Losers

A friend recently recommended the new Nextflix documentary series Losers (2019) and I was impressed by the concept. It looked at the stories of athletes who failed to become champions in their field but found satisfying roles in life after said failures. The series combines interview footage with cartoon imaginings of events discusses previously filmed archive footage. It's hard not to think that director Mickey Duzyj got his idea from Mike Judge's music documentary series Tales from the Tour Bus Vol. 1 & 2, since I haven't seen this approach anywhere else. However, these stories are fascinating. The first episode is about former world heavyweight boxing champion Michael Bentt who finds his true calling after his final defeat that leaves him unable to continue as a boxer. The series is full of redemptive stories such as how street ball legend Jack Ryan found his true calling as an entertainer with the Harlem Wizards. I was also really moved by the story about the limits psuhing career of French figure skating star Surya Bonaly, who was ahead of her time. Other episode focus on a French golfer who suffered a mletdown after leading a major tournament and a female musher in the Iditarod, but all of the stories were interesting and compelling.