Not Since the Incident

A character reveals they used to be an expert at something, but they haven't done it in a long time because of an "incident," and they don't like to talk about it.

My Name is Earl

Appearances

• Cheers: Season 4, episode 9, "From Beer to Eternity" (1985). The gang at Cheers challenge Gary's Olde Town Tavern to a bowling competition, and it's looking dire. Carla learns that Woody used to be a great bowler, but he hasn't bowled since his ball struck a pit that hit an innocent bystander.
• Seinfeld: Season 6, episode 10, "The Race" (1994). Jerry discovers that his new girlfriend's boss is Duncan Meyer, who once lost to Jerry in a big race in high school where Jerry accidentally got a head start. Duncan goads Jerry into a rematch, and once again he gets a head start when a car backfires, and he thinks it's the starter pistol.
• Seinfeld: Season 8, episode 16, "The Fatigues" (1996). Kramer volunteered to cook for a Jewish singles mixer, but he's struggling, so Jerry suggests he ask Frank Costanza for help because he was cook in the army, but Frank refuses to cook because of an incident during the war when he cooked expired meet and sent his whole platoon "to the latrines."
• Spin City: Season 4, episode 18, "The Pig Whisperer" (2000). The city needs a farmer who runs a tomato stand to move so they can build a community center, but he refuses. When he sees James, the farmer reveals that James used to be an expert "pigger" who beat him in every pig competition, and he wants a rematch, but James refuses to pig again because of an incident where he hit a pig.
• Frasier: Season 9, episode 18, "War of the Words" (2002). Frederick is a finalist in a national spelling bee, and Niles is acting strange. When Fredrick asks Martin about it, Martin explains that Niles used to be one of the best spellers in the country, but he stopped spelling after an incident where he froze on stage.
• My Name is Earl: Season 2, episode 2, "Jump for Joy" (2006). Earl wants to borrow money from Chubby to bail Joy out of jail, but Chubby will only give Earl the money if he gets Catalina to dance at his club again, and Catalina refuses because the last time she danced, a man had a heart attack and died.
• Community: Season 3, episode 9, "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" (2011). Jeff is annoyed by some Germans who keep noisily playing foosball in the lounge, and he challenges them to a game, but he's not good enough to beat them, so Shirley reveals her incredible foosball skills, which she's been keeping a secret because of an incident that happened when she was a kid, when she was known as "Big Cheddar," and she humiliated a boy so badly that he wet his pants. When Shirley tells him the story, Jeff realizes he was the boy and challenges her to a rematch.
• Moone Boy: Season 2, episode 4, "Handball Duel" (2014). Liam tells Martin about when he was a pro handball player, and a duel with his bitter rival, Kevin, resulted in a an incident that ended his career. When Martin ends up working for Kevin as his golf caddie, Kevin challenges Liam to game, but since Liam doesn't have clubs, he plays it like a handball duel and throws the ball.