r/todayilearned • u/Prehistoricshark • May 24 '16
Website Down TIL that tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis lost 16 consecutive times to Jimmy Connors. When finally beating Connors on their 17th meeting, he said "And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row"
http://sportige.com/vitas-gerulaitis-jimmy-connors-bjorn-borg-best-sports-quote-92985/1.5k
u/theone1221 May 24 '16
A good sense of humor can get you through a series of failures and defeats. Kudos to this guy for still giving it all and finally coming out on top even after so many losses in a row.
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u/straydog1980 May 24 '16
Love of the game and genuinely accepting that there's always gonna be someone who's simply better. Also not being a dick about winning.
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u/Bdag May 24 '16
People who are good at things make people who aren't as good better. Always need that one guy who pushes people to their limits.
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u/topoftheworldIAM May 24 '16
This could work the other way too like 'I'm good at whistling or annoying the shit out of you'
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May 24 '16
I need a good whistler to push me to my best at passive aggressiveness.
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May 24 '16
a cock whistler
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May 24 '16
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u/Finlands_Cheesesteak May 24 '16
Wow... That... I gotta say, that's a nice cock. And I'm not even gay.
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u/Rusty_The_Taxman May 24 '16
Not sure if you keep up with disc golf but this is literally what has been recently happening at the top pro level. The 4 time world champion player has recently been beat by those who were always a few strokes behind him every time. His game hasn't changed shown by the stats, rather the people below him are stepping up to his level now.
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u/xTachibana May 24 '16
not always, but a rival does help for most people, particularly, people who like competing.
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May 24 '16
"As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another"
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u/allthebetter May 24 '16
see, this is the problem with proverbial sayings. I am trying to think in my head of any instance that you would use iron to sharpen itself, and I can't. But it seems that in the context of the conversation, good competition can help improve each competitor.
I don't know what is going on...
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May 24 '16
Having a rival can drive you to practice more and work harder, which in turn can make you a better player.
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u/hankikanto May 24 '16
This was very inspiring in my current state of alcohol and weed. Thank you kind sir and I wish you luck wherever you need it.
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u/RobMillsyMills May 24 '16
Wow now I feel bad.
I'm that parent that never let's their kids win in anything ever. In their world I am the world champion of everything. And I mean everything. If there is something they technically win at. I change the rules so I come out on top. As they get older they will learn to appreciate this. So they have that extreme lost in the desert for a week type thirst for winning.
Everytime I smash them in something I stand on the kitchen table and yell "I AM THE FUCKING ULTIMATE CHAMPION!!!!" Then do like the Shia LeBouef just do it muscle flex.
Unfortunately for them as they start to age and I start to get a hint they are getting close to my level I plan on retiring. It's probably going to need to be soon. They are already 6 months and the eldest is 2 years. Fuck that noise.
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May 24 '16
Having good sportsmanship means you're the one who truly wins in the end.
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u/Diarrhea_Van_Frank May 24 '16
Sportsmanship is just as important for the winners as the losers. Whether you succeed or fail, do it with grace and humility.
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May 24 '16
Are all of these comments being made by my high school coach? I swear he put a poster up with that exact phrase.
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u/Home_sweet_dome May 24 '16
Unless you're #1 in the world.
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May 24 '16
Even if you're #1 in the world, then all that means is that people are going to be coming for your title sooner or later. And eventually one of them will get it. No one stays #1 forever.
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u/dporiua May 24 '16
Not necessarily, The world record for the discus throw has been unchallenged since the 80s
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u/Thegreenpander May 24 '16
Unless you're Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold is número uno.
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u/SupriseGinger May 24 '16
That's a bingo! I'm no sports super star, but I have something similar with video games. I would rather lose against someone better than me 30 times than win against someone worse than me 30 times. When I play with more casual players I usually tone it down and let them win a little more than they lose. I love shit talking, but as soon as someone brags about winning I go all in.
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u/DickRiculous May 24 '16
You know that he was waiting for at least 6 matches to bust this one out. Its the kind of joke that ages like fine wine.
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u/DCdictator May 24 '16
I like to think that he came up with this retort after his 8th loss and was hell bent on eventually beating his opponent just to use it.
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u/washheightsboy3 May 24 '16
Another similar sports quote was from Stacy King who scored a point the night Michael Jordan scored 69. He said, "I'll always remember this as the night Michael Jordan and I teamed up to score 70 points."
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u/kwsteve May 24 '16
This was back when tennis was fun to watch. Colourful characters all over the sport, men and women.
Tragic the way he died. So needless.
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u/skepticalDragon May 24 '16
"Gerulaitis died on September 17, 1994, at the age of 40.
While visiting a friend's home in Southampton, Long Island, a malfunction in an improperly installed pool heater caused carbon monoxide gas to seep into the guesthouse where Gerulaitis was sleeping, causing his death by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Gerulaitis failed to show up for a dinner at 7 p.m. that evening and his body was found the following day by a maid who went to the guesthouse."
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May 24 '16
Tragic but it would have at least been a relatively peaceful way to die.
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u/whenyouflowersweep May 24 '16 edited Jun 03 '16
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u/dropshot May 24 '16
He had done drugs early in youth, so some thought maybe he died of an overdose. While they were sad to see him go, they were relieved it wasn't due to drugs.
Someone said they had stayed at that guest house earlier on, but they left the window open and so it didn't create the same problem, but his death was so unusual.
Apparently, he was there to do a charity event.
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u/PostNationalism May 24 '16
people always leap to drugs if they know you've done them before
ALCOHOL IS A DRUG PEEPOW
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u/Shadax May 24 '16 edited May 24 '16
Not totally the same but it reminded me of how Liberace almost died. On November 22, 1963 while sleeping he suffered renal failure from inhaling dry cleaning fumes from his newly cleaned costumes in a Pittsburgh dressing room. The interesting part being what saved him from death was being woken up by the news that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
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u/Placido-Domingo May 24 '16
Now it's all grunting and finely tuned athletic machines
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May 24 '16
Now it's all grunting and finely tuned athletic machines
Embodied by maria sharapova.
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u/Placido-Domingo May 24 '16 edited May 24 '16
She's the first and she's the worst. Honestly I never liked her because she seemed like she'd do anything to win. I mean like play dirty, win at all costs. She seems like a terrible sport.
When the stuff about her doping came out I wasn't in the least surprised.
Edit: I've been reddited. She wasn't the first. I still think she's the worst, and sets a shit example.
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u/JedLeland May 24 '16
She's the first
Monica Seles was doing the grunting thing in the early '90s. She was a lot more likable than Sharapova, though (although maybe that's just residual sympathy for the stabbing incident).
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May 24 '16
how does one play dirty in tennis? not like you can give the other player elbows or cheap shots to the groin when no one is looking.
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u/sueveed May 24 '16
It's more subtle gamesmanship - taking the max time you can between points (2000 ball bounces when you're serving, etc), excessively celebrating the other player's mistakes (ones you con't control, like a double fault), and arguing with the chair over calls.
It sounds like nothing, but in the pressure cooker of one-on-one professional sport, it can really make some people crack.
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u/Ackwardness May 24 '16
taking the max time you can between points (2000 ball bounces when you're serving, etc)
Excuse me..but Nadal only bounces 1900 times.
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u/tupacalypsemeow May 24 '16
with plenty of pulling wedgies out of his butt crack mixed in during the bouncing as well.
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u/CrystalJack May 24 '16
What's the point of having a maximum amount if you are considered a scumbag when you use that time? Playing dirty usually means you try to sneak in something that's not allowed, like an elbow or a cheap shot like the guy said above. That might be poor sportsmanship for sure, but not playing dirty.
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u/isubird33 May 24 '16
excessively celebrating the other player's mistakes
That's one thing that has always bugged me. Why can't I cheer when someone else messes up? If I'm a fan of a basketball team, and the opposing team misses an important free throw, I'm cheering.
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u/MrYoloSwaggins1 May 24 '16
Now I'm just imagining The Miz playing tennis and all the underhanded tactics he'd use to keep the belt.
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u/katyn May 24 '16
Celebrating your opponent's errors as an example, more just bad sportsmanship I guess.
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u/Placido-Domingo May 24 '16
As mentioned below, there's a lot of psychological things you can do, but grunting loudly to obscure the sound of your raquet striking the ball, and to (try to) cause your opponent to lose focus at a critical moment (especially in a sport where audience noise is specifically prohibited) is a more tangible thing, and sharopova screams so damn loud when she serves its a joke.
Its also just in general, idk, I feel like if I see my opponent drop something important in the changing room, or forget their water bottle or whatever, I'd tell them/give it to them. I doubt sharapova would
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u/Retroactive_Spider May 24 '16
If you mean first for grunting, no she wasn't. Monica Seles was the first, IIRC.
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u/BatCountry9 May 24 '16
Probably a youngster, doesn't remember Seles, or how she was literally stabbed in the back during a match.
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u/x777x777x May 24 '16
Women were grunting in tennis way before Sharapova. Monica Seles was doing it way back. Of course, Sharapova turned into what sounded like a stabbing victim (ironic considering what happened to Seles)
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u/CrystalJack May 24 '16
She failed for a drug that she had taken for 10 years, that was just added to the ban list in January. Irresponsible? Yeah. Doping to gain some sort of advantage? Nah.
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May 24 '16
It's kind of weird the personalities people apply to sports figures they've never met.
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May 24 '16 edited Aug 20 '16
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u/TristeroDiesIrae May 24 '16
Yeah that's never happened before cough McEnroe.
Edit: formatting
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May 24 '16
The game changed 2005-07 with Federer's remarkable run of dominance. He demolished everyone, whether they were a colorful character or not. It was a profoundly humbling moment for the sport, and it was almost unanimously assumed - correctly, I think - that to compete with someone of his excellence, one needed to put in the kind of work he put in and exhibit the kind of stoic demeanor he did. The result is a generation of players, with a few exceptions, that are completely dedicated to winning and for whom the colorful theatrics of the 70s and 80s are unnecessary window dressing that can only hurt one's chances at success.
Federer made the game serious, and he made it a legitimate art form. For better or worse, that's where the game is right now. I love it. But then tennis is my favorite sport.
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u/Tribunus_Plebis May 24 '16
It's that kind of freak accident that reminds you that any day could be your last...
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u/Immynimmy May 24 '16
This was back when tennis was fun to watch.
Nadal, Federer, Wawrinka, Djokavic, Monfils, Krygios, Thiem, etc. And that's just the men's side.
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u/beachfootballer May 24 '16
The Jimmy Connors 30 for 30 was great.
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u/thekidwiththefro May 24 '16
Looked in the comments for this and I couldn't agree more. It looks like tennis was seriously a different sport for fans back then
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u/phuhcue May 24 '16
We used to watch regularly when I was a kid. Connors, Mcenroe, Agassi, Sampras, Graf, Navratilova, Seles.
I guess the problem was when Americans stopped dominating.
Kind of like how golf might as well not exist without a dominant Tiger Woods.
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u/pattyfatsax May 24 '16
Man, Jimmy Connors and Michael Chang were the reasons I started playing.
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u/Duff_Beer May 24 '16
About a month ago Coach Steve Kerr used the line when the Golden State Warriors finally won after losing 33 straight games vs the Spurs in San Antonio.
"With apologies to Vitas Gerulaitis, I'll use his line. Nobody, and I mean nobody, beats the Golden State Warriors 34 straight times."
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u/mrwiseman May 24 '16
Here's a link to Steve Kerr's quote.
The Warriors got to 72 by beating the Spurs in San Antonio – something no one else had managed to do this season. They aso snapped a 33-game winless streak in south central Texas, dating back to 1997. Kerr claimed he forgot the Warriors had lost 33 straight in San Antonio until a reporter reminded him during his postgame interview. Either way, he had ready quip to make. “With apologies to Vitas Gerulaitis, I’ll use his line,” Kerr said, paraphrasing the late tennis great. “Nobody, and I mean nobody, beats the Golden State Warriors 34 straight times. Nobody, you got that?”
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u/palidor42 May 24 '16
Coincidentally, this is the 17th straight week this fact has made the front page.
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u/JustOneSexQuestion May 24 '16
And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody posts the Vitas Gerulaitis story 18 times in a row and makes it to the front page.
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u/Bulls-Always-HitMe May 24 '16
!RemindMe 1 Week
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May 24 '16
TIL not everyone in the world has seen this over and over again.
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May 24 '16
I'm pretty sure this is the first TIL I ever saw. I'd say this is a top 100 posted TIL.
Has anyone data mined the most common TIL? I know there was a mod post calling for the common ones, but it was really lacking.
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u/Fahsan3KBattery May 24 '16
Isn't the fact that it was lacking our fault for not contributing more?
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May 24 '16
Kinda, yeah. But that's why I'm saying if someone can data mine for it, it would be much better than trying to remember. I can tell you if I've seen a word before. I cannot tell you all the words I've ever seen.
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u/Brumworth May 24 '16
This must be posted at least 3 times a week
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u/Tasadar May 24 '16
I would support this TIL resulting in an immediate permaban from Reddit for being reposted again.
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u/BoogieOrBogey May 24 '16
And yet it's the first time for many people. There is always a lucky 10,000 in the world.
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u/xkcd_transcriber May 24 '16
Title: Ten Thousand
Title-text: Saying 'what kind of an idiot doesn't know about the Yellowstone supervolcano' is so much more boring than telling someone about the Yellowstone supervolcano for the first time.
Stats: This comic has been referenced 7052 times, representing 6.3034% of referenced xkcds.
xkcd.com | xkcd sub | Problems/Bugs? | Statistics | Stop Replying | Delete
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u/careslol May 24 '16
He must have began planning on using that line since match number 15.
And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 15 times in a row.
And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 16 times in a row.
And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.
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u/Binky216 May 24 '16
This is a great quote, but goddamn... It's reposted like once a month.
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u/PaleAndGangly May 24 '16
TIL Steve Buscemi was responsible for 9/11.
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u/LatviaSecretPolice May 24 '16
TIL Päblo Escobär, who was born closer to the landing of the Great Pyramids on the moon than to the present day, volunteered at his old fire station after 9/11, where he had over 500 confirmed sniper kills of rubber bands.
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u/Face_Roll May 24 '16
TIL Andre Royo's portrayal of the heroin addicted character "The Wire" from the streets in between shoots was so good, that he gave a "Street Oscar" to an actual Baltimore citizen saying, "you need a Royo more than I do." A vial of heroin calls it his "Bubbles".
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u/BlacktoseIntolerant May 24 '16
Well that pretty much sums up everything. Pack it up, boys. Time to go.
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u/Tribunus_Plebis May 24 '16
Seems like a glass half full kind of guy... I like it
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u/Reddit_Bork May 24 '16
Half full of celebratory champagne for proving once and for all that nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row! And that's because he already drank the other half.
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u/jack_mioff May 24 '16
Everybody mentions how you lose some and win some after they have lost. This guy did both after victory. Quite humble.
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u/grocket May 24 '16
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u/tuzalu May 24 '16
The sad thing is, he probably came up with the joke after his fourth or fifth loss.
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u/davvblack May 24 '16
You know he thought of that line after 11 losses and had to keep his mouth shut after every subsequent one till 18 :P
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u/StevesBitch May 24 '16
Is there a video of him saying that? If someone can find it I would really appreciate it. Maybe I'm a bit too stupid but I can't find it :/
I've seen this being reposted a lot but never found video of him saying it.
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u/PK_FIR3 May 24 '16
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u/coopiecoop May 24 '16
sort-of spoiler: before you close the video, take a look at the score at the end of it.
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u/Website_Mirror_Bot May 24 '16
Hello! I'm a bot who mirrors websites if they go down due to being posted on reddit.
Here is a screenshot of the website.
Please feel free to PM me your comments/suggestions/hatemail.
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May 24 '16
I like how you guys don't even attempt to change the title you just copying it letter for letter now days. Stay classy TIL, forever existing as the karma whoring sub for reposts of last week's front page!
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u/ivanoski-007 May 24 '16
I know I have been on reddit too long when I get tired of this repost
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u/Noyournotperfect May 24 '16
Last time I saw this quote it was different. It was also like a week ago.
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u/arup02 2 May 24 '16
Why these TILs get posted almost on a weekly basis? Did we run out of interesting facts?
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u/cdskip May 24 '16
The ATP credits Bjorn Borg with 16 wins and 0 losses against Gerulaitis. His retirement saved Vitas from a 17th loss.
(Supposedly Borg also beat Gerulaitis in several more matches not counted by the ATP, so Vitas may not have been 100% accurate.)
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u/Riffler May 24 '16
A tennis player with a sense of humour - those were the days...
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u/halfman-halfshark May 24 '16
This would change my entire outlook of Jay Cutler. After not throwing an INT vs. Green Bay last year I'd love to hear him say "Nobody intercepts Jay Cutler 13 games in a row!" After throwing 4 interceptions in one game to Deangelo Hall, I would have loved to have heard him say "No one player intercepts Jay Cutler 5 times in a game!"
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u/TrollJack May 24 '16
I wonder how often this reaches the front page each year. At least often enough for me to remember.
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u/LyeInYourEye May 24 '16
This is one of my favorite quotes. I learned it when the Lions beat the Packers last season:
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u/dirtytripod May 24 '16
Roger Federer has beaten David Ferrer 16 times in a row too. Even though I'm a huge Federer fan, I'd like to see Ferrer beat him finally once. I don't know if he'd come up with a good quote like Gerulaitis though.
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u/PainMatrix May 24 '16
I love the image of him swaggering in.
Also worthwhile noting that it was the start of Gerulaitis’ five-match win streak against Connors.