Yesterday I watched “Schlag den Raab” on TV; it is the German version of “Beat the Star”. Actually “Beat the star” is a copycat of “Schlag den Raab”. I wrote about Stefan Raab in one of my earlier posts. Yesterday’s candidate, Alexander, had the chance to win a million Euros. The game went on for more than 6 hours and was the longest show in the history of this series. Unfortunately Alexander lost the 15th game and with it 1 Million Euros.
Strictly speaking Alexander did not lose a million Euros. It was never his to begin with. What he had was the chance to win it. However I am pretty sure that after the show he must have felt the loss intensely. He was literally one shot away from a million Euros.
The 15th and final game was to kick a football through a rather large hole in a portable goal wall. It was also a game of sudden death; meaning that the game was over the moment only one of them does not score in a round. Just before he took the shot, Stefan Raab mentioned that it was a mean game. He said that people would not understand it, if one of them does not manage to shoot the ball through wall, because it looks relatively easy. He simulated the kick several times before finally kicking the ball. The ball sailed through the middle of the hole.
I wonder what Alexander’s strategy was, if he had a strategy in the first place? He kicked the ball relatively hard and hit the wall instead. The game was over after the very first shot! Six hours of hard work and nothing to show for it! Throughout the evening I was impressed with the strength and general knowledge of Alexander. He was as cool as a cucumber and a worthy competitor for Stefan Raab. Therefore I was surprised that he took the shot quickly and without obvious consideration.
How does he feel today? Does he feel the richer for the experience or the poorer for the loss? Would he be able to teach his kids play football in future, without thinking about how close he was to becoming a millionaire?
Can you lose something that was never yours?
366 Degree 
Can we lose something which was never ours? Only if our Mind made it up and determined it was ours in the first place. (Which our minds tend to do.) But in reality…no. I hope he can smile and put it behind him…moving forward in a positive way.
There is a theory called Prospect Theory and I think the guys, who came up with it even won a nobel price for it. Anyway it shows that our minds weigh potential or expected loss higher than potential or expected gain. We are inately risk averse beings. Having said that towards the ends of the show, the contestant was on a winning streak and maybe he was mentally owner of the money already. In which case, he probably feels the lose deeply. But I am with you that he should move on and look forward to other opportunities. Wish you a great week ahead! 🙂
I know that feeling! Getting so close without grasping. It really feels like loosing something even though it was never yours. “nearly cannot kill a bird”. The pitiful part is that such opportunities don’t show up often. He should teach his kids football.
Everyone wonders what their life would be like; if they had taken the other road instead, or done something differently. The point is a life spent regretting stuff would only hold you back from experiencing other fulfilling stuff. I even wrote a poem about that, “A Satchel of Regrets”. I am with you teaching his children to play football could be a way of overcoming this trauma. Granted he might never have a chance to “win” that much money again. But money is not everything in life. 🙂 Wish you a great week!
This is quite a trick question, hope he’ll be able to be positive and just say: life moves on…..
If it were me, it be nagging me for a long time, although I know that the best thing to do is to move on.
for sure I share your thoughts…….