In light of the US Women’s heartbreaking loss at the hands of Japan, we’ve decided to take that devastation, and turn it into one of my favorite things…….a Top 5 list. So today I am doing the Top 5 heartbreakers, those games where one team thought they had it won, and then had it ripped from them. Oh, also, these are not in any particular order and they are games that I’ve actually seen with my own eyes. I’m sure that there are hundreds of games that had one side completely heartbroken; these are the ones I remember most. There are some emotional scars in this one as well. So strap in, here we go.
5- 2011 US Women’s Soccer team loses to Japan in Penalty Kicks – The reason why this loss is so profoundly heartbreaking is due to its many layers of pain. First off, the teams high expectations going into the tourney, being the top ranked team I the world and being consistently compared to the shirtless wonder, Brandi Chastain and the 99 US women’s team. The second level is the dramatic wins over Brazil and France which now just seem like nice highlights and not the historical moments they could’ve been. And finally the way this Final went down. The US had six, count them, SIX quality scoring opportunities to score in the first half and failed to score. Then after all of that, they put one up early in the 2nd half only to see the Japanese tie it up with nine minutes left in regulation time. Then in extra time, the US put up another dramatic goal early in the first Extra period, but with 4 minutes left in the 2nd Extra period, Japan pulled a rabbit from the hat with a goal off of a corner kick. Honestly watching this one live, I knew it was over there. Even though the US had the best goaltender in the world in Hope Solo, and they have a legendary place in Penalty Kick victories, I knew Japan had this one won. The US squad looked shattered and dejected, while the Japanese were smiling and having a great time. They hadn’t a care in the world and it showed in the Penalty Kicks. The pressure got to the US and heartbreak ensued. I still don’t think they choked, but had their hearts broken, that definitely happened.
4- 2006 New York Mets lose to the Cardinals in Game 7 of the NLCS at home – In what could’ve been a historical night at the old Shea Stadium in many ways, turned out to be heartbreak of the most severe kind. The Mets were heavily favored to win this series against a Cardinal team that struggled to win 83 games to the Mets 97 wins. But the resilient Cards, under legendary manager Tony LaRussa, refused to bow to the mighty Mets and made them have to win a Game 6 at home in order to force the fateful Game 7. I had the privilege of going to this Game 7. It’s the only deciding playoff game I've ever been to, and I’ve been scarred ever since. Outside of the shock that most Mets fans felt by even being in this position, we felt very confident going into this Game 7. It was at home, and the Mets were a very good team at Shea that season. Although it was a little nerve racking having Oliver Perez on the mound; you really never knew what you were going to get out of him. Perez was great though, and posed no issue in this one. The signs of heartbreak began when the Mets gave away a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning on a sac bunt. Inning by inning would click by with Perez dodging bullets left and right, but keeping it a 1-1 game. The Mets bats however were silent in each of these innings, never really posing a threat. Then came the 6th inning which could have and should have gone down in the annuls of not just Mets history, but baseball history. Scott Rolen stepped to the plate with one on and one out and Rolen launched one to left field. Everyone in the park knew it was gone, but many prayers were answered when Endy Chavez made a catch for the ages. He went over the fence and brought back a no-doubt-about-it homer, and then gunned down Edmonds at first to complete an amazing double play. It should’ve been the greatest play in Mets history, and it definitely was the greatest play I’ve ever seen with my own eyes.
The real signs of trouble surfaced in the bottom of the 6th, while the stadium was still buzzing by what they had just seen Endy Chavez do, the Mets loaded the bases with one out and Jose Valentin stepping to the plate. Valentin had been clutch for the Mets all season, and this appeared to be the guy you wanted up in the situation. Valentin struck out and the pressure mounted. Next up with the bases loaded and two out, the hero of the moment, Endy Chavez. Chavez grounded out weakly and the threat was squelched and so was the huge momentum the crowd at Shea was feeling. I, myself, along with most in my section, had a feeling of dread seeing a golden opportunity like that go by the boards after that catch; it was a sign of things to come. Flash to the 9th and the Cards taking a 3-1 lead after light hitting catcher, Yadier Molina blasted a 2-run shot off of Aaron Heilman. The Mets did however have one more bit of heartbreak in store for the faithful at Shea when they loaded the bases off of then rookie closer Adam Wainwright and Carlos Beltran, the Mets MVP candidate, stepping to the plate. Beltran had a great history of beating up on the Cardinals in the playoffs and this stage was set for him to do it again. Unfortunately for Mets fans Beltran looked at a called strike three on what might have been the most wicked outside corner curveball I’ve ever seen. The Cards go on to become the most improbable World Series Champs ever, and as for the Mets, they haven’t quite recovered yet. They had two seasons after that game 7 (2007 and 2008) where they had epic collapses late in the season to miss the playoffs. In the 2009 season they hung around a bit but finished .500. Then came 2010 where the wheels came off completely and that has brought us to today where the name Bernie Madoff is now synonymous with the New York Mets; it’s just sad in Queens right now.
3- 1992 Duke pulls out a miraculous victory over rival Kentucky – In their second championship season under Coach K, Grant Hill and Christian Laettner made a play for the ages to get them to the Finals. With 2.2 seconds left in OT, Kentucky had just went up 103-102 and Wildcat fans in Lexington, Kentucky were going wild. They, along with everyone else who was watching the game, thought that was the nail in the coffin. Duke had to inbound the ball with no timeouts, and the length of the floor. The ref handed the ball the Hill, and he launched the ball 75-ft and turned Kentucky’s jubilation to sheer heartbreak. Laetner caught the ball at the foul line and nailed a turnaround jumper the propelled the Duke Blue Devils to their 2nd straight title. It was the type of shot you imitate as a kid in your driveway. It ranks right up there with any great shot in any basketball game. This game ranks number 3 only because of the immediate switch from jubilation to heartbreak, and the legendary way it ended.
2- 1986 Red Sox curse continues in dramatic fashion – In 1986, the Red Sox had possibly the best chance they had had to end the dreaded curse of the Babe to date since they won in 1918. With future Hall of Famers and stars of the day stacking their team, the Red Sox had the juggernaut Mets on the brink of elimination with a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 at Shea; 3 outs away from ending the curse. The end seemed imminent. So much so that the scoreboard out in right field accidentally flashed the words “Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Series Champions.” Now everybody remembers the Buckner play, but the real play that broke the hearts of Red Sox fans everywhere was the wild pitch Bob Stanley threw to Mookie Wilson before the Buckner play. After Ray Knight cut it to a one run lead, Bob Stanley uncorked a 2-2 pitch to the backstop that scored Kevin Mitchell and made it a 5-5 game. Three pitches later came the legendary Buckner play which did win the game, but the actual heartbreaker, was the wild pitch.
1-1991 WIDE RIGHT! WIDE RIGHT! WIDE RIGHT! – Super Bowl XXV to me has to be the most heartbreaking loss for Bills fans who have had their share; the first cut is the deepest. The Bills went into this game as a seven point favorite over the New York Giants who ended Joe Montana’s run with the Niners to get the Super Bowl in 1990. It was a back and forth affair, a slugfest, one of the greatest Super Bowls I’ve ever seen. The Bills high powered offense had to be frustrated at the fact that they were held to 19 points after they had won the AFC championship game 51-3; they had to expect a big day offensively. The Giants D though had other plans. While the Giants held down the Bills offense, the Giants ran and ran and ran all over the Bills D. An 11 minute drive to start the 2nd half was proof that the Giants were just going to run at will against a decent Bills D. The heartbreak was set up perfectly by some questionable coaching by Marv Levy by settling on a 47 yard field goal for usually reliable kicker, Scott Norwood. Well, you know the rest, and not only was it heartbreaking for fan and the team, but Norwood was never the same again and was out of football shortly after. As it turns out, this was the Bills best shot to win a Super Bowl as they went on to lose 4 straight; the final three were not even close. Hindsight makes this one the most heartbreaking of them all.
Are you a fan of a team that has suffered extreme heartbreak? Send it over to us at thesportsriot@yahoo.com, or follow us on twitter @thesportsriot.
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