frbleus1-5, Exercise 1: Why a loser can be remembered more than the winner

Model answer (check the details), using Saint-Étienne in 1976:

1. The story of near-success. Hitting the woodwork twice and losing 1-0 makes a tale of bad luck, and a sad ending is easy to remember and to retell. Evidence: match reports and film of the final (how close the chances were), and later retellings that stress the posts.
2. The wider meaning. Saint-Étienne was a provincial working-class city whose attractive side seemed to stand for a different France from Paris and its rich clubs, and the nation had no other recent European success to celebrate. Evidence: the press coverage and the scale of the welcome after the final, and the way later writers use the match.

Other possible reasons: Bayern's team was one of a series (three wins in a row), so any single win was less distinctive (check); and a defeat leaves room for "what if", which a win does not.

Care: evidence for popularity (crowds, sales, polls) is stronger than evidence for causes. State which kind you have.