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Line 1: {{trope}} ~~{{cleanup\|Some tropes have already been moved to subpages by media. The rest of the examples need to follow suit.}}~~ [[File:IdiotBall.jpg\|link=SpongeBob SquarePants\|frame\|[[Our Lawyers Advised This Trope\|WARNING]]: Prolonged exposure to the idiot ball can cause [[What an Idiot!\|severely reduced intelligence]], [[No Social Skills\|complete social ineptitude]], and [[Too Dumb to Live\|death]].]] Line 6 ⟶ 5: '''Anakin:''' Apparently not.\|''[[Star Wars]] [[Revenge of the Sith\|Episode III: Revenge of the Sith]]''}} A moment where a character's stupidity fuels an episode, or a small plot line. If multiple characters have the '''Idiot Ball''' it becomes an [[Idiot Plot]]. Temporary (or permanent) [[Genre Blindness]] is often a cause of this trope. Coined by [[Hank Azaria]] on ''[[Herman's Head]]'': Azaria would ask the writing staff, "Who's carrying the idiot ball this week?" This is generally not a compliment on the writing because the person carrying the idiot ball is often acting [[Out of Character]], [[You Know What You Did\|misunderstanding something that could be cleared up by asking a single reasonable question]] or performing a simple problem-solving action, but that he [[Just Eat Gilligan\|isn't doing solely because the writers don't want him to.]] It's almost as if the character is being willfully stupid or obtuse. Line 16 ⟶ 15: See also [[Villain Ball]], [[Hero Ball]], [[Distress Ball]], [[Idiot Plot]], [[Forgot About His Powers]], [[Alcohol-Induced Idiocy]], [[Comedy of Errors]], [[Too Dumb to Live]], [[What an Idiot!]], [[Conflict Ball]], [[Bullying a Dragon]], [[Mugging the Monster]], [[Failed a Spot Check]], [[Ping-Pong Naivete]], [[Third-Act Stupidity]] <small>big breath </small>, and [[Out-of-Character Moment]]. A [[Stupidity-Inducing Attack]] is essentially what happens when a character deliberately throws the '''Idiot Ball''' at another character. This trope is the [[Opposite Tropes\|Opposite Trope]] of [[Smart Ball]], and probably not closely related to [[Sanity Ball]], [[Happy Fun Ball]] or [[Advantage Ball]]. And not even ''remotely'' related to the [[Timey-Wimey Ball]] or [[Dragon Ball]]. {{Forgetfulness Tropes}} {{examples on subpages\|Examples of people carrying the Idiot Ball are listed on these subpages:}} ~~{{examples}}~~ ~~== Professional Wrestling ==~~ * After a rift with Arn Anderson, [[Ric Flair]] recruited Sting to be his partner in a tag match against Anderson and Brian Pillman at WCW Halloween Havoc 1995. Sting accepted. Then, as soon as he tagged Flair, he got himself an old-fashioned Horseman Beatdown. * Lex Luger carried it frequently in his WWF stint, but the worst instance of them all was when he had to fight off rumors of selling out to [[Ted DiBiase]]. The loudest voice of said rumors happened to be Tatanka. The two faced off at Summerslam 94 with the Native American coming out on top. After the match, Luger still couldn't figure out what the Million Dollar Man had to do with this.. until Tatanka beat him up post-match. * [[Randy Savage]] carried it in the 1993 Royal Rumble. After dropping his flying elbow on Yokozuna, he went for a pinfall. Problem is, pins do not count in a Royal Rumble match. Yoko powered out of the pin, sent the Macho Man over the top, and secured a WWF Championship match at [[Wrestlemania]] IX. ~~== Web Animation ==~~ * Coach Z on ''[[Homestar Runner]]''. It seems that he only keeps his "more than two praeblams" (other than his butt fixation) for one episode. The whole cast plays dodgeball with the proverbial Idiot Ball. ** The titular character IS an Idiot Ball, which is really almost the point of any short with him in it. ~~== Web Original ==~~ * v4 of ''[[Open Blue]]'''s [[Backstory]] has King Armando of Avelia betting his country's ''second largest'' colony ''in a swordfight'' with ''the [[Master Swordsman\|greatest swordsman]]'' in the Old World. Naturally, he lost. For a skilled diplomat and peacemaker, [[Tempting Fate]] like that wasn't exactly a pretty smart thing to do. * ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' example: during the "combat finals" at [[Super-Hero School\|Whateley Academy]], Buster (super-strong brick who gets stronger and tougher the more you hit him) drew Aquerna, one of the school losers. He lost by chasing her all over the place until she found a spot where she had the advantage. [[Lampshade Hanging]] by the instructors, who pointed out that he was so much stronger than she was, all he had to do was go to the 'win spot' and type in his answers, and she wouldn't have been able to do a thing to stop him. * ''[[Cracked.com]]'''s [http://www.cracked.com/article/185_6-movie-plots-made-possible-by-bafflingly-bad-decisions/ 6 Movie Plots Made Possible by Bafflingly Bad Decisions]. ** Then again, [http://www.cracked.com/article_18791_if-movie-characters-didnt-make-horrible-decisions.html If Movie Characters Didn't Make Horrible Decisions] [[Tropes Are Not Bad\|movies would be much less fun]]. * In ''[[Netland]]'' VII, when [[Cloudcuckoolander\|Taricus]] decides to attack the Sarin canister, thereby killing everyone except Tyberix (who has a built-in rebreather). {{reflist}}