I’ve been performing onstage professionally (getting paid for it) since 1988.   I’ve performed through hail, thunderstorms, hecklers, lightning, threat of sniper fire, diarrhea, and power outages.  Nothing phases me when it comes to performing.

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Except when I suck.  When I have a bad show it completely ruins my day.  And my week.  Instead of honoring my tradition of shaking everyone’s hand as they leave the theatre I just duck into the dressing room and hide, stewing in the countless number of mistakes I made that night, mistakes the audience would never know existed.  I wanted to figure out how to get over the disappointment of what I saw as shortchanging the audience.

And then came the World Cup.

I happen to be a huge Brazil fan.  When I heard that Ronaldinho was not selected for the Brazilian national team I couldn’t believe it.  This guy was the FIFA player of the year, had millions in endorsement deals, and is easily one of the most talented footballers on the planet.  So why didn’t he get the call to represent his country?  He had a bad season.  Actually he’s had a few.

Lionel Messi, the 5′2″ Argentinean dynamo who has captured the imaginations of futbol fans around the world with 47 goals in one season, had a terrible World Cup.

How many goals did he score in the World Cup? Zero.

If athletes playing the most popular sport in the world on the biggest stage can have a crappy showing then why was I beating myself up about forgetting lines and character transitions?

Ever had a bad night on stage?  How did you recover?  Comment below with your experiences and advice.

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See you at the 2014 World Cup.  Brazil Baby!