# The most excruciating type of sports defeat? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 28, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865 "2016-05-28T00:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/41 "2016-06-03T00:28:46Z")
To add: the next year the buckeyes won against Michigan, and there was another riot. The year after that, there was a riot after every game, or so it seemed. The year after that, I moved away from campus. Far far away. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/42 "2016-06-03T00:31:34Z")
So as to not seem too threadshitty… 3. One critical error or poor decision being the undoing of it all. This happened to Riccardio at Monaco last Sunday. I was really hoping the best for him and it sucked that it wasn’t his fault his pit crew sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/43 "2016-06-03T12:53:20Z")
Maybe another category for this thread would be the “long losing streak to a hated rival.” I think of Alabama’s 6 consecutive defeats at the hands of Auburn from 2002-2007, or the Redskins’ ten consecutive defeats at the hands of the Cowboys from 1998-2002 (the Redskins did win the season finale,) or the Bills losing 15 out of 16 (?) games against the Patriots over the past decade or so. And hasn’t Navy beaten Army 13 times in a row now? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/44 "2016-06-04T16:13:03Z")
My 35 year tennis life has been an almost uninterrupted stream of futility. I’ve lost 17 league matches in a row. I played 11 consecutive seasons with a losing record each year that was not bad enough to get me relegated. I have never won a single tournament or league title, either individual or team. But far and away the worst was playing the deciding match of the mixed doubles city finals. We were up 5-2 in the third set when my partner ruptures an Achilles tendon. To make matters worse Her husband had played the previous match which they lost after being up 6-1 in the deciding tie-break. He got an attack of nerves that was just epic. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/45 "2016-06-06T00:41:47Z")
I go with #6 because it tends to be so frustrating to talk about later. _Every_ sports team gets hosed by bad calls periodically, so you sound like you’re whining when you get badly screwed by officiating at a crucial point in the season. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/46 "2016-06-06T01:41:41Z")
What about being an up and coming fighter like Meldrick Taylor and being well on your way to winning a unanimous decision against a 63-0 legend like Julio Cesar Chavez, and then getting knocked out with TWO seconds left in the fight? ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/47 "2016-06-06T16:54:28Z")
If I had to choose, it would be six. In every other case your opponent beat you or you beat yourself, whatever, the point is you deserve the loss. If the officiating screws you though… ---
**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:** [June 6, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/48 "2016-06-06T18:01:51Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What about being an up and coming fighter like Meldrick Taylor and being well on your way to winning a unanimous decision against a 63-0 legend like Julio Cesar Chavez, and then getting knocked out with TWO seconds left in the fight? It wasn’t a knockout; the referee stopped the fight. > [@Velocity](#): > > **3. One critical error or poor decision being the undoing of it all.** Example: Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Nebraska unnecessarily going for the 2-point conversion against Miami in 1984. Buckner’s error was made when the game was tied, so it didn’t necessarily cost the Red Sox the game (and the Series as it turned out). As for Nebraska/Miami, I think the people that called going for 2 a mistake were under the impression that the poll voters would have thought, “Nebraska was #1; Miami was #2; Miami didn’t beat Nebraska (and on their home field, no less), so I’m not ranking them higher.” I would have expected a number of them to punish Nebraska for “chickening out” - “if they don’t have the guts to play for the win, then they’re not a deserving national champion.” ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/49 "2016-06-07T21:55:49Z")
I think there isn’t a totally objective answer, it depends on the “narrative” surrounding the team. For example, last year the Cubs were swept by the Mets in the NLCS, which is never a good thing. However, as any casual follower of baseball knows, two of the Cubs’ previous three NLCS appearances saw them choking up what appeared to be commanding leads, which (among many other factors) has fueled their image as perennial losers. I think that, for the Cubs fans, it would have been far worse to go up three games to one and then find a way to piss it away again. OTOH, if some 82 win team had managed to fluke into a wild card spot, and everyone was saying that they were over their heads and had no chance against the Mets, it probably would have been much more satisfying to take it to 7 games, even if they blew a big lead, than to be swept and confirm all the negative stuff that had been said about them. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/50 "2016-06-07T22:05:13Z")
The most excruciating type of sports defeat? Athlete’s foot. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/51 "2016-06-07T22:23:19Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What about being an up and coming fighter like Meldrick Taylor and being well on your way to winning a unanimous decision against a 63-0 legend like Julio Cesar Chavez, and then getting knocked out with TWO seconds left in the fight? Some boxing defeats can be absolutely gutting if you’re a fan of the boxer, do doubt. Another cruel one is Herol Graham v Julian Jackson - Graham was a brilliantly stylish, defensive boxer who never quite got over the line to win a world title. He took Jackson to school for four rounds for the WBC middleweight title, total control, Jackson on the verge of being stopped on cuts, then walked onto an absolute bomb that put Graham out cold before he hit the canvas. One of the most brutal KOs I've seen. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/52 "2016-06-07T23:27:20Z")
As a Pacers fan, I’ll have to go with “getting blown out on the opponent’s home court in a Game 7”. Happened to us in '95 against Orlando, and in '13 against Miami. I hate the implication that, “How the hell did _these guys_ push to seven games?” ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/53 "2016-06-08T18:01:01Z")
In the 2009 Grey Cup game (Canada’s Super Bowl), the Saskatchewan Roughriders led for the entire game, even when the clock read 0:00, but lost to the Montreal Alouettes. Montreal tried a field goal on the last play of the game that would have won it for them, but it went wide. With no time left on the clock, Saskatchewan players and fans rushed the field thinking they had won the Grey Cup, but it turned out that the refs had flagged the Riders for too many men. The Montreal kicker got a second chance and didn’t miss this time. After leading for the entire 60 minutes of the game, Saskatchewan still lost. Weirdest and unfairest loss I’ve ever seen. I guess that would fall under No. 3, although it wasn’t a poor play or bad decision. It was one little mental slip that had no bearing on the play (despite the extra man, Saskatchewan didn’t put any pressure on the kicker; he was able to make a clean kick as if there were the legal number of players on the other side). ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/54 "2016-06-09T01:50:21Z")
In 2001 World Swimming champs, the Australian team won the 4x200m Relay, and then got disqualified for ‘Jumping in the Pool before all other teams had finished’. Did you know that was a rule - nope, neither did they. [Here’s the video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqSJ5B9FML0). Skip to 4.45 where they are doing the victory interview, and get notified of the DQ in the middle of it. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/55 "2016-06-10T01:20:14Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Yeah, what happened to the 2004 Yankees is probably the worst thing I can imagine. I can easily imagine far worse. Just swap the teams. If the Red Sox, with their history, had suffered their heartbreaking 2003 loss, come back in 2004, gone up 3-0, been within some small number of outs of sweeping in game 4 (I’ve forgotten the precise details), and then gone on to lose… Well, we wouldn’t even need this thread then, because the answer would be so unanimous. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/56 "2016-06-10T01:55:30Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > In 2001 World Swimming champs, the Australian team won the 4x200m Relay, and then got disqualified for ‘Jumping in the Pool before all other teams had finished’. Did you know that was a rule - nope, neither did they. > > [Here’s the video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqSJ5B9FML0). Skip to 4.45 where they are doing the victory interview, and get notified of the DQ in the middle of it. Ouch. The German team celebrating behind them just twists the knife that little bit more. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/57 "2016-06-21T14:36:42Z")
I do not much care for basketball, but this thing with Golden State must have been pretty brutal. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865/58 "2016-06-22T13:03:05Z")
As a Spartan fan, I loved the [miracle finish at U-M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvHE_zVaWcY) but I can see how tough this was for the Wolverines. After losing for the past few years, you think the monkey is finally off your back, but then this… ha ha ha. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-excruciating-type-of-sports-defeat/755865.md?page=2)