# Fictional sports teams and people who failed to win **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979 "2014-10-30T05:36:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/1 "2014-10-30T05:36:36Z")
Rocky lost in the first film. The Dallas team in _North Dallas Forty_ lost the game at the end, though it isn’t entirely clear the significance of the game. It looks like it was the last game of the season and they needed to win to make the playoffs. The Allied team ties in _Victory_. The Bad News Bears lose. The Indians win the play-in game in _Major League_ but lose in the ALCS. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/2 "2014-10-30T05:49:17Z")
The best sports movies are those in which the ending goes against type; Rocky and the Bad News Bears lose and are triumphant, Fast Eddie (in _The Hustler_) wins and it’s a tragedy. There are exceptions; _Slap Shot_ for one. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/3 "2014-10-30T06:02:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The best sports movies are those in which the ending goes against type; Rocky and the Bad News Bears lose and are triumphant, Fast Eddie (in _The Hustler_) wins and it’s a tragedy. > > There are exceptions; _Slap Shot_ for one. Thought of another one, the basketball team in “The White Shadow” don’t win it all in Season one. But like Hollywood sequels in three of the movies I mentioned, they succeed at least once in a subsequent season. ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/4 "2014-10-30T08:20:21Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Rocky lost in the first film. Apollo Creed Lost in II Clubber Lang Lost in III Ivan Drago Lost in IV The Yankees lost the one game Play off in Major League The Cowboys lost in Little Giants Johnny Lost in The Karate Kid But everyone wanted them to lose… as far as the “Hero” of the film Tin Cup, lost in Tin Cup ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/5 "2014-10-30T13:02:30Z")
The hockey team in **Mystery, Alaska** ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/6 "2014-10-30T13:33:32Z")
Are we talking just film, or books too? In the novel **The Natural** , unlike the movie, Hobbs struck out in the end. There’s also Casey at the Bat, of course. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/7 "2014-10-30T14:58:32Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The Dallas team in _North Dallas Forty_ lost the game at the end, though it isn’t entirely clear the significance of the game. It looks like it was the last game of the season and they needed to win to make the playoffs. The North Dallas Bulls lost a playoff game to Chicago. Nick Nolte had just scored a last-second touchdown, and the team needed an extra point to tie the game and go to overtime… but the vocally Christian backup quarterback was the holder, and he dropped the snap. Dallas lost by 1 point. I SUSPECT that playoff game was a fictionalized version of The Ice Bowl, in which the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Packers in miserable (but very different) weather conditions (the fictional game took place in a heavy rain, rather than in bitter cold). Peter Gent denied it, but Roger Staubach has always believed that inept Christian quarterback was supposed to be him. And Roger is almost certainly correct. Anyway, that game was the end of the season for the Bulls. And almost immediately afterward, the team found an excuse to cut Nolte on moral grounds. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/8 "2014-10-30T15:02:09Z")
Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) loses his big bowling match with Bill Murray, in _ **Kingpin.** _ In\*\*\* Brewster’s Millions\*\*\*, Richard Pryor spends a fortune to get the Yankees to play his minor league team. The Yankees stomp them. In _ **Talladega Nights** _, Ricky Bobby loses the big race (John C. Reilly wins it), though he ACTS as if he won! Lightning McQueen lets bad guy Chick Hicks win the Piston Cup, at the end of _ **Cars.** _ ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/9 "2014-10-30T15:02:18Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > There’s also Casey at the Bat, of course. Yes, this is the canonical example. There is no joy in Mudville; mighty Casey has struck out. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/10 "2014-10-30T15:09:37Z")
The Miami Sharks in _Any Given Sunday_ won their playoff game on-screen, but went on to lose the Pantheon Cup. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/11 "2014-10-30T15:16:22Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Rocky lost in the first film. To me, one thing that makes Rocky a great story is that the decision at the end of the fight seems to be in the background as Rocky and Adrian are calling to each other. If you’re not paying close attention, you might even miss the fact that Rocky lost. Further, in Rocky’s mind, I think he did win. Before the fight, he says to Adrian: > [@](#): > > I just wanna prove somethin’ – I ain’t no bum… It don’t matter if I lose… Don’t matter if he opens my head…The only thing I wanna do is go the distance – That’s all. Nobody’s ever gone fifteen rounds with Creed. If I go them fifteen rounds, an’ that bell rings an’ I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know then I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/12 "2014-10-30T15:31:02Z")
I agree, Rocky \*did \*win, in the way that matters, since he achieved the goal he had set for himself and which no one else but Adrian believed he could achieve. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/13 "2014-10-30T15:56:18Z")
In the recent “Rocky: The Musical” on Broadway, the posters announced “Love Wins”, but the show lost, as it closed after a short run. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/14 "2014-10-30T16:42:33Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > In the recent “Rocky: The Musical” on Broadway, the posters announced “Love Wins”, but the show lost, as it closed after a short run. How can I unlearn that there’s a musical _Rocky_??!! EEEEKK! ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/15 "2014-10-30T17:50:48Z")
The team isn’t fictional but -------- A Pennant for the Kremlin will forever be my favorite baseball fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/16 "2014-10-30T18:08:09Z")
The Deep Space 9 baseball team that Captain Sisko fielded against the Vulcans lost, but scored on the Vulcans (and made the Vulcan captain lose his temper) so it was a moral victory. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/17 "2014-10-30T18:22:03Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > The Deep Space 9 baseball team that Captain Sisko fielded against the Vulcans lost, but scored on the Vulcans (and made the Vulcan captain lose his temper) so it was a moral victory. What, did they use the hidden-ball trick? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/18 "2014-10-30T18:33:46Z")
In **The Replacements** the team wins the game, but since the strike ended they all lost their jobs. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/19 "2014-10-30T18:49:21Z")
Maggie in _Million Dollar Baby_ lost her title fight. (Apparently. The only mention of a possible result was when she tells her mother, “I won, didn’t I?”, and her mother responds, “They’re saying that you lost the fight.” Just in case somebody wants to see it but just hasn’t gotten around to it yet: The champion hits Maggie after the bell, when the referee’s back is turned; Maggie falls and breaks her neck on the leg of a stool. Presumably, we are led to believe from her mother’s statement that since the referee didn’t see the late hit, the champion was declared the winner by knockout (or is this considered a TKO) when Maggie couldn’t answer the bell for the next round. Also, the main team in _Friday Night Lights_ (the movie) lost. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979/20 "2014-10-30T18:55:16Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The Allied team ties in _Victory_. That’s _Escape to Victory_ for those of you outside of North America. No, I have no idea either why it has two different titles. And what about the goalkeeper whose arm they had to break back in the POW camp so Stallone’s character could be on the team? I have a feeling he didn’t exactly “win” either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-sports-teams-and-people-who-failed-to-win/702979.md?page=2)