If Coronavirus and 9/11 are the two biggest events of our life, what is the third?
Lot to unload. Saw this on twitter and thought this would be an interesting thing to discuss. Also, state your age.
Trending Content
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
May 31, 2024
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
Super Bowl XLIX: Seahawks not running the ball
2016 NBA Finals: Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead
why
because Lynch had a terrible average that year picking up 1 yrd on 4th and 1 and/or Goal line plays...because an incomplete pass stops the clock and it's normally a very safe throw...because Belicheck is a genius not to call timeout even though I was screaming at the TV.
In my top ten! Malcolm Butler didn't pay for a drink that summer
My favorite moment of all time.
Barack Obama becomes the first black president; I was in middle school and they even held a special school assembly, and that’s the only school assembly I remember. I’m 23
I remember the morning after Donald Trump got elected, my principal gave a speech to the whole school about how racist rhetoric is not allowed.
Edit: I said something stupid so I deleted it.
I don't know how you got that I was calling you racist, not at all. Your comment just reminded me of what happened in my high school post-election day.
Totally understandable, I appreciate the clarification. I thought it was possible because someone MS'ed me, so I thought maybe people were misinterpreting my comment. +1 SB for the reply.
Someone gave you MS simply because you brought up Obama. Never underestimate the petty, alt-right fringe of WSO.
I do not think you got MS due to your positive comment. I think it is more of a function of not everyone liking Barack Obama.
Makes sense, I appreciate your reply. I'm personally a Republican; I didn't necessarily agree with him, but his election and subsequent inauguration were extremely memorable.
Rule 1 of WSO: never take MS personally. People will MS anything, you could post the open source cure for cancer and people would MS you.
I think it's so ironic that someone MS'ed you hahaha. I appreciate your insight man, +1 SB. Have a great day.
As someone who grew up outside of Boston, I remember that day so vividly. I thought the kindness that came out of the people there and the rest of the country in the time that followed was wonderful.
Great Recession for me, taught me that nobody really gives a shit about you, outside maybe your family and good good friends. I was unemployed for over 6 months.
I was in undergrad during 9-11. I ended up thinking about and acting on a path to work for the FBI, and studying accounting (forensic accounting, find OBL’s money). Ending up not going that route, but it was impactful as I was passionate about something.
The Age of COVID is going to teach me a lot. Still not sure what the other side will be. I think the Great Reopening will lead to recovery in some places faster than others. In San Francisco, I see a lot of pent up demand going into 6 weeks of shelter in place. Prob a lot of white collar work from home situations. About 80% mask wearing rate (shows that people recognize the need to protect others from themselves, which helps everyone) and brick and mortar businesses protecting employees with shields at cash registers, it bodes well for adaptation. I am bullish.
So hard to say what I will learn since not sure if we will go deep in the Jungle (long term high unemployment, prolonged credit crunch for new mortgages, non-SBA). I think I will greatly miss the carefree life I had being among people, at least until a vaccine or I get immunity. I won’t take things for granted as much. I’d wash my hands. Prosperity can be ripped away from you.
I still have my job. For others like my wife, there is an identity crisis. “Am I in a dying industry?” She runs a retail company that is more or less shut down. There is the unglamorous prospect of closing her business that she spent 12 out of her 15 working years building - like dying alone from COVID in a hospital. No grand closing, hugs and good byes. Just a message on social media to thank the great customers over the years. I’m telling her I’ll help support the business financially for a year. We will see.
I guess the lessons you learn often times depends on your situation at the time and the lens you see it through. This chapter on COVID is just beginning.
Seriously. This is "Wall Street Oasis" and the Great Recession wasn't immediately top 3?
Granted many of the monkeys here are younger and maybe grew up in suburbia vs a major financial center like NYC. They might have had parents who stayed employed. My memory of the Savings and Loan crisis was non-existent - Ninja Turtles had more relevance. The tech bust of 2001, my memory was “dad why do you have so many companies with weird names that we have no idea what they do in your stock portfolio.” Other than that I was living the good life in Hawaii.
But yes Great Recession should be top 3.
Maybe it feels like less of an "event" because it was pretty drawn out?
Though COVID-19 will be the same way, I guess.
I wonder if the appropriate single event is Lehman failing.
I started in financial services as an 18 year old intern in October 2008. I was doing client services at a large mutual fund company. It is amazing how much that time frame sticks out in my mind - and how much I remember. Probably a few memorable moments on the phones during those crazy times:
People would only have statements mailed quarterly if you can believe it. That would be the only time they'd check performance if you can believe it. So 12/31 statements went out and needless to say those first few weeks in January were memorable. They couldn't believe funds being down, 20-30% in a quarter (not unlike Q1 2020). Watched out AUM fall from multiple $100B to under a $100B in a 6 month span. Absolutely wild. Got called all sorts of names/accused of fraud (I was making I think $11 an hour). Worst part was many didn't move to cash until Feb/March 2009 and well you know how that story goes.
My favorite quote from that time was from an advisor that had called in and moved his clients to cash in late October. We had been told to ask why they were moving to cash (money market funds were paying less - this was still A share timeframe). The advisor simply responded, "Cash is king".
this should go down as one of the worst investment recommendations ever. this advisor shouldn't be in the industry. selling out of everything weeks after Lehman went under, sure it wasn't the bottom, but those are losses from which you cannot recover. unless he bought triple leveraged S&P or something, but something tells me he's not an astute individual.
in the name of all that is holy, do not do what this advisor did, it's hazardous to your health.
actually, fuck that. I'm glad people like that exist, it's a nice sourve of new clients for me :)
I can relate to the impression and severity of those months/years you describe. During 2008-2010 I was doing M&A for a big bank, well capitalised and one of the few global go-to address (left) for saving failing banks over weekends or picking up assets in short time. We were literally going through almost all our competitors in a matter of days, unbelieving what we were seeing (these were at the time considered huge, titans, and we're trying to bridge a message of solidity to the press and clients). We had direct line to the Group CEO and CFO. Daily calls with them and some BoD members, mostly overnight and well into the wee hours. Lots of work, very quickly done and under an unseen level of uncertainty and information (many govt packages or securities issued were unchartered territory, many of the toxic assets in their b/s were simply not discernable). We had frequent daily calls and direct access to all kind of experts (Treasury, Capital Management, HF, Prime Broker, Lev Fin, asset managemt -re the breaking the buck of MM funds etc.) all painting a very very dark picture. Treasury was the closest to the shut interbank market, pretty scary, with CDS going through the roof. No valuation model working and non-parametric, fat tails stuff being developed ad-hoc and on the fly. I Came every day home to sleep a couple of hours exhausted... not only from the amount and speed of work, the immense pressure, but troubled from the unbelievable precipice the industry (and economy/society) was almost falling into. It was a great experience with huge personal and professional growth, but an unparalleled testing time in my career. No need to repeat that medicine sir, thanks.
Great recession, like in the 30's recession? wow, must have been terrible to go through those years of hardship, uncertainty and toil… Certainly topping many of the other big events (not stating value, as it is a subjective topic and others may leave a deeper scar on any given individual).
...no, as in the Great Recession.
Tough choice....
Deaths of Harambe or Epstein.
Yeah, although one of those is a fictional event.
Both of them were executions
Even though, the OP might be looking something negative, let's go with a positive event. There have been several but I would have to say the night Barack Obama was elected to be the next POTUS. I remember working out at a gym during the election, and when I saw that the state of Pennsylvania, a swing state, was called for Obama, I knew it was going to be a great night. And not because I agreed with all of his policies but because it showed me that there are a lot of good people in United States who were willing to cast a vote regardless of skin color.
I remember being unemployed but meeting a potential business partner or boss (back then we had to create our own jobs) in the lobby of the Le Meridian hotel in SF with Obama having his inauguration on tv. Seared in my memory.
number 1, and it's not even close. the berlin wall coming down
i think this is where i'm supposed to say "ok boomer"
fair enough, I just want people to remember history. I'm a millennial so was basically still shitting my pants when this happened, but I think people who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. 9/11 was significant, sure...for the USA. the USSR and its subsequent fall changed the entire globe.
that, and I don't want to let the commies forget their failure.
As usual @thebrofessor has it right. I was a small kid when the berlin wall came down and don’t remember it. But in the years before 9/11 I was in high school and it was made very clear to us by our parents, teachers etc that the wall was the event of their lives and maybe ours too. 9/11 changed that.
A good one thebrofessor
I would add, from my personal perspective (not in any particular order): * The start of first Irak war. I was at high school and already was able to understand the terrible mess that was going to ensue. * The Wall and preceeding that the Perestrika from M. Gorby. Game-changing moves. * 9/11 of course. I think anybody at an age of reasoning remembers vividly that day. * Bear and Lehman imploding.
The day I joined WSO
The biggest event of our lives may not have happened yet,
if there's a bigger global event in my life than the fall of the soviet union, it'll have to be one of the following
I agree, it may not have happened yet, but I don't think anything changed the world as much as the USSR's fall (in my lifetime, I wasn't around for WW2)
Advancements in AI leading to the technology singularity, currently predicted to happen between 2040 and 2050, could certainly make the list.
Aliens.
The Pentagon released their UFO footage
Cubs winning the World Series.
Tribe fan here too. That was one awful November night. I think what made it really sting was that it was such an amazing game and improbable comeback, only to end in defeat. Losing 5-1 in nine would’ve been a lot less painful.
Yessirrrr
The lions winning the Super Bowl....oh wait
In a similar vein - The Minneapolis Miracle. Keenum is gone, but not forgotten.
SKOL Vikes
Mhhmm, let's go.
RIP Keenum and Diggs, but god damn am I hyped for Justin Jefferson this year
The great overreaction (fatality rate .2-.3%), oh sorry covid, is probably one of the most memorable.
1983 birth of the internet.
In 200 years no one is going to care at all about any of this other stuff.
Agreed. Everyone thinks they're living in "THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME TO BE ALIVE EVER" but once their generation has come and gone, nobody cares. Life goes on.
Easy for me even it is not US-related,
The 1998 Indonesian Riots. I saw the absolute worst of humanity because of racial tensions within the country. I was diagnosed with PTSD and severe anxiety issues after one day seeing the men in our neighbor were literally dragged unto the streets and stripped naked while being kicked to the ground, while i heard screams of the women inside their houses being... you-know-what.
Because of that day, i feel like i never went through age 8-18, i just feel like i'm an adult even thought i was only just got into elementary school.
Great Topic and some of the responses really made me think.
thebrofessor mentioned fall of USSR. I too was very young and barely remember it but man, HUGE stuff.
Honorable Mention: GFC, COVID, 9/11
Edited to push 9/11 to honorable mention. The development of the interwebs has been huge for pretty much daily life for everyone. No interwebs, no WSO. Just sayin'
A few sports references and no Superbowl LII, fuck y'all.
Berlin wall is a good one even if I was only technically alive and have no memory of it. Serious answer for me is probably the GFC. Unfortunately now I'm a professional for this recession.
pokemon go
I am saving that spot for WW3: liberals against humanity.
I warned you... You didn't listen
Putting US presidential elections as the "biggest events of our lives" is really dumb (and in my opinion demonstrates that you're pretty shallow and opinionated). Nobody will care 3-4 cycles out. In 75 years Obama's legacy will be that he is a trivia question on VR-game shows for "who was the first black president?" Other than that, all current politicians will be remembered about as well as we remember Chester Arthur today. The historical significance of US politics will be reduced even more as China becomes the world power anyways. It's gonna be hard to care about U.S. events when China finishes the Human Genome Project and puts a base on the Moon. The funny thing is that social media has allowed almost everything from today to be recorded and stored for future generations. The thing is, nobody will read it.
When people study the early 21st Century in the future, there's just going to be a blurb that says "Internet".
Are you serious? Black people have literally gone from a life of slavery to the POTUS. I would say this was a major step forward for the United States.
Of course, it is a major step forward for us now. But when the centuries go by, in the long history of the world, it will not matter.
I disagree. I believe the Trump election and the division that followed is historically significant, but nothing really close to 9/11.
Arab Spring could be an honorable mention...it's not often you see multiple countries overthrow their governments all at once.
The launch of the smartphone?
Jim Simons solving the market. /s
Paul Singer taking on the entire nation of Argentina
Ratione inventore quo odio aut. Aperiam sit nulla doloribus assumenda voluptatibus. Quia quas eveniet natus ut in facilis tenetur. Aliquid delectus placeat recusandae rem ipsum. Laborum inventore eveniet occaecati. Iste in blanditiis aut et qui et nostrum.
Rerum nihil consequatur optio nam doloremque perspiciatis quia. Nesciunt accusamus velit quia aperiam culpa odit architecto. Aspernatur ea eum et quia vel necessitatibus.
Aut unde minus optio accusamus nihil. Praesentium commodi quas consequatur enim. Quisquam error adipisci fugit. Animi similique expedita quas. Est qui est sed est. Facere voluptas ullam quia placeat quod delectus pariatur quas.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Placeat architecto excepturi eaque in qui consequatur a. Cum sit vel ut aut est voluptas temporibus. Saepe quidem eligendi recusandae minus natus. Beatae tenetur similique rerum quos optio modi qui occaecati.
Eius fugit possimus aut atque. Cupiditate quis quasi et vero. Quas odit qui minus est. Minima quia sit alias.
Doloribus laudantium omnis laboriosam et ut id. Distinctio qui sit autem rem corrupti. Labore delectus error culpa voluptatem tempore.
Necessitatibus ex dolores rerum aut. Debitis sint ut eligendi sequi vel ut. Sit odit error eaque in sed minus.
Est non sunt tempora eos placeat soluta. Vitae id sapiente vel et ullam. Nisi modi quia consectetur iste aspernatur sed necessitatibus voluptatem. Non omnis nesciunt placeat. Hic neque maiores tempore quisquam sed dolorum. Consectetur non consectetur omnis sit consequatur.
Blanditiis dolor sint repellat aut perspiciatis cumque. Ut aliquam quia ducimus. Commodi et qui blanditiis pariatur et ab ea iste.
Ipsa voluptas pariatur ipsum aut molestiae aut. Ipsam explicabo at eveniet rerum facilis perspiciatis sit. Mollitia qui tenetur quia optio consequatur deserunt id. Cupiditate corporis sint sed.
Omnis deleniti quisquam velit cumque aliquid voluptas id. Sunt qui assumenda reprehenderit maiores atque sit. Ipsam architecto sunt inventore asperiores reiciendis omnis.