A Really Bad Day

Click here to see Stephan Feck's infamous dive.

It’s being called “The Worst Dive”, “The Most Embarrassing Dive” and the “Biggest Fail” of the Olympics. Competing in the men’s three-meter springboard qualifying rounds on Monday night, 22-year-old German diver,Stephan Feck, launched himself into a forward 3 1/2 somersault pike.

Feck had no doubt successfully completed the same dive thousands of times during his years of training, and it was not the most difficult dive in his repertoire. But this time, it did not go well. Feck’s hand slipped from his left thigh during a rotation, causing him to lose his tuck and land smack on his back in a devastating (and painful!) backward belly flop. (Divers travel at speeds of 40 mph when they hit the water.)

Feck received scores of O.O from all 7 judges. Not only did he fail to qualify, Stephan Feck finished dead last, in 29th place. As if his flop wasn’t embarrassing enough, the video of Feck’s dive instantly went viral, and the media had a field day with his last name. Headlines read: “What the Feck Happened?”, “Oh Feck!”, and “German Stephan Feck a Complete Dive Disaster at Games”.

Talk about a bad day.  For all of his years of sacrifice, hard work, and training, Feck got nothing but a slap on the back and a historical sports moment he will never live down. To Feck’s credit, he did manage to perform one more dive after his failed attempt, but withdrew before his 3rd dive due to pain.

We all know what it’s like to have a bad day, but imagine spending years perfecting your skills in the hopes of impressing the judges and representing your country proudly, only to become a household name across the world for all the wrong reasons. Feck, I feel for you. It reminded me of that old joke with a hundred variations:

You know you’re having a bad day when:

  • You have to hitchhike to the bank to make your car payment.
  • You call your voice mail for messages and they’re from your doctor, your mechanic, and the IRS.
  • People give you the senior citizen discount and you’re only 37.
  • Your horn gets stuck on the freeway behind a group of Hell’s Angels motorcyclists.
  • You’ve been at work 3 hours before you notice that your fly is open.
  • Your twin sister forgets your birthday.
  • It costs more to fill up your car than it did to buy it.
  • Your blind date turns out to be your ex.
  • You put both contacts in the same eye.
  • You have to borrow from your Visa card to pay your MasterCard.
  • You put your bra on backwards and it fits better.
  • Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.
  • You walk to work and find your dress is stuck in the back of your pantyhose.
  • Your wife says, “Good morning, Bill” and your name is George.
  • You open your briefcase for the big meeting and find nothing in it but your 5-year-old’s coloring book.
  • You look into the car you just locked and notice the keys hanging in the ignition.
  • Your 4-year-old tells you that it’s almost impossible to flush a grapefruit down the toilet.
  • You call your wife and tell her that you’d like to eat out tonight and when you get home, you find a sandwich on the front porch.
  • You realize that you just sprayed hair spray under your arms instead of deodorant.

Here’s hoping for a couple of good days this weekend,

Bob