Wins and championships are the
ultimate goals of any competitive sport.
This is a universal fact. No
matter what walk of life you come from or what team you pull for in whatever
sport, your ultimate hope regarding that team is that they win.
But we know this is not ALWAYS the
story.
Sometimes your team disgusts
you. Your favorite player, who on a
normal day picks apart a defense or makes every right shot, suddenly transforms
into someone who simply cannot get the job done. This leads to that ultimate pit of disparity
for the passionate sports fan.
If viewed in the correct light, it
can also teach a lesson. That disgusting
feeling in your stomach can be overcome with a warming life lesson.
Screw that.
I’ve come up with a generic “top
ten” list of times when my teams disappointed me the most. As some of you who read these blogs pull for
the same teams as me, then I’m sure you can relate. So let us begin…
10) MJ Plays With the Wizards
As a kid, I loved watching Michael
Jordan play. He was an unstoppable force
in the NBA, and is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. We remember him for the dynasty of Bulls
teams he led to multiple championships in the 90’s. We tend to forget however, that MJ ended his
storied career by playing on the marginal Washington Wizards. Though MJ averaged 20 points even per game,
it was saddening to watch this dominant champion not even be able to make the
playoffs.
9) Arizona Beats South Carolina in 2012 College World Series
Oh Carolina fauns I’m just beginning
this painful trip down memory lane. The
Gamecocks made it back astonishingly for the third time in a row. It looked like the “Fear the Fish” campaign
was going to be one of championship caliber as the Gamecocks bashed their way
into the championship series. Not even
the magic of Michael Roth could help Carolina as this potent Arizona team took
the first two games, ending Carolina’s dreams of a third straight National
Championship.
8) Boston Red Sox Sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 World Series
I remember being a Senior in high school enjoying the way MLB was playing out. It looked as though the Cards were going to be paired up with the New York Yankees In the World Series.
That was until the Boston Miracle won four games in a row against the Yankees, and then proceeded to sweep the Cardinals.
7) Dolphins lose to Chargers in 1994
Divisional Playoff Game
As a kid, I was obsessed with Dan
Marino and the Miami Dolphins. As a
matter of fact, I am still a Dolphins fan to this day. This game was an insane game with just about
every dramatic effect a football game can have.
I remember crying like a little baby when I saw the Chargers kick the
game winning field goal.
That was Marino’s last legitimate shot
at a ring, and to this day, he isn’t considered in the greatest quarterback of
all time discussion because of it.
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Okay, so everybody that was in the
state of South Carolina can tell you what happened during the Carolina/Clemson
game in 2004. This led to many of the
dumbest things I have ever heard Carolina fans say like, “Clemson may have won
the game, but Carolina won the fight.”
Probably the low point of both schools, as they both were banned from
postseason play.
5) 2010 SEC Championship Game
2010 was a great year to be a fan of
South Carolina football. It was a
groundbreaking year that Steve Spurrier took South Carolina to heights that had
never been reached in program history.
Led by freshman running back, Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina knocked
off #1 Alabama, (almost) defeated all their SEC-East competition (we all
remember that Kentucky game, especially if you have Randall Cobb on your
fantasy team), and made it all the way to Atlanta for the SEC Championship!
Unfortunately that year Auburn had a
Heisman Trophy winner by the name of Cam Newton. This play pretty much sums up how pissed you
were during that game, as I had the pleasure of sharing this memory while
deployed to Iraq.
4) Dan Marino’s Last Football Game
A few of these moments really hit hard
on me as a person. I know that this is
pathetic, but three of the moments on this list actually jerked tears from my
eyes.
This is definitely one of those
three. I’m a very pessimistic football
fan now because of my support for the Miami Dolphins in the 2000’s. It’s just been rough. This was like a little kid watching Bugs
Bunny get mauled to death.
Anyways, long story short about this
nice memory is that the Jacksonville Jaguars eliminated the Dolphins this day
by a final score of 62-7. Dan Marino was
a 11-25 for 95 yards and 2 interceptions in his final game. Even the sprinklers tried to end this game
early as Miami fumbled six (yes, I said SIX)
times.
3) Clemson 63 Carolina 17
Yes, South Carolina has beaten
Clemson four times in a row. Yes, it has
been awesome. No, Clemson fans have yet
to let us forget about this one.
Charlie Whitehurst went 18 for 26
for 302 yards along with 4 touchdown passes to own South Carolina at home. This game was the benchmark for most points
scored in this series by Clemson.
Damnit, that one is painful.
2) South Carolina Basketball Gets
Upset by Coppin State
Where is Coppin State?
That is the question that many South
Carolina-crazed basketball fans were asking after the 1997 NCAA Selection
show. South Carolina had drawn a number
two seed.
A 15-seed had only beaten a 2-seed
only twice before.
Remember how I mentioned that three
of these moments made me cry? This is
one of them, and it still makes me want to cry.
1) The Streak
Another painful memory that South
Carolina fans tend to forget in this wonderful Spurrier era is this one. 0-21. The Gamecocks were 0-11 in 1999. If you look at the losses, some are close and
some are far. Either way, the team didn’t
win a single game that season. They
quickly bounced back though, as they beat Ohio State in consecutive Outback
Bowl victories under Lou Holtz.
There's not a video for this because there isn't one. Nobody wants to remember that.
All of these
memories were at the time painful to watch or experience. Looking back on some of them though I have to
laugh, as I reminisced about how much I actually overreacted to the outcomes of
a lot of these games. I think that is
something we as sports fans tend to forget these days is that these sports that
we are so passionate about are after all, games. Thanks for the read and remember to follow me
on twitter @griffaldo or email me at JCGriffin13@yahoo.com
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