Your most painful sports moments

[Dexter Morgan]

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[Evil Doctor]

[Magnus]

This one's easy...

Oh, and the 2007 OHL Final. Damn Whalers.

[nash61]

Not an Oilers fan, but grew up watching Ty Conklin as a Bulldog, and I was cheering for the Oilers in the playoffs.

A personal painful moment. We were total underdogs in the regional high-school soccer tournament, and we were a minute away from beating the #2 ranked team. We had a 60-second running clock timeout left, and the coach refused to use it. We got scored on with 30 seconds left and had to settle for a tie.

[Lights Out]

1. Raja Bell hits the buzzer beater over Daniel Ewing in Game 5 of Suns/Clippers, setting up our bitter series loss.

2. KYLE FREAKING BROTZMAN. 'Nuff said.

3. Marlon McCree's idiotic fumble against the Patriots.

4. The Game 5 rain suspension in the 2008 World Series. It was the beginning of the end for the Rays.

5. Norv Turner being hired instead of Rex Ryan.

6. Michael Olowokandi and Ryan Leaf being drafted, in the same year, no less.

7. Shaq dropping 61 points on the Clippers on his birthday (in a home game for us, too).

I could keep going, but you get the point.

[knnhrvy16]

I'm still bitter about it to this day. Hate him. Hate the Bulls.

--------

A personal painful moment took place on what was also the craziest day of my high school baseball career. In my junior year, our team finished the season at 11-11, and were the last seed in our state 2A playoffs bracket. Thus, we were pitted against the two-time defending state champion Gunnison Bulldogs, and were HEAVY underdogs. Our game was scheduled to be played in Parowan, a small town just outside of Cedar City and on the opposite end of the state from us (far south). We get there after 2 1/2 hours and wait through a 2 hour rain delay before they relocate our game to St. George - which is another hour drive and just five or so minutes from the Arizona border. So after six hours of travel, rain delay, and warming up, we finally get our game started.

Again, no one in the papers or anywhere gave us any chance. We were supposed to be ten-runned out of the game and the first step to a Gunnison three-peat....however, through six, the game was tied 3-3. Our pitchers were throwing everything we had, and we kept gitting hits when we needed them. It looked as if we could've pulled it off going into the 7th (final inning in high school). We didn't get a run at the top though, so we had to prevent and shut down in the bottom.

First batter up, we walk him on a full count. He steals soon after and gets to second. Next batter on a 2-1 count (I believe) dead-pulls a shot down the right field line, but drops and hooks a bit. Our RF had some room and tried to go for it, dove, and the ball barely grazed the edge of his mitt well into foul territory. However, the umpire, for whatever reason, called it fair, despite the fact that the ball was at least two feet foul (the RF was half over foul territory himself - there was even a smudge of chalk on his jersey). And whaddya know? The guy on second scores, ball game. Upset hopes dashed, championship hopes dashed, season over.

It was the lowest I've ever felt in sports. Run around for six hours to the complete opposite end of the state, only to lose a near-upset to the two-time champs on a blown call and travel all the way back to the other end of the state with it replaying in your head. I never got another chance to play in the playoffs again, as in my senior year we went 1-21 and were well out of playoff contention.

[RyanMcD29]

Your asking for too much out of a Jet/Islander/Met fan and Syracuse student, but give me a little bit of time and I'll compile a list

[BlueSky]

December 18, 1983, Louisiana Superdome. I'd been a Saints fan since '69 and it seemed they were finally going to have a winning season and maybe even make the playoffs. They had a 24-23 lead over the Rams late in the game but L.A. drove down and kicked a FG on the last play. No winning season, no playoffs...again. Felt like I'd been gut-punched. I and many, many other crushed Saints fans just stood in shock at the upper deck railings for probably 20 minutes.

It really sucked.

[Sport]

The mets beat the Reds in a one game playoff in 99. That hurt, especially because the Reds were a group of nobodies who won 96 games that year.

Also, Ohio State losing in the frozen four against Boston College hit me particularly hard. I was ten years old and I watched so many of that team's games. I knew all the players and I thought they were gonna get a shot at Michigan in the championship game. It would've been epic.

[dbadefense1990]

The top 10 most painful sports moments of my lifetime:

10. 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, West Quarterfinals, Game 3. Kings blow a four-goal lead and lose to the Sharks in overtime 6-5, which catalyzes San Jose in winning the series in six. This proves that the Kings can't win for crap at home in the playoffs. Including the prior year’s outcome against Vancouver, this hockey team is jinxed when playing at home in the playoffs. The funny thing is that the Los Angeles media only care for hockey when either the cup is won or a team chokes, and the latter happened. Otherwise, the gravitational pull here is the Lakers, so the average sports fan here probably forgot what happened to the Kings.




9. MLS Cup 2009. The Galaxy are installed as the favorites to win their 3^rd MLS Cup in Seattle, but something didn't seem right. The injury by Real Salt Lake’s Javier Morales inspired them to fight on ala Willis Reed. And they did, to a 1-1 tie after regulation and classic overtime. In those penalties, David Beckham put one in, easing tensions of a missed kick after so many heartbreaks for the English national team. But Landon Donovan (of all-damn people) freaking missed an easy chip over the top post. Eventually, Robbie Russell converts the last good penalty kick of the night and Real Salt Lake grabs the cup with it. Seriously, just saying "Real Salt Lake, MLS Cup Champions" doesn't sound right off the tongue (perhaps since they were the 1^st ever cup champions with a sub .500 record in the regular season).



8. 2003 NBA Playoffs, West Semifinals, Game 6. Robert Horry's shot goes in-and-out to end Game 5 against the San Antonio Spurs, which hung over the Lakers in Game 6. Prior to this game, it was assumed the Lakers were a “comeback” team after falling early, while San Antonio had a tendency to blow leads late, and many people assumed the trend would continue here, and would force a Game 7. Even down to start the 4^th quarter, people were waiting on that Lakers comeback/Spurs collapse. Instead, San Antonio proceeds to crush the Lakers by almost 30 points. San Antonio not only terrorized the Lakers, they sent a message to the other teams in the playoffs that they're legitimate contenders who have evolved from blowing leads. The image of Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant in tears still burns me inside.



7. MLS Cup 1996. Due to a Nor’easter, the field at old Foxboro Stadium was wet and soggy for the inaugural MLS Cup game, but that didn’t faze the Galaxy, as they had a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes left. But on that soaked field in Boston, the Galaxy choked the lead to D.C. United, as Mexican goalie superstar Jorge Campos felt jittered by the rain, and allowed two goals late in the second half, to Tony Sanneh and Shawn Medved. Then, in sudden-death overtime, Eddie Pope headers in the game-winner for D.C. United to steal the MLS Cup. It began a litany of bad luck for the Galaxy in the postseason, not ending until 2002.



6. 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs, West Semifinals, Game 2. Here's the scenario: Galaxy enter the playoffs without winning a road game in the regular season (first team in MLS history to do so) and limping as the #4 seed in the West. Still, they go to San Jose, already with a 2-0 aggregate lead from Game 1, and lead the 2^nd leg, 2-0. Then the roof caved in; five straight goals by the Earthquakes. I don't know whose goal was more painful: Chris Roner's tying one in stoppage time, or Rodrigo Faria's one in overtime to win it (seriously, do these people even exist anymore?). What stung this loss worse was that it marked the end of Mauricio Cienfuegos' brilliant career.



5. 1993 Stanley Cup Final, Game 2. Already up 1-0 in the series and 2-1 in Game 2, the Kings were primed to jump ahead two games in the series, with the series shifting to Inglewood. But with 1:30 left in the 3^rd period, Marty McSorely got called for the illegal-stick, Eric Desjardins tied the game on the ensuing power-play then won it in overtime, Patrick Roy got his groove again, and the Canadiens eventually won the series, 4-1. Had the Kings held on and won Game 2, there’d be a Stanley Cup in Los Angeles by now. But after that illegal stick call, the Kings never had a lead the rest of the series on, and would proceed to lose three straight overtime games, IN THE CUP FINAL. I don’t know a more painful way of losing multiple times in a championship series.



4. 2006 Rose Bowl Game. The city of Los Angeles anticipates a three-peat in college football national championships by the USC Trojans, in front of their home city in Pasadena. But Vince Young destroys those plans himself. Leading by 12 with only 6 minutes left in the 4^th quarter, Young begins to torch the USC defense. Even with a touchdown with 4 minutes left, the Trojans have a chance to ice the game. Coach Pete Carroll elects to go on 4^th-and-short with almost 2 minutes left, but the Texas Longhorns defense stopped them dead in the tracks. "4th and 5, the national championship on the line," said ABC's Keith Jackson (on his last telecast of his career). Young goes for the corner and scores the championship-clinching touchdown with 19 seconds left. Texas seizes the crystal football, and breaks hearts all over Los Angeles in the process.



3. 2009 National League Championship Series, Game 4. It sucked to lose the year prior, but the Phillies were experienced while the Dodgers were the underdogs, so nothing to plead over. This time, the script was reversed, and the Dodgers were projected to win it all with the National League’s best record. But Philadelphia stole one at Dodger Stadium, and won the middle three games in Pennsylvania. The heartbreaker came in Game 4. The Dodgers led 4-3 in the 9^th inning and were within one out of tying the series 2-2, but Jonathan Broxton got nervous again on Matt Stairs, and he got walked. Then he pummeled Carlos Ruiz to send him to first base. And then, Jimmy Rollins provided the game-winning double on a 1-1 count. Phillies win, and win the series by the end of Game 5. As for the Dodgers, their best chance of winning the World Series was shattered, and with the whole McCourt situation, expect this to be the last breath of playoffs for a long time.

2. 2008 NBA Finals, Game 4. Down 2-1 in the series, the Lakers needed the win here to prevent a Celtics hammerlock in the NBA Finals. And they were up by 24 points at one point in the 3^rd quarter. By the end of the night, it was assumed the series would become a best 2-of-3. But the Lakers perform the most infamous single-game collapse in NBA playoff history. What sucked were all the acrobatics Ray Allen performed during the comeback and how their bench murdered Los Angeles during that run (James Posey), with the Lakers putting up puny responses to every Boston attack. By the time Allen drove in the lane for the Celtics' final shot, there was nothing else the Lakers could do, as the Celtics won Game 4, 97-91. Like the rest of this city, nothing but silence was heard when the buzzer sounded. The Lakers were finished; no team had recovered from a 3-1 series deficit to win the NBA championship. And point-blank, the Lakers would be sniped in Boston in Game 6 by 39 points, in a downpour of Boston green confetti as the Celtics wrapped up the series there. And then I wondered, "are the curses of Celtics-past resurrected after a 20-year slaying?" For the next two years, yes they were.

1. Spring and summer of 1995. Cleveland, Houston, Baltimore...all relocations can not top ours. We are the only city to lose two NFL teams IN THE SAME YEAR. The Raiders thing, well, Al Davis always cares about the cash and the Raider image. He could field them in Alaska for all he cares, so as long as the Raiders win there. But Georgia Frontierre; he was the Frank McCourt, Adolf Hitler, Satan of her time. She pulled the "Major League" script and gave herself a happy ending, while stomping on our hearts. Relocating to hometown St. Louis, then winning SB XXXIV and saying that relocation out of LA was the right move disgusted me and every other Angelino. Now it's likely we'll never get football in LA, as other fans hate us for trying to get one, and owners joke about us on late night TV. Thanks Georgia, hope you kiddle up to Fredddy Krueger in hell, you selfish a**hole.

[DCDuck]

Couldn't find an image of Snyder doing his news conference after buying the Skins so these two would have to come in a close second.

Also the death of the late, great Sean Taylor. Rest In Peace, 21.

[RedSox44]

5 most painful sports moments of my life

5. Jets beat Patriots in first round of the 2010/11 playoffs.

4. Joe Thornton traded the day before my 11th birthday.

3.

David "Oh Crap" Tyree.

2. Red Sox lose to Orioles, Rays come back to beat Yankees, 2011.

"...and Crawford...can't make the catch! A run scores and the Orioles win!"\

"And the Rays are 2011 Wild Card Champions!"

1. Aaron Boone and the 2003 ALCS Game 7.

I was eight years old and I cried.

[aci]

Enough said.

[TFoA]

Holy crap, where do I start? Guess I'll start with the obvious:

Killed NHL hockey in this town for the foreseeable future, somehow managed to breed apathy into a fanbase of a consistent NBA playoff team (primarily due to overseeing horrendous draft picks and contracts), turned a relatively new arena into damn near a relic, and did it all while arguing amongst each other in court. Might be able to add "Botched two sales of both teams (remember, they tried and failed to sell the Thrashers a while back)" if this Meruelo deal falls through.

But I guess if you want stuff that actually happened during play:

Braves: 1996 World Series

Nope, not The Collapse. Jim Leyritz coming from whatever hole Jim Leyritz came from to breathe life into the nearly-dead-at-that-point Yankees. If the Braves had held on to win that game, you can almost guarantee that the Braves go back to back (they were in complete control of that series before that moment. Would've went up 3-1 if they held on), and the Yankee dynasty at least gets delayed by a couple of years. I don't really get mad about most of the Braves many playoff failures, but this is the one that always gets me.

Hawks: 2009-10 Conference Semifinals vs. Orlando Magic.

Never in my life have I seen a team just absolutely quit (in the playoffs, no less) like the Hawks did in this series. They laid down after Game 1, got sleepy in Game 2, fell completely asleep in Game 3, and died in their sleep in Game 4. If there's one thing I hate in sports, it's when a team stops trying, and the Hawks did exactly that throughout this entire sweep.

(cont. below)

[the_fan]

Anyone wanna hear about my heartbreaking Little League misplay?

[TFoA]

Falcons: Entire 2007 Season.

In retrospect, this is probably the best thing that could've happened to the Falcons since it directly resulted in organizational changes that have turned this franchise into one of the better & more stable ones in the NFL. However, when this happened, this is easily the lowest that I've ever felt as a Falcons fan. Vick was basically everything to the Falcons, and his actions basically nuked the season (damn near set the franchise back 10 years). Then Petrino turns tail and runs back to college football when he realizes that you can't treat NFL players like children. What a freakin season.

Mississippi State: 2008 Egg Bowl

Whenever MSU has a ty season (which is like every other year, it seems. ), the saving grace for every season is that they can at least salvage the year by winning the Egg Bowl. They went into this game with momentum, picking up a W against Arkansas. I at least had hope for this one going into it. They proceeded to lose this one 45-0, were down by like 3 touchdowns in the 1st quarter, and basically gave up right before halftime. Ugliest Egg Bowl I've ever watched, and really the only time that I've been ashamed to be a MSU fan. This ended up being another blessing in disguise since it directly led to Sly Croom resigning *coughhegotfiredcough*, and Dan Mullen coming in here and changing everything. But man, that SUCKED.

Man City: Just this. 6-1 @ Old Trafford in 2011 helped to take a lot of the sting out of this one, but you talk about a gut punch...

[rvrdgsfn]

MLB: The 96 ALCS between the Yankees & Orioles.... When Jeffery Mayer (mispelled) caught the ball, that was the start of the O's downfall. I remember watching that & couldn't believe that call.

NHL: Pittsburgh run in 2009.

Being a Caps fan this is still a hard pill to swallow... Especially when we lost to them in game 7.

NFL: Santonio Holmes vs. the Ravens in 2008

No matter what we could do against the Steelers, we couldn't stop or catch Holmes. We couldn't catch him, couldn't stop him from scoring, he was the one steeler that had the Ravens number.

[CS85]

It's actually been interesting reading through all these.

I'm a Cubs, Bears, Illini, and Blackhawks fan, so...

1.

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3.

4.

ugh, Campoli you dumbass.

[rvrdgsfn]

It's actually been interesting reading through all these.

I'm a Cubs, Bears, Illini, and Blackhawks fan, so...

1.

2.

3.

4.

ugh, Campoli you dumbass.

With my dad being an old Baltimore Colts fan, seeing Peyton with a championship still burns him inside.

[TFoA]

MLB: The 96 ALCS between the Yankees & Orioles.... When Jeffery Mayer (mispelled) caught the ball, that was the start of the O's downfall. I remember watching that & couldn't believe that call.

I still think that that's one of the worst missed calls in baseball postseason history. That's textbook fan interference, the kid reached over the fence for the ball. Tarasco may not have made the catch, but the ball was gonna, at best, hit the wall. I wish instant replay was around back then.