassination, he said his long imprisonment caused him to have a HeelFaithTurn and made him quit politics. |
| 325 | * This trope is the reason why UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and UsefulNotes/RobertFKennedy are seen as icons by American liberals. John was a famously photogenic President who proposed a series of massive anti-poverty and infrastructure programs called the "New Frontier", while Robert, as John's Attorney General, was his brother's most trusted advisor and a key player in his campaigns for UsefulNotes/{{civil rights|Movement}} and against TheMafia. Wondering how TheSixties and beyond would have turned out had they not been assassinated is probably [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the most popular]] AlternateHistory scenario of modern, postwar American history, and a big part of the reason why [[WhoShotJFK so many conspiracy theories]] circulate around their deaths. |
| 326 | * After she made the cover of ''Time'' at the age of eighteen around the time ''Film/PrettyInPink'' was released, big things were expected of Creator/MollyRingwald, who had made a splash with ''Film/SixteenCandles'' and ''Film/TheBreakfastClub''. However, an acrimonious split with Creator/JohnHughes, failed attempts to gain more respect as a young actress, and her own personal crises led to her career going downhill by the end of the eighties. Since ''Series/TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'', she's mainly been playing smaller parts, particularly mothers or mother figures, for [[MoneyDearBoy an easy paycheck.]] The remnants of her fanbase aren't exactly pleased with what she's become. |
| 327 | * Creator/RichardHarris' first passion was rugby, but a childhood bout of tuberculosis put an end to that. He did get to put his skills to use in ''This Sporting Life''. |
| 328 | * Creator/SeanConnery had a talent for football in his younger days and was offered a trial for Manchester United. He made the difficult decision to focus on acting. It's a decision that may have saved his life, as he possibly avoided the Munich Air Crash of 1958. |
| 329 | * Creator/ChristopherEccleston also wanted to play for Manchester United but an injury put an end to that. Future Doctor Creator/MattSmith also had the same aspiration and outcome. |
| 330 | * Creator/BrandonLee, the son of Creator/BruceLee, was a talented actor in his own right who seemed to be on a path to make a name for himself in the field. ''Film/TheCrow1994'' was expected by many to be his breakout movie that would launch his career to new heights, only for Brandon to end up dying in a firearm accident on that very movie's set. |
| 331 | * Music/JohnnyMarr had aspirations to be a professional football player. He was approached by Nottingham Forest and had trials with Manchester City. |
| 332 | * In science: |
| 333 | ** Perhaps the two best known cases of a career cut short by death are those of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois Évariste Galois]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moseley Henry Moseley]]. The former was a mathematical TeenGenius who got into a duel at only 20 and died from it, while the latter was a physicist who made a breakthrough contribution to nuclear theory before dying in the battle of Gallipoli in 1915 at the age of 27. |
| 334 | ** Among those who petered out for other reasons, a controversial, but much-discussed because of the stakes and names involved case is that of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mileva_Mari%C4%87 Mileva Marić]]. The story as it is generally told is that she was a promising young female physicist who might have contributed to the first formulation of theory of relativity, but then got pregnant by Albert Einstein and had to drop out. |
| 335 | * This happened to KRBC-TV news reporter [[http://weremember.com//jennifer-servo/2z1m/memories Jennifer Servo]]. She was well on her way to realizing her dream of becoming a national TV news anchorwoman until she was murdered in her Abilene, TX apartment a few months after she landed the job. |
| 336 | [[/folder]] |
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