Your most painful sports moments

[fouhy12]

Bruins lose the ECSF 4-3 to the Flyers in 2012.

Scott Walker wins Game 7 in 2009.

Bruins vs Capitals 2012

Patriots vs Giants Super Bowls

[BigEd76]

Since there are at least 50 moments for Philadelphia sports history, I'll do the ones I saw when they happened:

1) 1993 World Series game 6 - Joe Carter's walkoff HR

2) 2002-03 NFC Championship - Eagles lose at home to the Bucs in the Vet finale, Buccaneers go on to win the Lombardi

3) 2004-05 Super Bowl - Eagles lose vs New England

4) 1999-00 Eastern Conference Finals game 7 - Flyers choke away a 3-1 series lead, Lindros goes down, Elias scores with 2 minutes left, Devils go on to win the Cup

5) 2009-10 Stanley Cup Finals game 6 - Flyers lose in OT on a fluke goal as the Blackhawks end their Cup drought

6) 2005 - Craig Biggio's 3-run HR in the 9th off Billy Wagner completes a sweep, Astros go on to clinch the wildcard by ONE GAME

7) 2011 - NLDS game 5 - Halladay loses 1-0 at home as Ryan Howard blows out his Achilles on the final swing of the season, Cardinals go on to steal the World Series title

8) 2003-04 Eastern Conference Finals - Flyers lose 2-1 at Tampa Bay, Lightning goes on to win the Cup

9) 2008-09 NFC Championship - Eagles lose at Arizona

10) 1994-95 Eastern Conference Finals game 5 - Claude Lemieux's blast from the blue line, Devils finish them off in game 6 and go on to win the Cup

11) 2001-02 NFC Championship - Eagles lose at St. Louis

12) 2010 NLCS game 6 - Ryan Howard watches strike 3, Giants go on to win the World Series title

13) 2003-04 Elite Eight - 27-0 St. Joseph's gets knocked out on a last-second three by John Lucas III

14) 2003-04 NFC Championship - Eagles lose at home to the Panthers

15) 2009 World Series game 6 - The Yankees beat the Phils and win their 27th title

I could go on, but that's enough...

[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.

Numbers 10 and 5 can be crossed out now. And because of the Kings' cup win, Ducks fans have to give us some credit for taking out those Devils for what happened in 2003.

[BigEd76]

Your #3 is one of the best moments in Philly history

video

My favorite part of that was the Phils bullpen

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

I was a freshman at WVU in 2007 when we were ranked #2 in the country and were a home win against our arch rival, a 4-7 Pitt team, from going to the national title game... My favorite Redskins player, Sean Taylor, had died the week earlier and i had been looking forward to this game as a way for me to bounce back mentally.

We lost 13-9. All the cards fell perfectly for us to even get that opportunity... And we blew it. A week or so later our coach Rich Rodriguez bailed for Michigan.

No loss will ever sting more than that for me. I know that for a fact.

[infrared41]

I was a freshman at WVU in 2007 when we were ranked #2 in the country and were a home win against our arch rival, a 4-7 Pitt team, from going to the national title game... My favorite Redskins player, Sean Taylor, had died the week earlier and i had been looking forward to this game as a way for me to bounce back mentally.

We lost 13-9. All the cards fell perfectly for us to even get that opportunity... And we blew it. Later that week Rich Rodriguez bailed for Michigan.

No loss will ever sting more than that for me. I know that for a fact.

Not to mention that you all probably cost my alma mater (Ohio State) the 2007 National Championship by losing that game. I liked our chances against WVU a lot better than I liked our chances against LSU. Turns out I was right about to be concerned about playing LSU.

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

I was a freshman at WVU in 2007 when we were ranked #2 in the country and were a home win against our arch rival, a 4-7 Pitt team, from going to the national title game... My favorite Redskins player, Sean Taylor, had died the week earlier and i had been looking forward to this game as a way for me to bounce back mentally.

We lost 13-9. All the cards fell perfectly for us to even get that opportunity... And we blew it. Later that week Rich Rodriguez bailed for Michigan.

No loss will ever sting more than that for me. I know that for a fact.

Not to mention that you all probably cost my alma mater (Ohio State) the 2007 National Championship by losing that game. I liked our chances against WVU a lot better than I liked our chances against LSU. Turns out I was right about to be concerned about playing LSU.

yeah being able to play Ohio State if we won is another example of everything falling perfectly for us... I loved our chances against Ohio State.

[HolyStroke]

^^i remember the day Sean Taylor died. A friend of mine is a big fan of Taylor, as am I, and we saw each other at school before first period and both said "Sean Taylor got shot!" At that point he was still alive but in critical condition, then we went to the computer class we had together 4th period, looked on ESPN and the front page said "Sean Taylor 1983-2007" :'(

Edit: that isn't a painful sports memory, just a response to a post above

[spartacat_12]

2007 Stanley Cup Finals - The Sens steamrolled their way through the Eastern Conference and the entire city was buzzing. It all went downhill so fast as the Ducks dominated. Even though I had prepared myself for losing by the time game 5 ended, watching Niedermayer lift the Cup (I forced myself to be a good sport and watch the presentation) was definitely my most painful sports moment.

I can't decide between the 2010 and 2011 World Junior gold medal games for runner-up. In 2010 once Eberle scored the 2 goals in the last 3 minutes to tie it up I was positive that Canada would take it in OT. They had all the momentum and the crowd on their side. As soon as Carlson scored I just sat on the couch in disbelief. 2011 was a much more drawn out disappointment. I was just as confident going into the 3rd as I was going into OT the year before. Obviously the team got cocky and pulled one of the biggest chokes I've ever witnessed.

[loogodude90]

For me it would probably be the Jeffrey Maier (sp?) incident at Yankee Stadium in 1996.

[HolyStroke]

For me it would probably be when that girl on the junior varsity volleyball team didn't want to hook up after her game last year, stupid b*tch.

[maz]

2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Game Six

I was there, and I watched as slowly but surely the inevitable happened and the Penguins lost the cup to the Redwings. Strangely enough, immediately, I felt nothing. I actually thought it was pretty cool to see the Stanley Cup won and presented, but once that ended and everyone had left except the Redwings players and families on the ice, and we took the long silent walk to the car, it finally began to set in. Even after the magnificent run and championship the following year, I still feel a little pang when I see the clip of Hossa coming so close to tying it in the final seconds.

[Sport]

One that took a long time for me to get over was my senior year in high school. I played for my high school's varsity hockey team. We went 24-6 on the year, won the Blue Jackets Cup, and had a really good draw to reach the state final four. It was the most fun I've ever had playing a sport and it was a really great group of guys that I'm still very close to to this day.

In only the second round of the state playoffs we got down 2-0 early to a team that we had beaten 7-1 earlier that season. Their goalie just had a ridiculously good game. We put 45 shots (in a 45 minute game, mind you) on him and still couldn't score. With 30 seconds left I scored from the right faceoff dot, and we came inches away from tying it 15 seconds later. I scored on my last shift of competitive hockey, which is kinda cool when I think about it, but that loss physically wrecked me because it meant our season and my hockey career was over. As soon as the horn sounded I dropped to my knees and wept and I rarely cry. We were good, very good (for an Ohio HS hockey team), and we blew it. Even thinking about that game stung me for a long time.

The closest a pro sports defeat ever came to that was the 1999 Reds losing the one game playoff to the Mets.

[evanmaldonado]

One that took a long time for me to get over was my senior year in high school. I played for my high school's varsity hockey team. We went 24-6 on the year, won the Blue Jackets Cup, and had a really good draw to reach the state final four. It was the most fun I've ever had playing a sport and it was a really great group of guys that I'm still very close to to this day.

In only the second round of the state playoffs we got down 2-0 early to a team that we had beaten 7-1 earlier that season. Their goalie just had a ridiculously good game. We put 45 shots (in a 45 minute game, mind you) on him and still couldn't score. With 30 seconds left I scored from the right faceoff dot, and we came inches away from tying it 15 seconds later. I scored on my last shift of competitive hockey, which is kinda cool when I think about it, but that loss physically wrecked me because it meant our season and my hockey career was over. As soon as the horn sounded I dropped to my knees and wept and I rarely cry. We were good, very good (for an Ohio HS hockey team), and we blew it. Even thinking about that game stung me for a long time.

The closest a pro sports defeat ever came to that was the 1999 Reds losing the one game playoff to the Mets.

I'll take a guess and say you went to one of the Dublin Schools or Upper Arlington? I don't know if it was the same back then but I'm also gonna say a private Cleveland team took you guys out?

[Sport]

One that took a long time for me to get over was my senior year in high school. I played for my high school's varsity hockey team. We went 24-6 on the year, won the Blue Jackets Cup, and had a really good draw to reach the state final four. It was the most fun I've ever had playing a sport and it was a really great group of guys that I'm still very close to to this day.

In only the second round of the state playoffs we got down 2-0 early to a team that we had beaten 7-1 earlier that season. Their goalie just had a ridiculously good game. We put 45 shots (in a 45 minute game, mind you) on him and still couldn't score. With 30 seconds left I scored from the right faceoff dot, and we came inches away from tying it 15 seconds later. I scored on my last shift of competitive hockey, which is kinda cool when I think about it, but that loss physically wrecked me because it meant our season and my hockey career was over. As soon as the horn sounded I dropped to my knees and wept and I rarely cry. We were good, very good (for an Ohio HS hockey team), and we blew it. Even thinking about that game stung me for a long time.

The closest a pro sports defeat ever came to that was the 1999 Reds losing the one game playoff to the Mets.

I'll take a guess and say you went to one of the Dublin Schools or Upper Arlington? I don't know if it was the same back then but I'm also gonna say a private Cleveland team took you guys out?

Dublin Jerome and we lost to Springboro.

[DaytonBlue]

The two above plues the Blues 96 loss in round 2 game 7 to Detroit and the Grizzlies blowing a 27 point lead to the Clippers this year.

After that Rams Super Bowl loss, I drove home from a friend's house. It was like a mini rush hour at 8 o'clock at night. Eerie.

And I have never heard Beale Street as silent as after the Grizz blew that 27 point lead.

[CMUBrent]

A few that come to mind.

1. The Red Wings losing to the Penguins in Game 7 in 2009.

2. The Flint Generals folding in 2010 after their surprising run to the Turner Cup Finals (haven't set foot in Perani Arena since Game 3, btw).

3. The Port Huron Icehawks taking a 3-1 lead in the 2008 Turner Cup Finals...only to lose in double OT in Game 7 to Fort Wayne.

4. The Detroit Vipers taking a 3-zip series lead in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals...then losing the series in 7 on a very questionable call in double OT.

5. The Icehawks, again, taking a 3-1 series lead against Fort Wayne in the 2010 semifinals...and, again, losing in 7 to the Komets.

6. The Chicago Cubs' epic collapse to the Marlins in 2003.

7. Michigan football during the Rich Fraudriguez era.

8. CMU Football during the Mike DeBord years.

9. The Generals losing to Quad City in the 1997 and 1998 Colonial Cup Finals.

10. The 2010-11 Port Huron Fighting Falcons season