John Oliver at the September 2024 Emmys. John Oliver at the September 2024 Emmys. (Jack Gruber/USA Today, via Imagn Images.)

It’s remarkable that the heights of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, to borrow from Jim McKay’s old Wide World of Sports intro, are often felt by both recreational and professional athletes.

The pros have their key sporting moments take place on much larger stages with much more significant financial consequences, of course, but the crushing feelings after an on-field miscue and the sheer joy after athletic success have been experienced by many of those whose day jobs don’t involve playing sports. The latest great example of that comes from comedian and Last Week Tonight host John Oliver.

Oliver discussed this during an upcoming special episode of Men in Blazers, which has partnered with Volvo to bring out six episodes with high-profile guests during the holidays (which also are the busiest two weeks of the English soccer calendar). The MiB episode with Fabrizio Romano comes out Tuesday on their YouTube show and podcast feed, followed by Oliver’s episode Thursday (which will also be part of the MiB Peacock show), one with Becky Sauerbrunn Friday, and then ones with JJ Watt, Rory Smith, and Magnus Carlsen next Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday respectively.

During his episode, Oliver (a noted Liverpool F.C. supporter, who even shouted out club players during a Emmy acceptance speech in January, and who had that fandom worked into a Community episode way back when) had a lot to say about different aspects of soccer and sports. Here’s Oliver talking to host Roger Bennett about the shame he felt from missing a penalty as a teenager, the exhilaration he felt after making one in a match against critics decades later, and how all that relates to Chelsea star Cole Palmer’s recent MiB comments on penalties:

“I missed a penalty when I was 13 years old, and I’ve never, ever forgotten it,” Oliver says. “I remember being home in bed that night, unable to sleep, thinking ‘This is going to be with me forever.’ And the thing is, I was right, because I still think about it! I’m not sure I took a penalty after that because I was so terrified of it, because I thought too much. I didn’t think, like Cole Palmer, ‘I just put the ball down, go back, and shoot.’

“Anyway, at the Edinburgh festival, we used to play ‘Comedians vs. Critics,’ and I had to take a penalty. I hit it, it went in, and it was almost like that 13-year-old heartbeat came back. I started running, I ripped off my shirt like Mo Salah! My dad, he was watching the game, I ran into the crowd, gave him the shirt. And I promise this is true, he had tears in his eyes. All of that is a very long way to say, when Cole Palmer says ‘I don’t think anything,’ you are amazing.”

The mental image of Oliver going wild after making that penalty is great. And he’s right; penalties have long been incredibly tricky for even the best in the world, including the English national team on many occasions. So making one is certainly an accomplishment. Even if it’s only in a “Comedians vs. Critics” match.

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About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.