What was your most heart breaking moment as a sports fan?

[Knoxtnhorn 5,936]

F the offseason.  Shitty year for most everyone.  Blizzard of '21.  Etc...

It was tough for me to separate "heartbreaking" from "pissed off".  

1981 NFC Championship game. 

"The Catch".  I was a very young kid.  I don't have too many vivid memories of my life at that age; however, I can still remember quite a bit about that game, where I watched it, and how upset I was afterword.

2017 US v. T&T World Cup Qualifier.  

I never watched or played soccer growing up.  I randomly became a fan of the US somewhere around 1997.  I was one of the first members of Sam's Army, then American Outlaws.  While stuck in TN, I was able to see 20-30 US games in person.  After this game, I was in absolute shock.  For those that don't follow soccer, this would be like Texas getting knocked out of the playoffs by losing to an 0-10 Rice team.

1989 Texas v. aggy game 

I know Texas has had a ton of disasters that, I'm sure, will be listed subsequently.  By the time I made it to UT, I would more angry at these games than heartbroken, so I went with this.  I had just gotten to the point where I was pretty sure I'd be accepted to UT.  I was easily in the Top 10 in my class and had scored well on the SAT.  So, I watched this game for the first time more as an actual member of the school, rather than a fan.  IIRC, aggy was heavily favored; however, Texas led at the half.  Could it happen?  I was thinking so.  Again, I may be misremembering but it seemed as if aggy got some extremely lucky fluke play to turn the game around in the 2nd half.  

 

 

[Hate 20,103]

Three or four instantly come to mind:

1981 NFC Championship Game

2010 MNC Championship Game (2009 Season)

2011 World Series Game 6

2013 NBA Final Game 6

 

I could probably come up with a few more, but those really fucking hurt.  2011 and 2013 with the Rangers and the Spurs literally having the title in their hands before epic collapses really stand out.  1981 hurt because Joe was just throwing the fucking ball away.  2010 hurt because they were going to kick Bama's ass that night.  I firmly believe they knew what Bama was going to do defensively and would have won that game going away.  

 

[Surly Bevo 24,696]

I've seen lots of bad losses, been at some crushing ones but the thing is while it hurts there is tomorrow to improve.  That would make my most heartbreaking moment January 5, 2006.  I woke up very sleepy and hungover in West Hollywood and as I sat there basking in the glory of what I witnessed the night before I realized very quickly as a 30 year old man at the time that I would never again experience something like that in my life.  The confluence of being there, it being the first championship in my life, the undisputed quality of the teams, the undisputed quality of the venue, the way the actual event exceeded the over the top ridiculous expectations and of course the fact that we won.  I realized sadly...I was there, that was amazing and it's never going to get better than this.   

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

1. Cowboys losing to the Steelers Super Bowl X

2. Orioles losing to the Pirates WS in 71

3. Cowboys lose to the Steelers in Super Bowl XIII

4. (a distant 4th), VT. losing to FSU natl champ-peenship 2000 

[Tylerocks 2,551]

Obviously born and raised in Houston there is only 1 answer for "Most heartbreaking"

1/3/93- Oilers/Bills Wild card game

 

There are some others that deserve consideration over the years

10/15/86- Astros/Mets, Game 6 NLCS

5/29/1997- Rockets lose WCF Game 6 to Jazz on Stockton's last second 3

12/1/2001- Texas loss to Colorado in Big XII Title game

11/1/2008- Texas loss to Texas Tech

1/7/2010- Texas loss to Alabama in Title game

5/28/2018- Rockets lose to Warriors Game 7 WCF.  27 straight missed 3's

 

[Vito Andolini 9,113]

I’ve tried to erase most bad memories, but I, too, thought of the 1981 NFC Championship Game, but not necessarily “The Catch.”  It was the moment a bit later, when Danny White hit Drew Pearson at midfield... and he was barely corralled by the neck of his jersey and pulled down, and the miracle comeback was foiled. So fucking close. 
 

Edited to add clip.YouTube has almost everything 

https://youtu.be/ke1at-bR6wY

Edited February 14, 2021 by Vito Andolini

[EZ$ 2,102]

In person: the Cal game where we “found our next great QB in Heard” and made a last minute comeback to only miss the extra point and lose by one.  I’ve never been so pumped at a game to immediately go to a WTF just happened. 
 

Cowboys: Romo dropping the XP snap followed by the Dez “drop”. 
 

Braves: blowing 2-0 lead (on the road) in WS against the Yankees. 

Spurs: Fisher hitting last second shot for Lakers followed by Allen/Lebron going off in game 6 in 2013. 

[Guest]

The Fucking Catch.

close 2nd: NC State upsetting UH for the championship in hoops.

When Tech fired Mike Leach.

 

All of them sucked, but I cried on The Catch. I was 11.  Fuck the Niners.   LOLz.  Respected them through the years, but always will have that grumble in my voice/ hate in my heart when discussing.    The UH-NCState thing at least played out with Jimmy V being an icon of courage in his fight against cancer.

11 years after the fact, Tech Football is anything but remotely recovered... and it was self-inflicted.  Still so, so very idiotic in the face of success.

Edited February 14, 2021 by slorch

[Sandman 3,402]

2002 World Series game 6: Giants blow a 6 run lead and lose. I knew they'd lose game 7 and they did. I never thought I'd see a WS title in my life, thankfully I was wrong.

2002 NCAA final: Indiana took the lead in the 2nd half but let it slip away. I felt like I had seen my last chance to watch IU win another title and I'm pretty sure I'm right. My dad was born & raised in Bloomington and there's no one else on the planet that I can talk with about IU hoops and I really wanted to have them win one when I was an adult, so we could talk about it. Dad's 73 and not all that healthy, IU hoops is trash. The dream is gone.

[Guest]

and gentle correction to Knox and Hate.  The Catch was Jan 10, 1982.

 

Granted, it was for the 1981 season...

[Doc Reeves 6,434]

29 minutes ago, Tylerocks said:

 

5/29/1997- Rockets lose WCF Game 6 to Jazz on Stockton's last second 3

 

I knew a guy who, while we were all watching that game during the last minute, stood up and proclaimed to the sky “I say this to you Gods of Basketball: The Rockets will win this game. I DARE YOU TO PROVE ME WRONG. I DARE YOU!”

yeah, he said ‘dare’ twice. When they lost he didn’t say a word and just walked out to the deck by himself. He knew that the loss was completely his fault. 

[Okie State 3,788]

Too many to count as an Oklahoma State alumnus, but the 2011 Iowa State game will always stand out. It killed my love for college football. Never been the same since.

[XYZ 2,154]

-spurs vs mavs, Manu fouls Nowitzski

-spurs vs lakers, Fisher shot

-spurs vs heat game 6

-1995 Texas vs ND. We had them on the ropes but no

[Hank Chinaski 6,310]

'86 Astros loss in the NLCS. I was 9 and that was the first sports memory that really stung. 

The '08 UT/Tech game for sure, because you'll never convince me that Texas wasn't the best team in the country that year. Horns were a dropped INT away from playing for 3 national titles in a 5-year span, and we would have beaten Florida. 

The '19 World Series because the Astros will never have a team that good again, and I was aware of that while watching it and it was like dying a slow, painful death. 

[lemonandaturd 4,285]

Pretty high on the list was watching Mike Renfro and the Oilers get screwed by the refs against the Steelers.  

[Pig Bellmont 8,692]

Gideon’s dropped INT was definitely heart breaking. Also no one mentioned the 2001 bigXII title game? Talk about a kick in the nuts

[Domedriver 655]

The second Notre Damn Cotton Bowl when Wooster fumbled multiple times, ending the greatest Longhorn winning streak.  I was a kid and did not understand that Texas could lose.  It was devastating.  I bitterly hate the fucking Irish still. 🤘

[Lidig8r 1,856]

1984 Cotton  Bowl ... Texas on the verge of a victory and the MNC against Georgia and then... Craig Curry's fumble ... and infamy.

1978 Cotton Bowl ... Neutered Dame held Earl to 116 yards and its defense pretty much shut us down.

2008 Texas Tech loss. So many ways we could, and should, have won that game.

2010 MNC game against Bammer. Colt does not get injured, we win that game, going away.

That doubles the championships we have won ... and in 3 of the 4 losses, one huge play turned the tide. Had those plays not occurred, how would history be judging our program now?

[Guadaloopy 10,926]

1980 NLCS Game 5

1986 NLCS Game 6

2001 B12 Championship

2008 Tech

2019 WS Game 7

 

Not so much heartbreaking as emotionally scarring forever:

1993 AFC Wild Card - “The Comeback”

[IDIOTsavant 8,452]

Did not have a dog in this particular fight, but somehow Derek Redmond at the '92 Olympics is both the most heartbreaking and inspiring sports moment I've ever seen.

Edited February 14, 2021 by IDIOTsavant

[QuesoEspecial 255]

(1)Colt getting hurt on 1st down from the 11 yard line in the 2010 National Championship

(1a)Anytime Army loses the Army/Navy game

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

13 minutes ago, IDIOTsavant said:

Did not have a dog in this particular fight, but somehow Derek Redmond at the '92 Olympics is both the most heartbreaking and inspiring sports moment I've ever seen.

That's a pretty damn good one.

[PilotsError 2,282]

.4

[Armybrat 40,744]

October 17th, 1964 - Memorial Stadium:

Defending National Champion #1 Texas playing #8 Arkysaws Pigs, with 1:27 left in the 4th after Ernie Koy scored on a 1 yard run to bring the Horns up to 13-14, then an easy 2 point conversion pass from Marvin Kristynik to Hix Green hit the turf about 2 or 3 yards short of his hands at the goal line.

After that excruciating defeat to the despised mouth-breathing pigs, UT went the rest of the season without losing another game, wound up ranked #5, and defeated #1 Alabama & Joe Namath 21-17 in the Orange Bowl. Final ranking was #5, a monumental letdown after the Great 1963 National Championship team. 
Texas went on to three straight 6-4 seasons, which caused a lot of doubts & dissatisfaction with DKR until he turned it around in ‘68 with the introduction of Emory Bellard’s innovative Wishbone Offense.

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Armybrat

[Surly Bevo 24,696]

3 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

October 14th, 1964 - Memorial Stadium:

Defending National Champion #1 Texas playing #8 Arkysaws Pigs, with 1:27 left in the 4th after Ernie Koy scored on a 1 yard run to bring the Horns up to 13-14, then an easy 2 point conversion pass from Marvin Kristynik to Hix Green hit the turf about 2 or 3 yards short of his hands at the goal line.

After that excruciating defeat to the despised mouth-breathing pigs, UT went the rest of the season without losing another game, wound up ranked #5, and defeated #1 Alabama & Joe Namath in the Orange Bowl. Final ranking was #5, a monumental letdown after the Great 1963 National Championship team. 
Texas went on to three straight 6-4 seasons, which caused a lot of doubts & dissatisfaction with DKR until he turned it around in ‘68 with the introduction of Emory Bellard’s innovative Wishbone Offense.

 

You crush out some cigs on the E and T on that keyboard?

[Dbeasy 14,970]

1984 Texas football C division intramural playoff semifinals.

In 1982, a few guys from a group of ~20 guys who had grown up together formed intramural teams, including in football. This “A” team dominated intramural football at Texas during that time period, winning B and A division championships for 3 of 4 years. 

The “scrubs” of our group got together and decided to compete one division lower, just for the entertainment. But we not only went undefeated during the regular season and deep into the playoffs, no one scored on us. 

We knew the opponent in the finals and knew we would beat them, but had to win the semifinals first. In the game, we dominated on penetrations but the score was  0-0 going into the last seconds. As long as we held them scoreless, we’d win on penetrations. 

On the last play of the game we intercepted a pass in the end zone, kneeling down to presumably end the game. However, the referee was a dumb ass kid who didn’t understand the rules of football and he called a safety by accident. Game over 2-0. 

Have never gotten over it. To see the scrubs celebrate the C championship while our buddies were winning Their division would have been very cool. 

[MAUFRAIS 6,581]

nelly cruz

[Oakbrook 67]

1984 Cotton Bowl

1978 Cotton Bowl

1974 Baylor game - 1st time I realized that Longhorns could lose to the likes of Baylor.

1991 Cotton Bowl

1980 AFC Oilers vs Steelers

1993 Oilers lose to Buffalo

if a professional sports memory is in your top 2 or 3, you should be ashamed.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

6 minutes ago, Oakbrook said:

1984 Cotton Bowl

1978 Cotton Bowl

1974 Baylor game - 1st time I realized that Longhorns could lose to the likes of Baylor.

1991 Cotton Bowl

1980 AFC Oilers vs Steelers

1993 Oilers lose to Buffalo

if a professional sports memory is in your top 2 or 3, you should be ashamed.

Oy vey whatever...

[NAVY 6,739]

[Dr. Teeth 5,832]

Oilers/Bills. Only game I cried about and refused to leave my room for a week. Luckily I was 14 and had winter break, but it was still a dark time. 

[ztejas 43,266]

2008 Tech #1 and not close 

2013 NBA Finals game 6 (but that was redeemed a year later) 

2016 WCF games 6 and 7 - I was almost as big of an OKC fan as I was a Spurs fan when Durant was there. That was hard to watch.

I think those are the only 3 for me that felt existential in the aftermath.

One that I haven't seen mentioned, though, that crushed me pretty good was Texas/Arizona in 2011 in the tournament.

Another one although this isn't game related - Kobe dying was bad and still gets me

Edited February 14, 2021 by ztejas

[immamac 42,524]

Love this thread. We will use the top repped post as a segment on the pod. 

[youdunnf'dup 2,147]

It’s a two way tie between the Crabtree catch/Gideon drop in 08, and the Ray Allen corner 3 when the Spurs had that championship in the fucking bag. A lot of legacies would’ve been different if those two outcomes turn out differently.
 

Colt would be widely regarded as one of the best qbs ever in college football if we went on and finished that season off undefeated. Mack would have 2 championships, and he probably never gets mesmerized by Bama (and never changes the offense ultimately ruining GG’s career). 

For as great as Duncan is, there’s a huge difference between 5 titles and 6 titles. 6 gives him more than Kobe, just as many as Jordan, and he would’ve been a perfect 6-0 in the finals. 

A two way tie for 2nd would be the 2006 WCF against the mavs (where Manu fouled Dirk for a 3 point play to send it to OT in game 7), and game 6 of the World Series in 2011. 

Edited February 14, 2021 by youdunnf'dup

[TwiceHorn 31,291]

1991 Cotton Bowl probably deserves a mention.  Outcome was probably predictable and we were never in it at any point, but it was, at bare minimum, a repeated kick in the junk.

[Davis Lane 5,553]

Losing to Kansas.

That truly was a low moment for the program. 

A great percentage of folks felt a loss was coming.

Oh and this....

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Davis Lane

[Guest]

I think there's a couple different directions it could go, and kudos to Knox for being a bit ambiguous.  My first inclination was big losses or last minute finishes that crushed me.  Then you start thinking about deaths out of nowhere like Kobe, who i didn't really care for much but I was still stunned and saddened for his loved ones. Guys like Dale Earnhardt and Roberto Clemente absolutely belong in that discussion, as does Joe Delaney, albeit far less accomplished than the other 3 in the arena.  Then it could be injuries too( too many to list...)

Great thread.

[AnTiM 1,659]

Cowboys Super Bowl loss to the Colts.  Still recall Bob Lilly throwing his helmet half the length of the field.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

Colt would be widely regarded as one of the best qbs ever in college football if we went on and finished that season off undefeated. Mack would have 2 championships, and he probably never gets mesmerized by Bama (and never changes the offense ultimately ruining GG’s career). 

Mofo won 45 games, and most of the time his accuracy and game acumen played a mighty big part in those victories.  He was hardly just turning and handing ball off or dinking and dunking down the field on lucky passes.  I think anyone serious as a fan of college football would already consider him one of the alltime greats.

[956 Worldwide 34,444]

1995 Harlingen High vs. San Benito

Played in San Benny and that game is the Valley’s most heated (not competitive) rivalry and y’all know that the RGV gets crowds.  At the time, Harlingen had not lost to SB in I believe 28 years. There had been some ties but not a loss. San Benito was never a sad—sack program, although HHS has always been the class program down there, there were plenty of years that the Greyhounds could and should have won, but they tripped on their own dicks.  And it meant so, so much to both towns, but especially to San Benito.
 

That year the Cardinals were clearly a better team and had already clinched the district. And they came out and just played flat. This was mid-90s Valley football, lots of I formation and a low score.  The whole game, on the visitor side, there was just a sense that they would figure something out. How could they not.  Maybe 2:00 left in the game, you could feel the unrest and whispers. Could it really be happening. On the other side—- strangely quiet, like their fans couldn’t quite believe what was going to happen.
 

It did. 15-9. When the SB crowd exploded, it was like nothing I’ve seen before or since. And I’ve been to Big XII and SEC rivalry games, all sorts of pro games, two Olympics, major international club and national futbol matches.  I have never seen a crowd explode like that. On the Harlingen side— it was just silence. People stayed, sang the alma mater, filed out in silence. No boos, no anger. Just utter disbelief. 
 

The rivalry is still a good one, Harlingen still wins a hell of a lot more than they lose against SB, but it’s never been the same.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

9 minutes ago, AnTiM said:

Cowboys Super Bowl loss to the Colts.  Still recall Bob Lilly throwing his helmet half the length of the field.

Fucking Romo........ errr I mean Staubach....

[TheBryMan81 2,503]

These two have already been mentioned, but to this day, I cannot watch the highlights of the '08 Tech game or the Spurs/Heat Game 6 game. If the highlights of either one of those plays starts to roll, I change the channel. Can't do it.

The baseball one for me is Braves/Cardinals 2012 play in playoff game. The bs "infield fly" call that sucked all of the momentum out of the game. Chipper was one of my favorite players and hated to watch him go out on that.

[AnTiM 1,659]

4 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Fucking Romo........ errr I mean Staubach....

errr you mean Morton, he threw the pick that gave the Colts the fg attempt.

[Braff Zacklin 13,425]

My most heart-breaking moment as a sports fan?

In the long, long, long ago, I joined a Longhorns-oriented Internet message board. For years, there was much discussion and many laughs until, one day, I observed a blinking envelope next to my account. Clicking on it revealed that I had been suspended through no fault of my own.

I complained to the message's author and was swiftly informed that I had her blessing to leave and start my own Longhorns-oriented Internet message board.

Suffice it to say, the injury has not healed nor diminished with time. It is quite likely that I shall never recover. 

[Post Oak 20,187]

2011 WS Game 6.  I'll never get over it.

[JimmyJames 12,271]

3 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

I've seen lots of bad losses, been at some crushing ones but the thing is while it hurts there is tomorrow to improve.  That would make my most heartbreaking moment January 5, 2006.  I woke up very sleepy and hungover in West Hollywood and as I sat there basking in the glory of what I witnessed the night before I realized very quickly as a 30 year old man at the time that I would never again experience something like that in my life.  The confluence of being there, it being the first championship in my life, the undisputed quality of the teams, the undisputed quality of the venue, the way the actual event exceeded the over the top ridiculous expectations and of course the fact that we won.  I realized sadly...I was there, that was amazing and it's never going to get better than this.   

Had the exact same reaction. After that game, I knew I would never get something that good again.

The catch is one of my first football memories (after watching Earl play for the Oilers in 1980 and finding out he actually went to UT!). That play and game totally sucked.

But the worst memory is the 1984 Cotton Bowl versus Georgia. Had front row upper deck tickets on the 50 yard line, best seats I ever had, to watch Texas fumble away a NC.

[TheBryMan81 2,503]

13 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

1995 Harlingen High vs. San Benito

Played in San Benny and that game is the Valley’s most heated (not competitive) rivalry and y’all know that the RGV gets crowds.  At the time, Harlingen had not lost to SB in I believe 28 years. There had been some ties but not a loss. San Benito was never a sad—sack program, although HHS has always been the class program down there, there were plenty of years that the Greyhounds could and should have won, but they tripped on their own dicks.  And it meant so, so much to both towns, but especially to San Benito.
 

That year the Cardinals were clearly a better team and had already clinched the district. And they came out and just played flat. This was mid-90s Valley football, lots of I formation and a low score.  The whole game, on the visitor side, there was just a sense that they would figure something out. How could they not.  Maybe 2:00 left in the game, you could feel the unrest and whispers. Could it really be happening. On the other side—- strangely quiet, like their fans couldn’t quite believe what was going to happen.
 

It did. 15-9. When the SB crowd exploded, it was like nothing I’ve seen before or since. And I’ve been to Big XII and SEC rivalry games, all sorts of pro games, two Olympics, major international club and national futbol matches.  I have never seen a crowd explode like that. On the Harlingen side— it was just silence. People stayed, sang the alma mater, filed out in silence. No boos, no anger. Just utter disbelief. 
 

The rivalry is still a good one, Harlingen still wins a hell of a lot more than they lose against SB, but it’s never been the same.

My RGV high school one is '07 Weslaco vs Los Fresnos. Not a typical rivalry, but met in the playoffs two years prior and for the district championship in the last regular season game the year prior, so had some recent history. '07/08 was my senior year at Weslaco and we were heavily predicted to win District. We're up 4 late in the game, 4th and 3 on our half of the field.  Instead of punting, we decide to go for it. Instead of giving the ball to the best playmaker in the valley, we fake it to him, QB keep gets stuffed. Ball goes over, LF scores with under a minute left and takes the District Championship with them. So many "if onlys" in that game.

[youdunnf'dup 2,147]

26 minutes ago, slorch said:

Mofo won 45 games, and most of the time his accuracy and game acumen played a mighty big part in those victories.  He was hardly just turning and handing ball off or dinking and dunking down the field on lucky passes.  I think anyone serious as a fan of college football would already consider him one of the alltime greats.

I don’t disagree, but having a national title on his resume adds so much to that resume. I think even the most biased Texas fan would agree with that. It’s why people talk about Tebow the way they do.

Edited February 14, 2021 by youdunnf'dup

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

22 minutes ago, AnTiM said:

errr you mean Morton, he threw the pick that gave the Colts the fg attempt.

Whoops yep.. I was thinking of another incident.

[Richard Kimball 1,492]

26 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Fucking Romo........ errr I mean Staubach....

You mean Morton? 

I always felt bad for Morton. He had a great arm, and could have been as well known as Staubach, but he played just about that entire season with a separated right shoulder. He played that season with less than half of his normal throwing strength, and with a hip pointer, several concussions and a knee injury. He was not a particularly mobile QB, and in that era, they beat the shit out of QBs. 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Richard Kimball