What is he most crushing defeat you ever felt watching sports?

[CAhawki]

Kings Western Conference Finals…. You’ll never be able to convince the NBA is legit…

 

[SansAgain]

Godspeed

I feel your sincerity and I appreciate it. Thanks, bro.

 

[stender72865]

2000 - Iowa State losing to Sparty in Elite 8. Hands down the most crushing defeat.

 

[BlameIt]

How’d you feel after Lute absolutely tossed away Iowa’s NCAA loss to Wichita St, blowing a 20 point second half lead and then calling a “time out” when Iowa had none to call, giving Iowas a technical foul awarding WSU free throws and the ball….and thereby icing the game for the Shockers?
Iowa was a Top 10 rated team that year….Did you lose all respect and admiration for Lute following that game, too?

Well, I was 6 years old. So I don't really remember that game with much interest.

Thanks for attempting to push a narrative on me, however. Great effort!

 

[JWolf74]

I could give a list of golf defeats a mile long but this is the worst one:

My hs girls team is playing in regional finals to go to state. In HS golf you count the 4 lowest scores of the 6 players.
Of the 4 scores we took, all 4 players 4 putted their final hole and we missed out on going to state by 1 stroke. All 4 shot respectable scores in the 80's and 90's, so a 3 putt is not common at that level, let alone 4.

Was that in Adel?

 

[The Tradition]

I've been thinking about this a lot since the OP posted this thread, as I've suffered through so many agonizing defeats featuring my favorite teams. But in the end, the answer has to be Dan Marino's last game as a Miami Dolphin. Just horrible.

 

[BlameIt]

I could give a list of golf defeats a mile long but this is the worst one:

My hs girls team is playing in regional finals to go to state. In HS golf you count the 4 lowest scores of the 6 players.
Of the 4 scores we took, all 4 players 4 putted their final hole and we missed out on going to state by 1 stroke. All 4 shot respectable scores in the 80's and 90's, so a 3 putt is not common at that level, let alone 4.

I watched the father of a golfer drop a ball while we were looking around for his son's tee shot. Four other people saw this happen as well. When confronted, the father became very defensive and denied it.

Here's the significance of the moment: the son/golfer played the dropped ball and went on to shoot a 74. His team won the state championship.

Guess whose team finished second? Yep. My son's team.

He should've been DQ and they would've had to count a 90 (5th score). Gotta love that Des Moines Christian integrity.

 

[pjhawk]

I was at that Bobby Olive game. When they drove down I continued to sit while most others were trying to spur on our defense. My young nephew asked me, "they're going to score aren't they.." and all I could do was shake my head yes.

One of the others is the classic Christmas Day Kansas City loss to Miami in 1971 in what was then the longest playoff game.

The Bobby Olive game was so weird because Iowa dominated most of the game and Ohio St only really moved the ball in the fourth quarter and there were weird plays. The game is almost certainly not a game if Merton Hanks just bats down the ball at the end of the 1st half instead of trying to make an interception and it bounces off his chest and right to Jeff Graham and Ohio St scores on a long pass play to make it 17-14 Iowa at half time.

Rodgers throws that terrible interception in the 4th quarter when the main damn thing he should have been concentrating on at that point was not throwing a damn interception. Nick Bell just flat out drops a TD. Olenzjack (I know sp) gets that int in the end zone with 2 1/2 minutes left and we all heave a huge sigh of relief and then that piece of crap punter we had (the punting game was horrible in the early 90's) shanks the punt to give Ohio St the ball on the Iowa side of the field.

There were like 10 random things in that game where if any one of them goes Iowa's way Iowa wins the game.

Never been as devastated after a game, and as others have said, I'm pretty sure part of that is youth. I'm sure if I was in my teens or 20's in 2015 the Big Ten championship game would top the list.

 

[pjhawk]

Another one that I don't think I've seen mentioned yet. The 82 loss to Minnesota at the Field House in Triple OT pre-shot clock, where Iowa tried to stall out the end of the game and the first two OT"s for the last shot and then end up getting beat in the third OT to lose at least a share of the Big Ten title (when that really mattered).

87 loss to Vegas was also horrible, since at half-time game was over and we were sure we were in the final four. And 97 football loss at Michigan.

 

[Nole-4-Life]

FSU vs Tennessee for the Natty really hurt.
FSU losing to the team from the East always hurts… first one that stands out was Noles vs gates in 1968. It was the first time a Florida State game was on national tv…ABC came to town.
FSU beat them in gunsville the year before and were on a roll. gates defense prevailed in an 9-3 game that the Hawkeyes would have loved.

For me it was the first wide right against Miami. Or the one (can’t recall the year but at least a couple years earlier) where we gave up a big lead to Miami and went for 2 at the end and didn’t make it.

I was in the stadium for both.

 

[Nole-4-Life]

FSU wide right in 2002.

Pretty sure that one was wide left.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

1991 Rose Bowl
1999 Sweet Sixteen - Iowa vs UCONN
2003 MLS Cup Final
2004 CONCACAF Champions League Semi
2002 World Cup Quarterfinal: USA vs Germany
2009 Confederations Cup Fina
2018 WC Qualifier- USA vs T&T

 

[sober_teacher]

2023 Women’s NCAA Championship Game.

I wanted that game more than anything I can remember, and watching the refs literally steal from us just killed me.

That team was better than LSU.

I won't say the refs stole the game from us - first half they were godawful both ways. What I'll say is that they robbed everyone of the game we should have gotten - our best versus their best. Instead both teams were in major foul trouble the entire first half and the game swung their way when LSU's bench player that hadn't scored all tournament went off.

Haven't seen the '05? game vs Michigan at home - snapping our long home winning streak; hadn't lost since the '02 ISU game if i recall.

I've never heard Kinnick so quiet as fans existed.

 

[cjnoles9399]

Aside from the mentioned FSU heartbreaks, the 96 WS collapse from the Braves. Things were looking grim down 3-1 to the cardinals then they went on a tear scoring 48 runs the next 5 games only to utterly collapse with a 6-0 lead in game 4. The rest is history, birthing Yankees 90’s dynasty.

 

[RushProbst]

I wasn't expecting much of the Packers last year. Was pretty surprised we snuck in the playoffs. But we beat the Cowboys... Great. We always beat the cowboys. But didn't think we'd beat the niners in the divisional round. But then we were playing well. And frankly were in charge of the first 3 quarters. I let myself start believing. Then we shit the bed. That hurt more than I thought it would.

The pick Love threw to end the game was unreal. That had to be the worst throw he made all season. I was more confused than shocked.

Just to add the NFCCG at Seattle when bostick doinked the onside kick off his head. Not to mention Burnett giving himself up after picking off Wilson w like 4 minutes left and a decent shot to take it to the house if not FG range.

 

[Tom Paris]

I’m actually surprised a few of our far right posters didn’t mention their USSR powerhouse losing to some American kids in hockey at the 1980 Olympics.

 

[joelbc1]

I watched the father of a golfer drop a ball while we were looking around for his son's tee shot. Four other people saw this happen as well. When confronted, the father became very defensive and denied it.

Here's the significance of the moment: the son/golfer played the dropped ball and went on to shoot a 74. His team won the state championship.

Guess whose team finished second? Yep. My son's team.

He should've been DQ and they would've had to count a 90 (5th score). Gotta love that Des Moines Christian integrity.

True golf story…
In DSM years ago DSM restraunteur Babe Bisignano was playing golf with local golf legend, gambler, gangster Floren Di Paglia. On the last hole with a couple of hundred in the balance , Di Paglia hit his ball into the woods left off the tee. (This was back in the days before golf carts, so caddies were used frequently,) Anyway, as the golfers and caddies were tramping in the woods looking for the lost ball, Babe told his caddie, “Son, if you find Floren’s ball, stick it in your pocket…”
The caddy replied, “It’s already there sir.”

The kid got a big tip from Babe.