Biggest failures in sports history

[midnightpulp]

Thought I would start this thread since there's been a couple of massive sports failures this year that are already infamous. Let's see where they rank.

Note: A sports failure is something that is completely unexpected, and not tied to seeding or even Vegas odds. I don't consider the 2007 Dallas Mavericks loss to the Warriors a catastrophic failure since everyone knew the Warriors were a bad matchup. Also, the failure needs to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (or jaws of expectations). Chris Webber's infamous timeout was a failure, but Michigan was down when he called it. Same with the Russell Wilson interception. Even Scott Norwood's missed FG wasn't a really a choke, since he wasn't very good from that distance anyway.



10. Jean Van De Velde at the 1999 British Open.

9. Buster Douglas handing a seemingly invincible Mike Tyson the first loss of his career.

8. The San Antonio Spurs blowing a 5 point lead with 28 seconds left in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

7. Atlanta Falcons blowing a 25 point 3rd quarter lead in Superbowl 51.

6. The 1980 USSR Olympic hockey team, a team that beat an NHL All Star team in a friendly, losing to an American team made up of college kids.

5. The 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning, who entered the post-season with the best regular season record in NHL history, getting swept by an 8th seed.

4. The 2011 Texas Rangers twice blowing 2 run leads with 1 strike away to lose Game 6 of the World Series.

3. The New York Yankees blowing a 3-0 series lead in the 2004 ALCS to their hated rival the Boston Red Sox.

2. The New England Patriots quest for a perfect season ended by Eli Manning and the 10-6 Wild Card New York Giants.

Some honorable mentions:

- The 2015 Golden State Warriors blowing a 3-1 series in the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

- Greg Norman squandering a 6 stroke lead at the 1996 Masters.

- The Steve Bartman Game.

- The Minnesota Vikings losing the 1999 NFC Championship game after a miss late Gary Anderson (who hadn't missed all season) failed to seal the game.

- The 2006 Dallas Mavericks essentially being half-a-quarter away from the title, but blew a double digit lead to the Miami Heat.

- The "this is going to be fun" 2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers. 4 Hall of Famers on the team, first round sweep.

Now on to number 1. Drum roll...……………….

1. The 2018-2019 Los Angeles Lakers.

After the huge FA splash the Lakers made by signing Lebron, expectations of 2nd seed were common, dark horse contender was labeled. This is the NBA, a star driven league, and having a top 3 player in the league basically guarantees a playoff berth. Any organization would have to be massively incompetent to not at the very least sneak into the playoffs with fuckin' Lebron James. Not only did the Lakers fail to make the playoffs, they only managed to win 35 games, and they HAD LEBRON JAMES! How is that even possible? Laker fans will cite injuries, but losing Lonzo was addition by subtraction, and Lebron still played 55 games (in an era where superstars of his age will play only about 70 games anyway. He only played 69 on the title winning 2015 Cavs). Furthermore, Lebron's record in those games was 28-27. A winning percentage not good enough to get into the post-season.

To fail to even play .500 basketball when you have Lebron for 55 games represents a total organization failure from top to bottom, from training to scouting to developing to front office decision making to on-court morale. It's not a choke like the other examples, just an embarrassing institutional meltdown we've never seen in the NBA or any other sport. Compare their season to the team across the hall. The Clippers took two games from the Warriors with Lou Williams as their best player :lol. The Clippers also traded their best player away (Tobias Harris) mid-season for what was basically picks.

Lakers fans will spin this, but again, YOU HAD LEBRON JAMES! And once more, to put things into perspective, the team you share a building with had Lou Williams (who the Lakers once had :lol) and Danilo Gallinari as their best players. There's no excuses. The greatest failure in sports history.

[Arcadian]

Nice list! :lol lakers. Just wanted to point out:


The 2015 Golden State Warriors blowing a 3-1 series in the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

on the title winning 2015 Cavs
That was 2016 - the Warriors won 4-2 in 2015.

[Play Boban]

I didn’t know the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played in the NHL :lmao

[midnightpulp]

I didn’t know the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played in the NHL :lmao

Good catch.

[Avant]

San Jose States Ray Norton was the Worlds Fastest Human in 1960. At those Olympics he failed to medal in the 100 and 200 and got the USA 4x1 DQed.

[Play Boban]

Good catch.
:smokin

[Spurtacular]

:lol That's a lot of effort to bitch slap the Laker fans here.

[FrostKing]

Dan O'Brien, 1992 U.S. Olympic trials

[FrostKing]

https://ftks732kpvy18zwzc2s17egw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Struggle-Face-21.jpg

[midnightpulp]

Dan O'Brien, 1992 U.S. Olympic trials

That's a good one. You're an 80s/90s kid as well. Remember the build up going into that with the Dan and (other guy, who was also a flop) ad campaigns?

Edit: Dan and Dave!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKJkfE1M9wA

[FrostKing]

https://youtu.be/KBcNTQXc4GA

[FrostKing]

That's a good one. You're an 80s/90s kid as well. Remember the build up going into that with the Dan and (other guy, who was also a flop) ad campaigns?
Oh yah. That is when I realized the major difference between Olympians and professional athletes in the Big 4.


Poor Reebox

https://youtu.be/3so8Qw__MM8

[FrostKing]

https://youtu.be/hEDvtpJX4co

[FrostKing]

https://youtu.be/k5Xl4VvgU_w

[midnightpulp]

Oh yah. That is when I realized the major difference between Olympians and professional athletes in the Big 4.


Poor Reebox

https://youtu.be/3so8Qw__MM8

Olympians are always going to be better pure athletes than any ball sport athlete, soccer included. They don't have to learn any skill sets beyond rough (compared to ball sport athletes) throwing, jumping, and running techniques.

[DMC]

Thunder history of team. Having 3 League MVPs on the same roster, on the floor at the same time quite often, never winning a fucking thing. Even today only one of them has won anything and that one had to get on a bus that was going there already.

NBA has become a shitty, stat afflicted league where guys make corporation level pay to put up empty stats night after night. Winning has become a RS thing, the post season is almost an afterthought.

[Killakobe81]

Thought I would start this thread since there's been a couple of massive sports failures this year that are already infamous. Let's see where they rank.

Note: A sports failure is something that is completely unexpected, and not tied to seeding or even Vegas odds. I don't consider the 2007 Dallas Mavericks loss to the Warriors a catastrophic failure since everyone knew the Warriors were a bad matchup. Also, the failure needs to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (or jaws of expectations). Chris Webber's infamous timeout was a failure, but Michigan was down when he called it. Same with the Russell Wilson interception. Even Scott Norwood's missed FG wasn't a really a choke, since he wasn't very good from that distance anyway.



10. Jean Van De Velde at the 1999 British Open.

9. Buster Douglas handing a seemingly invincible Mike Tyson the first loss of his career.

8. The San Antonio Spurs blowing a 5 point lead with 28 seconds left in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

7. Atlanta Falcons blowing a 25 point 3rd quarter lead in Superbowl 51.

6. The 1980 USSR Olympic hockey team, a team that beat an NHL All Star team in a friendly, losing to an American team made up of college kids.

5. The 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning, who entered the post-season with the best regular season record in NHL history, getting swept by an 8th seed.

4. The 2011 Texas Rangers twice blowing 2 run leads with 1 strike away to lose Game 6 of the World Series.

3. The New York Yankees blowing a 3-0 series lead in the 2004 ALCS to their hated rival the Boston Red Sox.

2. The New England Patriots quest for a perfect season ended by Eli Manning and the 10-6 Wild Card New York Giants.

Some honorable mentions:

- The 2015 Golden State Warriors blowing a 3-1 series in the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

- Greg Norman squandering a 6 stroke lead at the 1996 Masters.

- The Steve Bartman Game.

- The Minnesota Vikings losing the 1999 NFC Championship game after a miss late Gary Anderson (who hadn't missed all season) failed to seal the game.

- The 2006 Dallas Mavericks essentially being half-a-quarter away from the title, but blew a double digit lead to the Miami Heat.

- The "this is going to be fun" 2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers. 4 Hall of Famers on the team, first round sweep.

Now on to number 1. Drum roll...……………….

1. The 2018-2019 Los Angeles Lakers.

After the huge FA splash the Lakers made by signing Lebron, expectations of 2nd seed were common, dark horse contender was labeled. This is the NBA, a star driven league, and having a top 3 player in the league basically guarantees a playoff berth. Any organization would have to be massively incompetent to not at the very least sneak into the playoffs with fuckin' Lebron James. Not only did the Lakers fail to make the playoffs, they only managed to win 35 games, and they HAD LEBRON JAMES! How is that even possible? Laker fans will cite injuries, but losing Lonzo was addition by subtraction, and Lebron still played 55 games (in an era where superstars of his age will play only about 70 games anyway. He only played 69 on the title winning 2015 Cavs). Furthermore, Lebron's record in those games was 28-27. A winning percentage not good enough to get into the post-season.

To fail to even play .500 basketball when you have Lebron for 55 games represents a total organization failure from top to bottom, from training to scouting to developing to front office decision making to on-court morale. It's not a choke like the other examples, just an embarrassing institutional meltdown we've never seen in the NBA or any other sport. Compare their season to the team across the hall. The Clippers took two games from the Warriors with Lou Williams as their best player :lol. The Clippers also traded their best player away (Tobias Harris) mid-season for what was basically picks.

Lakers fans will spin this, but again, YOU HAD LEBRON JAMES! And once more, to put things into perspective, the team you share a building with had Lou Williams (who the Lakers once had :lol) and Danilo Gallinari as their best players. There's no excuses. The greatest failure in sports history.




It's a failure but probably not even the biggest Lakers failure tbh
but nice try ...

[Kurgan]

https://youtu.be/hEDvtpJX4co

This is the first thing that came to mind as far as soccer goes. A 3-0 halftime lead in soccer is like being up 30 in an NBA playoff game after two quarters.

[R. DeMurre]

The Mike Tyson loss to Buster Douglas came after he spent the entire night before the fight hanging out with Bobby Brown, drinking tequila and having sex with with a room full of Japanese girls:lol...

Interesting how for Americans, the USA hockey victory over the USSR in 1980 is the biggest upset, but for Russians it's the USSR's upset over the USA in basketball in 1972.

[Chucho]

Thunder history of team. Having 3 League MVPs on the same roster, on the floor at the same time quite often, never winning a fucking thing. Even today only one of them has won anything and that one had to get on a bus that was going there already.

NBA has become a shitty, stat afflicted league where guys make corporation level pay to put up empty stats night after night. Winning has become a RS thing, the post season is almost an afterthought.


That's why I don't understand why people want the Spurs to blow it up. The best a mid market team can hope for is playoffs. Tanking doesn't work at all and we're one season away from setting one of those "never will be broken" records like Stock's assists record or DiMaggio's 56 hit game streak. 23+ seasons of playoff basketball will never be broken and is a great thing to be remembered in this shit WWE-lite era of the NBA.

[Arcadian]

Interesting how for Americans, the USA hockey victory over the USSR in 1980 is the biggest upset, but for Russians it's the USSR's upset over the USA in basketball in 1972.

Damn, I just read about that game on wikipedia. Sounds like it was rigged.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwZuPi4cbyg

[JoeTait75]

Damn, I just read about that game on wikipedia. Sounds like it was rigged.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwZuPi4cbyg

That whole sequence was shady as hell, but all the USA team had to do was keep the Soviets from going 94 feet in three seconds, and they couldn't do it. Not having 7'4" Tom Burleson or Bobby Jones, one of the all-time great defensive players, on the floor at the end was a massive fail on the part of Hank Iba and his staff.

[LeGiannis]

Don't forget about the 2007 1-seed Dallas Mavericks getting upset (in embarrassing fashion) by the 8-seed Warriors.

#WeBelieve

[Arcadian]

That whole sequence was shady as hell, but all the USA team had to do was keep the Soviets from going 94 feet in three seconds, and they couldn't do it. Not having 7'4" Tom Burleson or Bobby Jones, one of the all-time great defensive players, on the floor at the end was a massive fail on the part of Hank Iba and his staff.

Yeah, but it sounds like they were just in shock that the game was even continuing at that point. They had already celebrated the gold medal for 2 minutes, and then they were told that the last 3 seconds had to be replayed. They were ready to walk out of the arena, and only begrudgingly took the court again. :lol

And the buzzer going off during the American's free throw :lmao Holy shit...but he still sank the free throw. What a boss.

[FrostKing]

This is the first thing that came to mind as far as soccer goes. A 3-0 halftime lead in soccer is like being up 30 in an NBA playoff game after two quarters.
Agreed but losing a match in stoppage time (3 minutes) in which you led is lower odds?

What is more likely -

A) scoring 3 after failing to get even 1 in 45 minutes

B) 2 goals in 3 minutes after failing to get on the board in 90 mins


My German friend (anti Bayern) said he watched this live and they were sure the 2nd goal was just a replay of the first

[R. DeMurre]

Damn, I just read about that game on wikipedia. Sounds like it was rigged.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwZuPi4cbyg

It was a crazy game, and there was a lot of drama before the Olympics happened too. When John Wooden wasn't named coach, Bill Walton decided against playing. Later, Swen Nater also dropped out because he didn't want to play for another coach.

There's a really interesting movie about it, from the Russian perspective-- totally biased, but still entertaining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_Vertical

[K...]

Don't forget about the 2007 1-seed Dallas Mavericks getting upset (in embarrassing fashion) by the 8-seed Warriors.

#WeBelieve


It was addressed in the original post. It's a very sacred spurs event in light of 2006.

[RC_Drunkford]

I think at least one of the Lakers teams that had Kobe Bryant on it and ended up in the lottery has to be on that list too. I know there were plenty, just pick 1:lmao

Drafting Lonzo Ball with the #2 pick also deserves honorable mentions :lmao

[ViceCity86]

86 Redsox

literally any of “16 pitches” could of ended the series.

Hit, hit, hit, passed ball, error.

[LkrFan]

Thought I would start this thread since there's been a couple of massive sports failures this year that are already infamous. Let's see where they rank.

Note: A sports failure is something that is completely unexpected, and not tied to seeding or even Vegas odds. I don't consider the 2007 Dallas Mavericks loss to the Warriors a catastrophic failure since everyone knew the Warriors were a bad matchup. Also, the failure needs to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (or jaws of expectations). Chris Webber's infamous timeout was a failure, but Michigan was down when he called it. Same with the Russell Wilson interception. Even Scott Norwood's missed FG wasn't a really a choke, since he wasn't very good from that distance anyway.



10. Jean Van De Velde at the 1999 British Open.

9. Buster Douglas handing a seemingly invincible Mike Tyson the first loss of his career.

8. The San Antonio Spurs blowing a 5 point lead with 28 seconds left in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

7. Atlanta Falcons blowing a 25 point 3rd quarter lead in Superbowl 51.

6. The 1980 USSR Olympic hockey team, a team that beat an NHL All Star team in a friendly, losing to an American team made up of college kids.

5. The 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning, who entered the post-season with the best regular season record in NHL history, getting swept by an 8th seed.

4. The 2011 Texas Rangers twice blowing 2 run leads with 1 strike away to lose Game 6 of the World Series.

3. The New York Yankees blowing a 3-0 series lead in the 2004 ALCS to their hated rival the Boston Red Sox.

2. The New England Patriots quest for a perfect season ended by Eli Manning and the 10-6 Wild Card New York Giants.

Some honorable mentions:

- The 2015 Golden State Warriors blowing a 3-1 series in the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

- Greg Norman squandering a 6 stroke lead at the 1996 Masters.

- The Steve Bartman Game.

- The Minnesota Vikings losing the 1999 NFC Championship game after a miss late Gary Anderson (who hadn't missed all season) failed to seal the game.

- The 2006 Dallas Mavericks essentially being half-a-quarter away from the title, but blew a double digit lead to the Miami Heat.

- The "this is going to be fun" 2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers. 4 Hall of Famers on the team, first round sweep.

Now on to number 1. Drum roll...……………….

1. The 2018-2019 Los Angeles Lakers.

After the huge FA splash the Lakers made by signing Lebron, expectations of 2nd seed were common, dark horse contender was labeled. This is the NBA, a star driven league, and having a top 3 player in the league basically guarantees a playoff berth. Any organization would have to be massively incompetent to not at the very least sneak into the playoffs with fuckin' Lebron James. Not only did the Lakers fail to make the playoffs, they only managed to win 35 games, and they HAD LEBRON JAMES! How is that even possible? Laker fans will cite injuries, but losing Lonzo was addition by subtraction, and Lebron still played 55 games (in an era where superstars of his age will play only about 70 games anyway. He only played 69 on the title winning 2015 Cavs). Furthermore, Lebron's record in those games was 28-27. A winning percentage not good enough to get into the post-season.

To fail to even play .500 basketball when you have Lebron for 55 games represents a total organization failure from top to bottom, from training to scouting to developing to front office decision making to on-court morale. It's not a choke like the other examples, just an embarrassing institutional meltdown we've never seen in the NBA or any other sport. Compare their season to the team across the hall. The Clippers took two games from the Warriors with Lou Williams as their best player :lol. The Clippers also traded their best player away (Tobias Harris) mid-season for what was basically picks.

Lakers fans will spin this, but again, YOU HAD LEBRON JAMES! And once more, to put things into perspective, the team you share a building with had Lou Williams (who the Lakers once had :lol) and Danilo Gallinari as their best players. There's no excuses. The greatest failure in sports history.




#1 - the mighty, legendary Spurs losing a game 7 vs the fucking chicken Nuggets! In the infamous words of the Chuckster, that's turrible! BAAAAAAHHHAAHAHA! :rollin :lmao :rollin

[midnightpulp]

#1 - the mighty, legendary Spurs losing a game 7 vs the fucking chicken Nuggets! In the infamous words of the Chuckster, that's turrible! BAAAAAAHHHAAHAHA! :rollin :lmao :rollin

:downspin: that shit! Losing to the higher seed is a failure :lol. C'mon, bro. Just own it. Don't you hate "LeHype" anyway? Put it on him if it makes you feel better (although his RPM was top 10 this season).

[LkrFan]

:downspin: that shit! Losing to the higher seed is a failure :lol. C'mon, bro. Just own it. Don't you hate "LeHype" anyway? Put it on him if it makes you feel better (although his RPM was top 10 this season).

"losing to the higher seed" :lol

Correction: his name is LeBron James. Who is this LeHype fella you speak of? :downspin:

[Canyonero]

USA sports history*

[midnightpulp]

USA sports history*

Boxing, golf, and hockey aren't American sports. I looked at some famous chokes in tennis and they weren't really compelling. All the great soccer chokes ended in Mario Party, so I can't take them seriously. Though I suppose that invincible 1950s Hungary team flaming out at the World Cup deserves an honorable mention.

[ambchang]

Having to finish off in the shower for someone who tries to pass off as some modern day Valentino has to rank up there.

[Mitch]

2004 Olympic basketball squad was the biggest shit stain in sports history, tbh. Embarrassment to an entire nation

[baseline bum]

#1 - the mighty, legendary Spurs losing a game 7 vs the fucking chicken Nuggets! In the infamous words of the Chuckster, that's turrible! BAAAAAAHHHAAHAHA! :rollin :lmao :rollin

So DeRozan blowing Game 7 is worse than LeBron pulling an 05 Kobe?

[LkrFan]

2004 Olympic basketball squad was the biggest shit stain in sports history, tbh. Embarrassment to an entire nation

Any HOF players on that squad that comes to mind?

[Mitch]

Any HOF players on that squad that comes to mind?

Iverson... Odom is a hofer? Nobody else

[LkrFan]

Iverson... Odom is a hofer? Nobody else

Not just AI my amigo:
http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Tim+Duncan+Olympics+Day+15+Basketball+6gRyQ25aUQcl .jpg

:lol

[midnightpulp]

2004 Olympic basketball squad was the biggest shit stain in sports history, tbh. Embarrassment to an entire nation

I actually considered that, but that team was defective from the start. They were losing to Puerto Rico by 20. They weren't overwhelming favorites to win the Gold. I know Laker fans like to reference this to put it on Duncan (whose stats/performances were fine), but everyone knew that team was going to struggle going in. It's not like they were perceived as unbeatable, like the Soviet hockey team.

[LkrFan]

I actually considered that, but that team was defective from the start. They were losing to Puerto Rico by 20. They weren't overwhelming favorites to win the Gold. I know Laker fans like to reference this to put it on Duncan (whose stats/performances were fine), but everyone knew that team was going to struggle going in. It's not like they were perceived as unbeatable, like the Soviet hockey team.

Jim got a Bronze medalPERIOD. Permanent shit stain on his legacy. :lol

[Mitch]

I actually considered that, but that team was defective from the start. They were losing to Puerto Rico by 20. They weren't overwhelming favorites to win the Gold. I know Laker fans like to reference this to put it on Duncan (whose stats/performances were fine), but everyone knew that team was going to struggle going in. It's not like they were perceived as unbeatable, like the Soviet hockey team.

That team was a 100% failure, midst c'mon :lol

Team usa is always favorite to win, if it's not then the team is already a failure.

[midnightpulp]

That team was a 100% failure, midst c'mon :lol

Team usa is always favorite to win, if it's not then the team is already a failure.

Failure, of course. Top 10 failure in sports history, no. We'll give it an honorable mention.

[Mitch]

Failure, of course. Top 10 failure in sports history, no. We'll give it an honorable mention.

I'd argue it's a bigger failure than the 2004 Lakers, which should be your #1 :lol

[LkrFan]

Where does 8 fall in these rankings? That was a #1 seed bowing down to Shit and Grind :lol

[FrostKing]

Braves were down 1-3 in the NLCS. Ozzie Smith's farewell


https://youtu.be/Orp2rXeIKOI

[FrostKing]

Played @ Munich


https://youtu.be/lDWgTW87W5I

[FrostKing]

https://youtu.be/ERyLJYRN7tw

[Twisted_Dawg]

Don't forget about the 2007 1-seed Dallas Mavericks getting upset (in embarrassing fashion) by the 8-seed Warriors.

#WeBelieve

Was that the series where Sjax rough fucked Dirk's mind?

[spurraider21]

how about germany curbstomping brazil (at home)

[DAF86]

how about germany curbstomping brazil (at home)

Yeah, that should be, at least, top 3.

Sure, the pre-game predictions didn't have Brazil as the overwhelming favourite (maybe not even the favourite), but losing 7-1 on the semis of a WC at home is a failure of historic proportions. Might probably be the biggest failure ever, tbh.

[midnightpulp]

how about germany curbstomping brazil (at home)

I considered it. But Brazil seemed to pack it in after Neymar flopped himself into an injury in the previous game. They weren't favored.

The 50s Hungary squad failing to win the World Cup is probably the biggest soccer failure in history for my money. That team was unbeaten for like 3 years or something. And Germany didn't catch them on a decline. They remained unbeaten for another 2 years. More I think about it, it deserves a place. We'll stick it in over Van De Velde at 10.

[DAF86]

I considered it. But Brazil seemed to pack it in after Neymar flopped himself into an injury in the previous game. They weren't favored.

The 50s Hungary squad failing to win the World Cup is probably the biggest soccer failure in history for my money. That team was unbeaten for like 3 years or something. And Germany didn't catch them on a decline. They remained unbeaten for another 2 years. More I think about it, it deserves a place. We'll stick it in over Van De Velde at 10.

Dude, it doesn't matter if Brazil was favourite or not, or if they packed it up (you don't pack it up on World Cups that are played once every four years, tbh. Especially not on a SF and much less at home), the matter is that you just don't lose 7-1 on football. Ever. Much less on the SF of a WC.

The worst team on the MLS could play that Germany team and in 99.9% of the time they wouldn't lose 7-1. The basketball equivalent of losing 7-1 in soccer, would be a score of 150 to 80, or something like that. It would be like the Pats losing the AFC championship at home vs the Steelers by a score of 70 to 7, only a millions time worse, because: a) you play the WC once every 4 years, not every year, and b) it was only the second time in history that it was played in Brazil.

This Brazil loss is easily a top 3 failure of all-time, imho.

[midnightpulp]

Dude, it doesn't matter if Brazil was favourite or not, or if they packed it up (you don't pack it up on World Cups that are played once every four years, tbh. Especially not on a SF and much less at home), the matter is that you just don't lose 7-1 on football. Ever. Much less on the SF of a WC.

The worst team on the MLS could play that Germany team and in 99.9% of the time they wouldn't lose 7-1. The basketball equivalent of losing 7-1 in soccer, would be a score of 150 to 80, or something like that. It would be like the Pats losing the AFC championship at home vs the Steelers by a score of 70 to 7, only a millions time worse, because: a) you play the WC once every 4 years, not every year, and b) it was only the second time in history that it was played in Brazil.

This Brazil loss is easily a top 3 failure of all-time, imho.

What takes a lot luster out of that failure for me is that Neymar didn't play. If Brady got injured before the SB, no one would really care about 18-1, even if the Pats lost by 200. I know the best player on a soccer team doesn't have the same level of impact as a QB does individually, but a loss doesn't feel the same when a squad isn't at full strength.

[jehawk81]

What takes a lot luster out of that failure for me is that Neymar didn't play. If Brady got injured before the SB, no one would really care about 18-1, even if the Pats lost by 200. I know the best player on a soccer team doesn't have the same level of impact as a QB does individually, but a loss doesn't feel the same when a squad isn't at full strength.

Naw nigga, this should absolutely be #1. At the highest level & on the biggest stage & at home, there is no way in hell they shoulda lost with that score. This wasn't a 3-1 or 4-1 final score - which still woulda been top 3 in this list - but a 7-1 drubbing of this team. Brazil coulda tactically uglied-up the game & played a defensive scheme & given themselves a chance to keep this a 1-2 goal loss or maybe even luck themselves into a win, but instead they lubed themselves, bent themselves over in child's pose position & let Germany run a train on them.

What they did would be equivalent to the Dubs losing Durant for the series against the Rockets & then Rockets go on to win the series 4-0 while beating the Dubs by an avg score of 147-80/game.

Sure, they used the Neymar injury as a reason to not play to their potential, but 7-1??? Never shoulda happened

[baseline bum]

how about germany curbstomping brazil (at home)

Not as impressive as when Germany curbstomped France (at home) tbh

[spurraider21]

Not as impressive as when Germany curbstomped France (at home) tbh
:lol

[FrostKing]

2019

Last 6 quarters of the Warriors/Rockets series