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What is the worst loss in the last 50 years of sports? (3 Viewers)

See, the thing about this Superbowl is that the Falcons weren't favored. They were the underdog officially. They blew the lead, I'll grant you that much, but pretty much everyone expected the Pats to win somehow. This was less about Falcons collapse than Pats predilection for drama.

Golden State? They had the best record. They had homecourt. They had the had champagne ready after game 4. They #### the bed three times in a row. 

 
Jayrod said:
That Seahawks loss to the Pats a couple of years ago.  That INT was one of the most improbable and gut wrenching plays I could ever imagine.

The Falcons were an underdog and played crappy for an entire half.  I didn't think they'd even make the game, much less win it.  They were playing with house money and barely lost.
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Huh?

The Falcons were the #2 seed who just decimated the Packers and Seahawks. Easily the hottest playoff team.

The fact that you didn't think they'd make it doesn't make them any more of an underdog.

What makes the Falcons loss so bad is how far they were ahead, and how a few running plays would have sealed the deal for them.

 
I can tell you one thing, if the Philadelphia Eagles did what the Atlanta Falcons did on Sunday night, the city would be in ashes.

I honestly can't imagine how I'd react, but it wouldn't be pretty.

 
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saintfool said:
See, the thing about this Superbowl is that the Falcons weren't favored. They were the underdog officially. They blew the lead, I'll grant you that much, but pretty much everyone expected the Pats to win somehow. This was less about Falcons collapse than Pats predilection for drama.

Golden State? They had the best record. They had homecourt. They had the had champagne ready after game 4. They #### the bed three times in a row. 
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Yeah but they also won the title the year before and are probably gonna win it the year after.  Same kinda deal with the Yankees blowing the 3-0 lead, hard to feel too bad for them even though it was to the Sox.

That Trail Blazers loss, though ... that was a veteran team, everyone had to know the Lakers were only gonna get better so that was their best shot, they hadn't won a title since the 70s and they haven't been back to the Finals or the Conference finals since. Just brutal.

I guess it depends what you consider "worst."  Some of those golfer chokes were no doubt brutal for the golfer and a couple hard core fans/gamblers, but an hour after the tournament nobody else was upset about it.

 
saintfool said:
See, the thing about this Superbowl is that the Falcons weren't favored. They were the underdog officially. They blew the lead, I'll grant you that much, but pretty much everyone expected the Pats to win somehow. This was less about Falcons collapse than Pats predilection for drama.

Golden State? They had the best record. They had homecourt. They had the had champagne ready after game 4. They #### the bed three times in a row. 
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They were a 3 point ####### dog, that doesn't translate to "everyone expected the Pats to win somehow."

 
As a Lakers fan, I remember that Portland loss (I would call it a win) very well. But I think the one suffered by Sacramento a couple years later was worse (or better, IMO.)

I never believed Portland was a better team than the Lakers. I thought the Lakers had control of that series, then choked away games 5 and 6. It was the Lakers, not Portland, who were about to lose to an inferior rival. The Lakers snapped out of it in the nick of time.

But against Sacramento the Lakers were, IMO, not as good. They should have been blown out of that series and at times it looked like they would be. Robert Horry's miracle shot in game 4, then winning two on the road- the Kings choked it away. 

 
Skoo said:
Huh?

The Falcons were the #2 seed who just decimated the Packers and Seahawks. Easily the hottest playoff team.

The fact that you didn't think they'd make it doesn't make them any more of an underdog.

What makes the Falcons loss so bad is how far they were ahead, and how a few running plays would have sealed the deal for them.
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I'm not saying the Falcons loss wasn't bad, but worst in last 50 years?  Not even close.  I spent the whole game waiting for New England to do exactly what they did and never gave up on the game being over.  And I hate the Pats.

There is some serious recency bias going on with this one.  No one expected them to win it when the playoffs started.  This preview had them with the 6th best odds to win it.

 
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TobiasFunke said:
Yeah but they also won the title the year before and are probably gonna win it the year after.  Same kinda deal with the Yankees blowing the 3-0 lead, hard to feel too bad for them even though it was to the Sox.
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Cleveland's record? 57-25 with a rookie head coach that took over early in the season. GSW had only 9 losses on the season. They had Curry who was the MVP too. They swept the season series during the regular season. They came back in the previous series from being down 3-1 even. 

I don't know how you can have the worst loss in sports history - not clinching the championship when you and every other person on the planet not living in Cleveland have every reason to believe you can - three times in a row. 

 
Jayrod said:
I'm not saying the Falcons loss wasn't bad, but worst in last 50 years?  Not even close.  I spent the whole game waiting for New England to do exactly what they did and never gave up on the game being over.  And I hate the Pats.

There is some serious recency bias going on with this one.  No one expected them to win it when the playoffs started.  This preview had them with the 6th best odds to win it.
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I think it's the worst.

I don't care what the spread was before the game or what expectations were before the game- the score, late in the 3rd was 28-9. For Atlanta to lose they would have to give up a field goal and two touchdowns and two two point conversions- just to send it into overtime. And that's exactly what happened.

The worst NFL loss before this one was Houston losing to Buffalo after being up 35-3 in the playoffs. That's an even bigger comeback, but it wasn't the Superbowl. 

 
Falcons loss is likely the worst but Phi Slamma Jamma losing to NC State deserves mention.  That team was stacked.

 
As an Angels fan, my worst loss is Game 5 of the 1986 AL Championship against the Red Sox.

With a 3-1 series lead and one strike away from making it to the World Series, Dave Henderson hits a Donnie Moore forkball in to the left field stands for a 2-Run HR.

Angels tie it in the 9th to send it to extras, but eventually lose in 11 innings. They go back to Boston and get the #### beat out of them in games 6 and 7.

Angels fans never forgave Donnie Moore. He commits suicide 3 years later.  :(

 
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Jayrod said:
I'm not saying the Falcons loss wasn't bad, but worst in last 50 years?  Not even close.  I spent the whole game waiting for New England to do exactly what they did and never gave up on the game being over.  And I hate the Pats.

There is some serious recency bias going on with this one.  No one expected them to win it when the playoffs started.  This preview had them with the 6th best odds to win it.
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What planet do you live on?

Recency bias? How is this for recency bias - the biggest comeback in the 51 years of the Super Bowl was 10...

 
saintfool said:
Cleveland's record? 57-25 with a rookie head coach that took over early in the season. GSW had only 9 losses on the season. They had Curry who was the MVP too. They swept the season series during the regular season. They came back in the previous series from being down 3-1 even. 

I don't know how you can have the worst loss in sports history - not clinching the championship when you and every other person on the planet not living in Cleveland have every reason to believe you can - three times in a row. 
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Like I said it all depends on how you define "worst," right?  If it's "most painful for fans," I don't think a brutal loss in the Finals sandwiched between a title and a (likely) second title can compete with a brutal loss that probably costs you a title in the middle of a 40 year dry spell. Even if the brutal loss is dragged out over a week, which had to be agonizing.

I'd put the Falcons loss up there with Portland based on similar logic. Improbable + team/city in the midst of a title drought.

 
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I was gonna say Greg Norman for a 1 day worst loss.  For a series, I'd say that Supersonics team that gave the 1st round to the Nuggets in the Payton/Kemp years.

 
Pipes said:
Falcons loss is likely the worst but Phi Slamma Jamma losing to NC State deserves mention.  That team was stacked.
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I have never understood how that Houston team didn't win a single championship.  Didn't Drexler/Hakeem play together for 3 years?  What happened??

 
The bottom line, the Super Bowl is the biggest stage and the Falcons gave away a gigantic lead, the game was over - I don't see how it can get worse when factoring in everything.

 
fantasycurse42 said:
The bottom line, the Super Bowl is the biggest stage and the Falcons gave away a gigantic lead, the game was over - I don't see how it can get worse when factoring in everything.
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Also it wasn't just an amazing fluke with the other team making great plays and them not making good plays. They also made inexplicable, disastrous strategy decisions. I think that makes it worse than cases where the athletes just don't get it done, which is most of the other examples.

I think if you define "worst" as "most painful for the fans" it's gotta be up there.

 
timschochet said:
I think it's the worst.

I don't care what the spread was before the game or what expectations were before the game- the score, late in the 3rd was 28-9. For Atlanta to lose they would have to give up a field goal and two touchdowns and two two point conversions- just to send it into overtime. And that's exactly what happened.

The worst NFL loss before this one was Houston losing to Buffalo after being up 35-3 in the playoffs. That's an even bigger comeback, but it wasn't the Superbowl. 
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it's like when Jordan was in his prime. The Bulls would be down, Jordan would say to the team in a huddle "Hey, we just need a couple of stops and make three-pointers to get win this game..." and that's more or less what happened. Brady, Beli, and the Pats never seemed out of the game despite the score. Was anyone surprised when the Pats won the coin flip?

To me, you're saying it's the most improbable of wins for the Pats rather than the greatest loss on the part of ATL.

 
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I think you're missing two big ones involving the Cardinals.

1985 World Series -- Cardinals vs Royals. Blown call resulting in losing a World Series.

2011 -- Texas Rangers losing to Cardinals when being one strike away... TWICE.

 
saintfool said:
it's like when Jordan was in his prime. The Bulls would be down, Jordan would say to the team in a huddle "Hey, we just need a couple of stops and make three-pointers to get win this game..." and that's more or less what happened. Brady, Beli, and the Pats seemed out of the game despite the score. Was anyone surprised when the Pats won the coin flip?

To me, you're saying it's the most improbable of wins for the Pats rather than the greatest loss on the part of ATL.
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The thing is, it wasn't just Brady being awesome.  After Jones made that crazy catch, all Atlanta had to do was run the ball directly into the line three times without committing a penalty, kick a 38 yard FG (indoors- basically a lock) and the game was over.  The impossibly stupid playcalling there, and to a lesser extent on the possession following the recovered onside kick, are what made it so brutal.

 
saintfool said:
See, the thing about this Superbowl is that the Falcons weren't favored. They were the underdog officially. They blew the lead, I'll grant you that much, but pretty much everyone expected the Pats to win somehow. This was less about Falcons collapse than Pats predilection for drama.

Golden State? They had the best record. They had homecourt. They had the had champagne ready after game 4. They #### the bed three times in a row. 
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@tjnc09

 
TobiasFunke said:
The thing is, it wasn't just Brady being awesome.  After Jones made that crazy catch, all Atlanta had to do was run the ball directly into the line three times without committing a penalty, kick a 38 yard FG (indoors- basically a lock) and the game was over.  The impossibly stupid playcalling there, and to a lesser extent on the possession following the recovered onside kick, are what made it so brutal.
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i don't disagree that point at all. Pats also didn't have to win the freakin coin flip at overtime but they did. there was nothing surprising about the Pats winning, imo, aside from how they won. i would have liked it if ATL won the SB. I cheered when they were up even but, as a Saints fan for 30+ years, I also knew that they'd choke. 

Regarding GSW, i could be convinced that game 7 itself was not a gimme for the Warriors. but, again, i go back to the series as a whole. they had 3 chances to finish it and failed each time. it was a disaster, catastrophic loss that i wouldn't wish on any team. their fans, though, absolutely deserve it.

 
For me it's a tie between the Falcons and 2004 ALCS. Because it wasn't a singular moment, where a single mental lapse can cause a screw up. These were prolonged, drawn out chokes, with an entire half to stop Brady once, and 4 chances to win a single game against Boston. Just awful turn of events that players and coaches/managers shoulder the blame equally.

 
49ers 55 Broncos 10

Really bad as a Bronco fan and it being their 4th SB loss. Plus I lost $500 after some smart a** at work told me he would give the Broncos and +40pts. Lots of money for a broke 20 yr old.

 
tjnc09 said:
That's really creepy you are still obsessing over me
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It must take someone with little to no social interactions IRL to think that someone mentioning him on a message board, for the first time in about 3 months, qualifies as an obsession 

 
Buttonhook said:
1984 World Cup.  Columbia losing to the USA 2-1, when a Columbia player scored on his own goal.  That player was shot to death when he got home, and I'm pretty confident most Columbians thought justice was served. 
 

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/02/murder-soccer-player-after-own-goal-20-years-ago-still-resonates-in-colombia.html
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I disagree most Colombians supported or were happy Escobar was murdered.  It was seen as a great tragedy. Over 100,000 attended his funeral and they built a statue of him in Medellin. The murder was almost certainly gambling related. I really don't think this game is even in the conversation in terms of this topic. It was a garden-variety mild upset in the group stage.

 
Limp Ditka said:
It must take someone with little to no social interactions IRL to think that someone mentioning him on a message board, for the first time in about 3 months, qualifies as an obsession 
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You have 35 THOUSAND posts on an Internet forum and you think I have little to no social interactions?  lol.  I am too busy being successful in real life, not withering away on here like you.

 
shadyridr said:
Yankees up 3-0 losing to the Sox. I had to take off from work the day after they lost game 7 as I felt depressed and depleted.
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You're a Yankees fan and have won a zillion times. Your pain doesn't count. 

 
tjnc09 said:
You have 35 THOUSAND posts on an Internet forum and you think I have little to no social interactions?  lol.  I am too busy being successful in real life, not withering away on here like you.
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remind me again, which one of us is obsessed with the other?

 
I did a pretty big list in your other thread.  Don't feel like re-writing it. 

I would add a new one: 

Univ. of Memphis losing to Louisville in NCAA semi-final - Darius Washington misses two free throws at the end of regulation down 75-73 (season 72%).  Felt so badly for Washington. 

 
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bro1ncos said:
49ers 55 Broncos 10

Really bad as a Bronco fan and it being their 4th SB loss. Plus I lost $500 after some smart a** at work told me he would give the Broncos and +40pts. Lots of money for a broke 20 yr old.
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Chad could learn from you

 
I'm sure this has been mentioned earlier in this thread--so my apologies if I'm repeating something already mentioned--but the Patriots losing the Super Bowl to the Giants while going for the perfect season was the worst loss that I can remember.  Talk about the biggest stakes--on the biggest stage--and losing as a heavy favorite.   We may not see a team go for 19-0  in the next 40 years.  That wasn't just a lost opportunity to win a super bowl-that was a lost opportunity to make major sports history. 

 
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HellToupee said:
You deserved it from the kick in the nuts I received from 2003 Sox/Yanks
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Everybody points out how bad their bullpen was in defense of Grady Little. Nobody remembers how lights out it was in late August and September. 

Most crushing loss I've ever had as a fan.  

But the answer is likely actually the 1980 loss by the Russians to the Americans. Such a stunner.  

 
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Limp Ditka said:
I don't know how challenging typing is for you, but trust me when I tell you that those 8-9 posts a day arent putting a dent in my other activities. 
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Not challenging at all.  It's easy to assume you are a loser in all aspects of life.

 
First one that came to mind was Manchester United-Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final. Bayern led 1-0 the entire match and then gave up two shocking goals in extra time to lose. An agonizing meltdown on the biggest stage.

 
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CletiusMaximus said:
I disagree most Colombians supported or were happy Escobar was murdered.  It was seen as a great tragedy. Over 100,000 attended his funeral and they built a statue of him in Medellin. The murder was almost certainly gambling related. I really don't think this game is even in the conversation in terms of this topic. It was a garden-variety mild upset in the group stage.
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I don't want to wade into the debate, but I want to say that The Two Escobars was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.  

 
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