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


Knoxtnhorn

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On 2/14/2021 at 10:13 AM, lemonandaturd said:

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

Hell yes! I screamed at the television in a complete lather. Scared my mom. Also, letting the fucking Bills come back. Also, either of the two Maryland embarrassments. 

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2008 Tech Game. We played like ass the entire first half. Colt McCoy was off. We still mounted a comeback, but inexplicably did not burn clock on the go-ahead drive. The Gideon drop and the following Earl Thomas whiff on Crabtree were incredibly gut wrenching. The BCS bullshit a few weeks later was just pouring salt on the wound.

2010 BCG. Colt McCoy gets hurt. Garrett fucking Gilbert brings us back to being down 3 with a potential game winning drive, but our OL whiffs on a blindside defender and Gilbert fumbles the ball. That one hurt for a long time.

2012 WVU. This one may seem like an outlier, but it was this game where it began to sink in that the Mack Brown redemption story was not going to happen. The ensuing week would be the final Mack Brown RRS special and we would never really regain any significant hope until 2018. 

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On 2/16/2021 at 2:23 PM, bullzak said:

Rangers only team in MLB history to be one strike away from winning it all. 

And they did it twice. 

No getting over that one especially with no real hope on the horizon. 

Still think if we had LaRussa instead of R Wash, Rangers win in five. 

The ‘86 Red Sox were a strike away when Bob Stanley threw the wild pitch to Mookie Wilson....

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4 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

The ‘86 Red Sox were a strike away when Bob Stanley threw the wild pitch to Mookie Wilson....

I think they were also a strike away the previous at bat when Calvin Schiradli (Hook em) gave up a hit to either Ray Knight or Gary Carter, I can’t remember which one....

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47 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

I think they were also a strike away the previous at bat when Calvin Schiradli (Hook em) gave up a hit to either Ray Knight or Gary Carter, I can’t remember which one....

As a Red Sox fan the whole sequence of Bob Stanley, Schiraldi and Buckner is one of the worst sports moments of my life.  It was just brutal to be that close after all those years and choke it away like that.  Aaron Boone hitting the walk off in 2003 game 7 ALCS to lose to the Yankees also sucked.

BUT, the worst sports moment for me was the Tyree helmet catch ruining the 2007 Pats perfect season.  That is still the best team I have ever seen for an entire seasons but they blew it in the Super Bowl between a dropped INT, Manning not getting called for in the grasp to that ridiculous helmet catch.  The 73 Dolphins must have sacrificed a school bus of orphans in some Voodoo ceremony to get all that to happen to keep their undefeated season still the only one.  

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Ive rewatched every Horn football game for the past 16 seasons. I go to all the home games and im usually a little tipsy when watching the away games on the tv. So i try to catch things i missed on the first watch
 

There are only two Longhorn football games I havent rewatched:

 

2008 Tech (I was at the game with my brother who was a Tech student at the time, sitting in the Tech student section).

 

2010 Natl Champ game. Id argue the hit on Colt is one of the more significant injuries in modern college football history (in terms of outcome of the game, program trajectory, legacy, etc)

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1965 vs Arky-started 4-0 and lost 27-24 when Jon Brittenum could always find Bobby Crockett open.  Lost 3 out of 4 to the private SWC schools but beat ATM to end the season 6-4.  Watched the game with my best friend who was a huge Arky fan and wanted to serve him a Drano cocktail after the game ended.  He moved to San Antonio in '68 and robbed me of payback when the '69 game ended in our favor.

1964 vs Arky-a missed 2 pt conversion prevented a 2nd straight shot at a NC.  Settled for beating Namath and Bammer in the Orange Bowl.

1978 vs ND Cotton Bowl-six straight weeks ranked #1 and were never in this game.

1984 vs Georgia Cotton Bowl-considered joining the Peace Corps as repenting since I was sure God hated me. Got drunk instead and barked at the moon.

2001 vs Colorado Big 12 title game-was watching this while at a party and was asked to leave when my language got a little too colorful for the host.

2008 Tech, 2010 Bama NC, everything in between with a few exceptions regarding OU from 2010-2020.

 

 

 

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On 2/19/2021 at 9:19 PM, C-Man said:

Oilers losing to Buffalo and then, probably worse, Kansas City the next year

And them being moved and that fucking prick Adams keeping the naming rights.

Those three things, well mainly the last one, but yeah, I was done with the NFL after that.  I will occasionally watch a little, especially if there are some Longhorns playing, but it's very little.

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This thread is so full of pain.  There is a clear choice for me and it's not even close.

I can still hear those assholes chanting, "PUNT, Bama, PUNT!" over and over, ad nauseum, ad infinitum. Witnessing the loss in person magnified it by 1,000.

Bama was undefeated, taking on much-hated Auburn in Birmingham.  We were up 16-3 with about four minutes left in the game.  Auburn's offense had not crossed the 50 yard line that day.  Their field goal had come after a fumble recovery in Bama territory and three plays lost ten yards.  

And then, . . . IT happened.  Twice.

The same player blocked consecutive punts.  The same guy caught the blocked punt on the first hop and ran it in for a touchdown. The second extra point made it 17-16 a score which lives in Alabama sports infamy. That is was Auburn on the winning side made this my most heartbreaking football memory.

The Aubies didn't celebrate, they wallowed in the moment, and it continued for years.  I hope they lose every game in every sport and look bad in the losing.  

Forever.

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On 2/20/2021 at 9:18 PM, Zeus said:

that stupid fucking screen pass.

you know, I'm not defending Greg Davis on anything else, but calling a shovel pass in that situation had to have been one of the most low-risk calls he could have made. It took a good play by Alabama and a colossally stupid fuckup on our part to turn it into a pick six. 

I don't think I've ever seen another turnover on a shovel pass before or since, and I've definitely never seen a defensive score on one. 

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3 hours ago, SwanderedTalent said:

you know, I'm not defending Greg Davis on anything else, but calling a shovel pass in that situation had to have been one of the most low-risk calls he could have made. It took a good play by Alabama and a colossally stupid fuckup on our part to turn it into a pick six. 

I don't think I've ever seen another turnover on a shovel pass before or since, and I've definitely never seen a defensive score on one. 

This. We think about the outcome on that play, but how many times have we ever seen that happen with a fucking shovel pass. It was a great play, as much as it pains me to say that. 

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56 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

This. We think about the outcome on that play, but how many times have we ever seen that happen with a fucking shovel pass. It was a great play, as much as it pains me to say that. 

The outcome of that play just solidifies the FACT that the football gods fucking hated us that night.

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18 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

And them being moved and that fucking prick Adams keeping the naming rights.

Those three things, well mainly the last one, but yeah, I was done with the NFL after that.  I will occasionally watch a little, especially if there are some Longhorns playing, but it's very little.

I've still watched all these years just no longer had a team I lived and died with. I root for the Cowboys now that I've been in Dallas for nearly 25 years. I used to hate them. Oh well ...

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2 hours ago, youdunnf said:
This. We think about the outcome on that play, but how many times have we ever seen that happen with a fucking shovel pass. It was a great play, as much as it pains me to say that. 


While I agree it was a “safe” play in that I’ve never seen a pick six result from it, the better play would have been to hand the fucking ball off and go into halftime to regroup only down a score. It was a stupid fucking call.

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While I agree it was a “safe” play in that I’ve never seen a pick six result from it, the better play would have been to hand the fucking ball off and go into halftime to regroup only down a score. It was a stupid fucking call.
You fellers are underestimating the genius of one Gregory Davis. Ordinarily it is low risk play. But it has to fool the defense to succeed. You could out execute the defense but more so you must catch them off guard.

So if said team ran the exact same play in a very similar game situation in the prior game, I would suggest you've weakened that deception mightily. And that same game was certainly viewed and reviewed in game planning. So you now have a QB with limited game experience and limited time. This safe play is no longer safe given the circumstances. So what I'm saying is pretty damned sure we ran that play versus Nebraska. Maybe late in the 1st half even. Since NU gave our offense fits, I'd think that game film was very heavily reviewed for Alabama. If so and my recollection is correct, then it was a completely moronic call. (Play by play shows a 14 yard pass to Newton on 3rd and 13 with about 22 seconds left. It does not describe the play so I'm going with my thought).

Really this play and the Colt injury play summarizes GD quite well. Turn a relatively low risk play into a much higher risk play by increasing its predictability 10 fold. Then reach down to your 73rd best play in your playbook with limited reward capabilities but crushing levels of risk. But on paper, those are good plays.
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Oooh.  @pch reminded me of a pretty shitty, heartbreaking day.

2003.  TX v. Arkansas.  TX was starting to come around and, I believe, was somewhat favored in this game.  Problem for me is that my best friend was getting married.  Yes, I know.  TN had a bye, so he planned his wedding on that weekend.  So, the plan was to listen to the first half, attend the wedding, rush to the hotel where the reception was to be, watch the 2nd half in the hotel bar.

  1. Catch the first quarter on the radio.  Texas is down 14-7, but I'm sure they'll come back.
  2. Get to hotel.  Gosh dang bar is closed.  No tv.
  3. As I'm trying to figure out what to do, the father of a friend of mine comes over to tell me he can't believe Texas is down 35-7 at half.  At this point, I'm all, "Fine.  Time to drink."  I drink away my sorrows.
  4. Have a good time.  Get home late that night.  Remembered I had recorded the game.  "Wait.  WTF? It's 21-14 at half.  Dude was joking.  Holy shit, maybe we won!"  Nope watched the 2nd half.  We lost.

So, I got to experience Texas losing TWICE on the same day to F the Razorbacks.

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3 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Oooh.  @pch reminded me of a pretty shitty, heartbreaking day.

2003.  TX v. Arkansas.  TX was starting to come around and, I believe, was somewhat favored in this game.  Problem for me is that my best friend was getting married.  Yes, I know.  TN had a bye, so he planned his wedding on that weekend.  So, the plan was to listen to the first half, attend the wedding, rush to the hotel where the reception was to be, watch the 2nd half in the hotel bar.

  1. Catch the first quarter on the radio.  Texas is down 14-7, but I'm sure they'll come back.
  2. Get to hotel.  Gosh dang bar is closed.  No tv.
  3. As I'm trying to figure out what to do, the father of a friend of mine comes over to tell me he can't believe Texas is down 35-7 at half.  At this point, I'm all, "Fine.  Time to drink."  I drink away my sorrows.
  4. Have a good time.  Get home late that night.  Remembered I had recorded the game.  "Wait.  WTF? It's 21-14 at half.  Dude was joking.  Holy shit, maybe we won!"  Nope watched the 2nd half.  We lost.

So, I got to experience Texas losing TWICE on the same day to F the Razorbacks.

2nd time in 3 years (also the Y2K Cotton Bowl) we let Pig covert a 3rd and 40+....

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21 hours ago, Hate said:


While I agree it was a “safe” play in that I’ve never seen a pick six result from it, the better play would have been to hand the fucking ball off and go into halftime to regroup only down a score. It was a stupid fucking call.

It was 17-6 when it happened, so not one score. and we had the ball at about our 40. Again, it was a low risk call and it's not hard to see what they were thinking-- roll the dice on (again) a relatively safe play, try to grab twenty cheap yards, get within another completion of being in field goal range, let Hunter Lawrence do his thing, go in down one score. 

The most likely outcome of that play is that Newton takes the shovel pass and gets smothered for a gain of two and we let the clock run out. If we ran that play a hundred times, I bet the actual outcome of a pick six happens once. 

Of all the things I spent YEARS castigating Greg Davis over, calling a shovel pass in that situation isn't in the top hundred. It's not like he had a noodle armed QB throw a horizontal pass to the wide side of the field and got it picked off and run back. 

but defending Greg Davis against hindsight is both icky and colossally boring, so I think that's enough

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You fellers are underestimating the genius of one Gregory Davis. Ordinarily it is low risk play. But it has to fool the defense to succeed. You could out execute the defense but more so you must catch them off guard.

So if said team ran the exact same play in a very similar game situation in the prior game, I would suggest you've weakened that deception mightily. And that same game was certainly viewed and reviewed in game planning. So you now have a QB with limited game experience and limited time. This safe play is no longer safe given the circumstances. So what I'm saying is pretty damned sure we ran that play versus Nebraska. Maybe late in the 1st half even. Since NU gave our offense fits, I'd think that game film was very heavily reviewed for Alabama. If so and my recollection is correct, then it was a completely moronic call. (Play by play shows a 14 yard pass to Newton on 3rd and 13 with about 22 seconds left. It does not describe the play so I'm going with my thought).

Really this play and the Colt injury play summarizes GD quite well. Turn a relatively low risk play into a much higher risk play by increasing its predictability 10 fold. Then reach down to your 73rd best play in your playbook with limited reward capabilities but crushing levels of risk. But on paper, those are good plays.

Username checks out.

And great analysis and a microcosm of Greg Davis’ playcalling “acumen”. Under Greg Davis, we ran conservative offenses against overmatched opponents and it worked. Against good to great defenses, those conservative tendencies were exploited, so that even Mike Stoops would be licking his chops. We then relied on off-schedule and brilliant plays by Vince and Colt.

Remember between 1979-2004, only one Texas offense was shut out and that was an offense with Vince Young and Cedric Benson.

Greg Davis being fired was a happy day, short-lived by Muschamp taking the Florida job at the recommendation of Stoops. That was heart-breaking.
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As a kid - Plano East making a huge comeback against Tyler John Tyler.  4 touchdowns and 3 successful onside kicks with 3 mins left and then with 1 min left, kicked it deep on the kickoff and returned for a touchdown to beat PESH.  Dagger to my 9 year old heart.

As a young adult - The Bush Push.  Fuck USC.

As an adult - everyone's favorite GIF of the Baylor punter being de-cleated in the Cotton Bowl vs Sparty.  At that moment I knew Baylor was going to choke and I just wanted to see a win for my pops a '66 BU alum and letterman.  That was his last year with us. 

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13 minutes ago, BlueGreySky said:

As a kid - Plano East making a huge comeback against Tyler John Tyler.  4 touchdowns and 3 successful onside kicks with 3 mins left and then with 1 min left, kicked it deep on the kickoff and returned for a touchdown to beat PESH.  Dagger to my 9 year old heart.

 

Had to have been AWFUL-but still one of the best Homer Call of the Week winners on the Ticket.

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On 2/14/2021 at 6:58 PM, Dewey said:

Don't care if already mentioned,  but the 89 CWS final. What a load of shit that was 

Well... Without question that's my most heartbreaking moment, 1989 baseball.

A&M won the first three games of the Central Regional by a combined 65-13.

We went into our regional final against LSU with a record of 58-5; the Tigers had to beat us twice to eliminate us.

They did.

Icing on the cake is I've had to listen to Ben McDonald call about a thousand Aggie games since then.

 

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Fast forward to '93 for heartbreaking moment #2.

A&M beats Kansas in their first matchup of CWS.

In game 2 against LSU, starter Trey Moore leaves game with Aggies winning 7-2, I'm looking forward to finishing off Tigers, coasting into game 3.

Defense turns error prone, bullpen collapses.  A&M loses 13-8.  We never recover mentally and Long Beach State eliminates us.

I hate LSU way, way more than I've ever hated Texas. 

Best sports moment of my life was when LSU cried uncle and canceled the football series with us following the '95 game, after they'd lost 6 of the last 7, claiming "We have a tough enough schedule in the SEC without playing A&M."

Followed closely by Orgeron watching his team lose in OT while soaked in gatorade.

This thread is depressing.

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Rangers losing game 6 to the Cards.  I basically couldn't sleep that night.  Took me many years until I could watch any highlights from that post season at all.  Still don't really watch any from the WS.  Baseball is my favorite sport and I rooted for this garbage franchise since I was a tot.  To have us actually scale the mountain just to go out like that was brutal.  

Cowboys losing to the Niners in the NFC championship game in the mid 90s.  Doesn't haunt me any more because the Boys won the SB 3 times and I DGAF really about the Cowboys any more.

Gideon's drop. We deserved a championship game with Quan and Shipley both.  Having just one the next year made us just a touch more neutered imo and made that team that made the championship game a little less exciting than the one that just missed it.  

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for me, there were three distinct heartbreaks in the 2008 season. i remember that brutal schedule when it came out - that four game streak of big xii contenders and top ranked teams, and i went to three of those four games. but we had colt mccoy, and i was a believer. i had been there in pasadena for the michigan miracle, arguably mack's biggest win up to that point, then the year after for the best college football game ever played. so i knew mack could do it, and i was optimistic that with colt we could get it done, despite that four game run of top ten teams.

it started off with oklahoma in dallas. oklahoma was the number 1 team in the nation, and we were number 5. we were losing at halftime, but colt had that special thing where you weren't as bothered by that. we were in the fucking game, when no one really gave us too much of a chance. i can't remember the line on the game, but i want to say ou was favored by 7. sure enough, the second half was tumultuous, but we won, and out of many ou experiences, that one has to rank number 1.

next up was mizzou at dkr. they had lost to oklahoma state the week prior, so they got bounced out of the top ten, but were still a concerning opponent. we were the newly minted number one team in the nation, and the fans were feeling it. it was the loudest game i think i have ever attended at dkr. i really think the win over ou had texas fans believing again, and it was definitely not a wine and cheese crowd that day. that team dismantled missou in the first half of that game, and the final score did not reflect the ass kicking laid down on the tigers.

the next week, undefeated and number six oklahoma came to town. this was the third out of this rough run of games, and it was exhausting as a fan to watch. one of those back and forth affairs and colt turned over the ball twice in the second half, but the defense wouldn't let oklahoma state take full advantage. i held my breath so many different times during that game, and was just completely out of gas by the end. but they won!

then came undefeated texas tech, on halloween weekend in lubbock. i was always more worried about this game than any of the others. now they were number seven, and undefeated, and essentially the path to the conference championship, and even the national championship, was through lubbock, of all fucking places. i don't remember where my wife was, but i was home alone and my mom was visiting and we were getting drunk together watching the game. that first half was...something. a tech safety to start off the scoring. wonderful. we managed two field goals in the first half; answering touchdowns with field goals is no way to win football games. but then shipley returned a punt, and the team woke up. defense was doing its job, and then colt throws a pick six, and i despaired. but then we had a nice drive, and a breakaway touchdown, and i started to believe again. their offense wasn't doing shit in the second half. then we go up with a minute and a half, and i remember telling my ma "there's too much time left." then the gideon drop sent me from fist pumping idiocy to shredding my nails. then, 0:01, harrell throws it to crabtree, he catches an impossible pass, we miss the tackle, and ffuuuuuccckkkkkk. i just melted to the floor, unable to move. i don't remember what happened after that, but i do remember my ma's look of abject pity, knowing there was nothing she could do for solace. heartbreak number one.

however, season wasn't over. we still had a chance. we fucking had a point to prove and we proved it. we fucked up baylor, then kansas, then aggies came to town. this was the first time i remember mack ever unleashing his team in the fourth quarter on a clearly beaten opponent. three touchdowns and aa 49-9 win was an exclamation point i thought. not that the aggies were any good, but still, we needed the bcs brownie points. and he realized that.

my buddy, a poster on this board, was in town for that game, and saturday night it seemed like a great idea to head over to the titter to watch bedlam. we watched the first half between lapdances, and damn if osu wasn't giving ou all they could handle. it was a very close game. then, in the fourth quarter, stoops started putting his foot down. he kept his qb1 in the game, and pushed the score into the 60s. on that last touchdown, i had a stripper in my lap, and i just fell apart. i knew stoops knew the bcs calculus. he needed to hang half a hundred, and win convincingly. well he went 60+ and won by 20 points. fucccck. first and only time in my life i got a free pity lapdance from a stripper. i even tried to pay her, and she refused my money. we left shortly after that, the party had been thrashed out of us. heartbreak number 2.

then....i dared to hope again as the national narrative kept highlighting that the bcs should choose texas over ou because of the head-to-head. big xii rules said, of course, that the higher ranked bcs team gets into the championship. then, motherfucking chip brown breaks the news that we edged ou in the bcs and would be going to the big xii championship. fucking-a! i dared to hope, but until i saw the numbers i didn't let myself get excited.

then the fox crew comes on, and there is barry fucking switzer, with his shit-eating grin on the set, and it told me all i needed to know, and it twisted the knife in my guts. i just shut it off. my wife said "what's wrong, aren't you going to wait on the results?" nope, just look at that shit head sooner grinning. all i needed to know. heartbreak number three, and just proved to me once again that the bcs system was fucking trash. 

i've never forgiven chip brown for that.

and ou of course went on to choke in the bcs championship game, annointing tim fucking tebow to sainthood, cemented urban meyer's legacy, and once again proved that ou fucking sucks. i have no doubt that we beat that shitass gimmick jump passing florida team. that may have even been heartbreak number four. goddammit. 

there are some other good ones on this thread, but that whole season was magical except for two or three plays which led to weeks of pain.

tl;dr: ou sucks, fuck chip brown, and double fuck barry fucking switzer

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2 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

Watching Wilt and the Lakers lose to Willis Reed and the Knicks in person at Madison Square Garden in 1970.  I was a huge Wilt fan and took the loss hard. My dad says I cried afterward although I don't remember that.

Those were some great Knicks teams back then, haven't been close to being that great since.  

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January 1, 1991. The Rotten Bowl. After 3 years of mediocre-to-lousy teams, genuinely nice guy David McWilliams had turned things around in Austin. The Shock the Nation Longhorns did “whatever it takes,” and won the SWC in a season that included a road win at Penn State, beat OU,  and had cathartic victories over Houston and aggy. The Cotton Bowl against Miami was poised to be a feel good redemption story and the return of Texas Football to national prominence. 
 

If I had ever needed to learn the truism that life isn’t fair, that good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good, that day brought it crashing home. Texas was never in the game, the goddamn criminals from The U showed their asses, and beat us 46-3 with over 200 yards in penalties, most of them unsportsmanlike conduct. Texas Football collapsed again, McWilliams got fired, and I will always hate the Miami Hurricanes. 

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This thread really depresses me.  You don't really realize how many sucky moments you've experienced in UT sports until they all get listed in one place.  I haven't seen the 1988 CWS mentioned.  UT went through their regional and CWS bracket undefeated and then played Wichita State in the finals.  Wichita State lost a game in their bracket, but the finals was a winner take all game.  So we both ended up with one loss, but they got the championship.  I hated that made for tv format.

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2011 World Series game 6
1990 CWS championship game

I guess I should put 2013 Bedlam football since it’s the only time I’ve ever drank “for the wrong reasons”. At least it broke me of ever thinking we’ll win that damn game. I’m over Bedlam football loses within 30 minutes now. Usually before the game is even over. I’m oddly proud of that.

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