Most painful sporting event ever?

[Sean Pa Patriot]

My youth was watching a great Bears team destroy the Pats, then the following yr watch Rulon Jones sack Tony Eason.. Then the next yr the strike...

 

[Lansdowne]

This one is #2 for me, with #1 having been 2003 ALCS Game 7. Most painful basketball loss was BC losing to Florida in the regional finals in 1994 (college) and Celtics getting eliminated by the Nets in 2002.

 

[patsfaninpa]

this isnt even in my top 10. They've won me 3 Super Bowls. the losses that occurred when I wondered if we'd ever win one hurt much, much more.

id rank them

Game 6 1986
Bruins, too many men on the ice, 1979
Roughing the passer, 1976
Pedro game 2003 ( although the Patriots OT win at Miami just days later saved us a long winter of pain, in fact the Patriots never lost again and won a Super Bowl. HOW can we not love a team like THAT)

You nailed it. Just in a different order for me.

1. Game 7 79 Semis at Montreal. Honestly, I'd have sold my soul to the devil to win that one. And, I think I tried but it didn't work. I loved that Bruins team and haven't felt that way towards them since that night.

2. Game 6 86 World Series. I can't even talk about it!!

3. Game 7 ALCS at Yankee "Dog" Stadium. I might have put Grady you're a f'n moron on my tombstone. But, thankfully we know what happened in 04.

4. This game was nr. 4. Four f'n yards from the Super Bowl.

5. I thought that 76 Patriots team had championships in their future. Even though they lost that game. I still say to this day. If you think the tuck call was a bad call. We're even. Shut up!!!

 

[DarrylS]

Not sure if this even makes my top ten, we were competitive up to the last drive and really believed they would win, for me the trampling by the Bears in the SB was the worse along with the '96 Parcellian exit loss in that SB. There are too many great memories in this run, I know we will be back and will look different in the future.. we will also look better.

 

[mtbykr]

I can't really put the buckner game in perspective becuase I was only 10 at the time.....but still remember it vividly. For me this is def the worst loss for the pats. However the worst loss overall for me is the 03 ALCS. Being on a rolleroaster every night (same in 04 but we won ) to get to game 7, then extra innings, then aaron *%$#@ 'n boone. I just sat there forever after that game with a blank look!

 

[onegameatatime]

For football, I'd have to say Oakland in 78 was worse. I believe Oakland had been 13-1 and the one loss was when they were destroyed by the Pats.

I can't say the SB losses, because we were big underdogs in both cases.

The loss to the Steelers 7-6 was really bad -- the 7 came from a 40 yard run by Kordell, when Collins pulled up because he did not want to be flagged for hitting out of bounds. Pats were missing Martin, Glenn, and the TE and could not move the ball. I thought Pete Carroll had that defense in better shape than the SB team the year before.

What about the loss to the Jets at home in 2002 that knocked us out of the playoffs?

I'd say Oakland, Colts, Steelers.

 

[BradyManny]

Not sure if this even makes my top ten, we were competitive up to the last drive and really believed they would win, for me the trampling by the Bears in the SB was the worse along with the '96 Parcellian exit loss in that SB. There are too many great memories in this run, I know we will be back and will look different in the future.. we will also look better.

I think you're missing my point - b/c we were in it until the end, b/c we led the whole game, b/c we should have won, b/c we would've basically been stealing a Super Bowl berth on a team fighting injuries, flu & other crap, that's what made this game more painful.

If we had gotten trampled on, the game would've been a lot easier to swallow. It was the circumstances of the loss that made it so brutal to watch.

 

[richpats]

Painful? Not at all. The Pats didn't play a full 60, so in that respect it is disappointing, but the end result shouldn't surprise us. Like in the SD game, if you give a good team too many opportunities to win they will eventually capitalize. We can't expect the other team to just make mistakes in crunchtime.

 

[mtbykr]

For football, I'd have to say Oakland in 78 was worse. I believe Oakland had been 13-1 and the one loss was when they were destroyed by the Pats.

I can't say the SB losses, because we were big underdogs in both cases.

The loss to the Steelers 7-6 was really bad -- the 7 came from a 40 yard run by Kordell, when Collins pulled up because he did not want to be flagged for hitting out of bounds. Pats were missing Martin, Glenn, and the TE and could not move the ball. I thought Pete Carroll had that defense in better shape than the SB team the year before.

What about the loss to the Jets at home in 2002 that knocked us out of the playoffs?

I'd say Oakland, Colts, Steelers.

I dont' remember that, but i do remember that amazing win against the fins (great catch by Fauria) to keep us alive. Then watching green bay lay down to the jets at 4 to give them the division was tough!

 

[pats60]

Didnt anyone say BILL BUCKNER........

But, sunday's game will forever be burnt in my memory...As the worst, the most painful, and the one that we let get away that never should have been.

Without a doubt this game.
Since 1960 no game bothered me more than this one.
Not even the Oakland game .We had to win another one to get to
super bowl.Only 4 yards away and we had it.I`ts hard getting there.
Never settle for less or you will never get there.

 

[italian pat patriot]

for me a very tough loss was 1997 when we lost 7-6 against PIT (when Vrabel stripped the ball to Drew)

i could not believe it

1976 must have been the worst number 1 as far as i have always understood

but last sunday too...we were winning 21-3...i still can not believe it we lost and it is wednesday...it was the AFC Championship...

i would have loved a payback to the Bears after 21 years...loved...

grrrrrrr...........

 

[PatsDeb]

I voted "no". Even though this one was excrutiatingly painful, I distinctly remember being more bummed out for a longer period of time over the 1996 defeat in the Superbowl. That was because the day before Will McDonough, Bill Parcells buddy, ruined the game before it even started by breaking the story that Parcells was ditching us for the Jets. I couldn't even enjoy the game with that hanging over it, and they we played bad and lost, making it even more painful. This one was hard, but back then I thought that this franchise, which had really started to turn things around, was once again going to be the butt of the NFL. Thank goodness I was wrong!

 

[Redcell]

Not even close for me. This team made it further than it should have, further than it did last year. I looked upon this year as a "rebuilder" and loved the ride.

1. '86. Nuff Said.

2. AAron Boone

Exactly my thoughts!

 

[JoeSixPat]

Not even a close "no" for me.

We've been the beneficiaries of winning games decided on one play. On Sunday we lost a game based on one play (pick one of many). I can live with that. We could have - even should have - won. The Colts to their credit emuated the Patriots, refusing to choke, willing themselves to win. I respect that.

Last year's meltdown in Denver hurt more than this ever could. Watching a team that had played so well in the playoffs commit 5 turnovers giving themselve no shot to win can make one seriously question the direction of the team.

This season, while one might question whether or not the team should have been better prepared for the Branch situation there is no question we continue to have a SB contender - though we do need to address depth on Defense as well as a quality #1 WR.

But that's not something that alarms me greatly.

As far as I'm concerned the Dynasty continues.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Wow, I'm surprised that 1978 has not made the list.

Here are my top 5:

1) 1986. Buckner.

2) 1978. Dent.

3) 1986 NHL Division Finals. Claude F*ing Lemieux scored in overtime in game 7 to beat Hartford, which played its guts out that series. The Whalers would have won the Cup that year if they could have found a way to win that game. Game 6 of that series, which Kevin Dineen won 1-0 in overtime, is the most exciting sporting event I had ever been to live until game 7 of the 2001 world series.

4) Superbowl 31. When Curtis Martin scored, I thought we were going to win. I really did.

5) 2003 ALCS. Boone.

 

[dtbrks]

I was too young to remember Buckner, so it's only competition is the 03 ALCS.

This one will sting for a while.

I wasn't too young for Buckner.. i was on the phone with a buddy celebrating our WS win when it happened.. that was the most devastating loss, so far.

 

[lobster]

It was a painful loss because it was poorly coached. Also there were too many penalties, which can reflect a lack of discipline.

For example Dillon had one run in the entire 2nd half when the Pat's offense started with an 8-point lead? Belichick has some questions to answer and you would think he would call a Press Conference to discuss the coaching breakdowns in the game. The Colts didn't win this game - the Pat's lost it.

 

[cstjohn17]

For me it was losing to the Yankees in 2003, we had that game in the bag. It was like watching a car wreck, "Boone I curse your name!"

On Sunday I was confident but even we we got ahead I thought this thing is not over, it is very disapointing because it is so hard to make the Superbowl but we have won it 3 times, on to the draft and FA.

The worst part is the media will shift over to Red Sox talk 24x7, I am a season ticket holder but enough is enough...

 

[gomezcat]

Out of the Pats losses, I would say that GB in the Superbowl was worse. I always get the sense that this team will have another crack, whereas I had resigned myself at the end of that game (actually, it was sometime in the second half) to never seeing the Pats win a Superbowl.

By far and away the worst feeling I have ever had was watching my soccer team's arch rivals, Liverpool. I support Manchester United. Liverpool somehow made it to the final of the 2005 Champions League, which is as good as European soccer gets.
They go three nil down (at which point I would have happily given a stranger my PIN number, I was so delirious). I watch them claw back to 3-3 in the space of 15 minutes and then watch them win the cup on penalty shootout. Sick doesn't even get close to describing how I felt. I hope plagues are visited on AC Milan for what they did to us United supporters.

I guess an equivalent would be watching Miami win the Superbowl with a 55 yard field goal, which bounces over off the crossbar, when they had been trailing 21-0 at the half.

 

[gomezcat]

BTW, what happened in game 6 of 1986? Sorry to ask, I just don't understand the reference.