Heartbreaking Defeat

[Hajjhowe]

I was playing football yesterday, when I dropped a game winning TD before we gave up a TD and lost our game, 10-9. I was just wondering, does anyone else here have personal tales of heart shattering defeat and general sadness?

I have a handful of other's, but I'll add them in later.

[OGpistolpete]

I'm not good enough for people to rely on me to make that game finishing point(s).

But that sucks for you. Hopefully people aren't taking it too seriously and aren't pissed at you THAT much.

[ADG]

I used to play football every week in a league and we were having our best season ever, chasing last years champions for the league title and a great cup run. We lost the league on the last day when we lost to the champions but had a chance for revenge in the cup final, but before the cup final I picked up a knee injury and had to sit it out. We went 1-0 up, they drew level at 1-1, then went 2-1 and 3-1 up. We fought back to 3-3 then scored in the final minute of injury time to win the final 4-3 and I had to watch it all from the touchline. It sucked.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I'll put my own performances in later when I can remember.

Professionally when Spurs lost the League Cup final to Blackburn a few seasons ago. Ugh. Gutting.

Also the defeat to West Ham last day of last season to drop us down to fifth in the league and out of Champions League qualifying spot (and behing Arsenal). Also losing to Leceister in the cup. Gah.

Best moments? 2-1 against Chelsea this season and the 1991 FA Cup run and victory.

[therockbox]

Scoring a free kick in the last minute to win the league back when I used to play football, only to have the referee disallow it for no good reason (he was being pressured by the other teams' parents). I was only 11 (maybe 12), but it still haunts me ()

[Toe]

That one time in tee-ball when I was smoked in the nuts was pretty heart and gut breaking.

[Farmer Reil]

Professionally, two stick out:

Southgate's penalty miss in Euro '96.

Derby's late goal to knock us (Bristol Rovers) out of the FA Cup 1-0 this year after we'd had a goal wrongly dissallowed AND a player wrongly sent off. All thanks to the charming chap in my sig.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Ugh, Rooney getting sent off against Portugal. By the time of the penalties I was resigned to defeat.

I was furious, screaming at the televisual referee.

[Mr Evil Guy]

I was playing in Goalie once, and we were all tied up - but I suck at goalie. They lightly kicked it and I was talking to someone on the sideline, and it went between my legs very slowly.

Gay.

I'm a better football player, I played every day for like two months at one point. But at the end of one game when I was running down the field this huge guy smashed me down, I fumbled the ball and they ran down the field for the win. Though, I was on the ground and couldn't see straight so they can't really blame me.

[Farmer Reil]

Am I the only Englishman on the planet that has realised that stamping on a players bollocks is deserving of a red card?

Yeah, Ronaldo is a cunt, but come on... If Ronaldo had done that to Rio Ferdinand, and Rooney had moaned and bitched until Ronnie was sent off, we'd STILL hate Ronaldo and not Rooney, so...

Edited February 6, 2007 by Farmer Reil

[Liam]

Its whether you think it was intentional or not, I think Reily. It was a fine line, and with the players all over him like they were, its concievable he stepped back into, rather than stamped. But it depends how you read it, and I prefer to go for the 'nicer' way >_>

Though the gutting thing was that the ref should have blown up for the obvious fouling of Rooney in the lead-up to the incident.

Euro 96', Germany, Gazza takes off a micro-second too late and misses an open goal as the ball slides across the face of goal. That was when you realised football wasn't coming home....heart breaking.

[Chris the Human]

From a fan's standpoint, nothing will ever match up to going down 1-0 to Italy in the World Cup round of sixteen with just seconds of regular time remaining to a god damn penalty. Jesus, I still get worked up over it, haha.

From a player's perspective, I've been lucky enough to not have it happen often. I missed a few sitters in my striking career, but nothing that ever really cost us a game. When I kept for Mary White College late last year I leaked five goals in an abysmal display on my part, and we ended up losing 10-5 in a shoddy game in general. But we were shite, and our other keepers didn't fare much better.

[EddieG]

Would have to be back when I was playing basketball.. for years my (spanish) school played this school called The British College and every year we beat there asses.. than one day I played with an injury and we were just about winning and I refused to get off the field although now I realize I held the team down and well I missed a 3-pointer near the end and we lost and I blamed the other guys but now realizing I was a dick

[The Kraig]

My school volleyball team got to the county schools finals (Lanarkshire is a big fucking county, with many schools), beat everyone until the favourites (ie, the tallest and oldest team). We lost by one point because of shitty refereeing (there was no real referee, just a random person from another team). I never accepted that and I haven't played much since. And I can honestly say, that yes, we lost due to bad refereeing. Not calling blatand foot fouls, not calling net fouls, basically not knowing ANY of the rules.

As for Rooney's ballbag 'stamp', I think he knew what would happen if he didn't change his body shape (crush some little Portuballs), and decided not to anyways, as it would be deemed accidental (and hilarious). It wasn't a stamp, but he could have stopped himself. Certainly not a red card, yellow at most. It's not like you need balls to play football anyways. Well, not that kind of balls.

[Farmer Reil]

Yeah, because having your balls crushed beneath 80 stone of pie wouldn't hamper your ability to run at all

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Yeah, because having your balls crushed beneath 80 stone of pie wouldn't hamper your ability to run at all

The Portuguese don't have them. They produce asexually.

Also this is why they don't have the "balls" to stay on their feet anywhere near the opponent's penalty box and fight for the ball.

Oh hohohohoho I'm so funny.

I used to play a LOT of badminton as a teenager, got as far as playing for my district. However in my first tournament as an 11 year old I was really ill that day but still went to play. I lost second round cos I just couldn't play as hard as I wanted. It hurt so bad to lose that way. Thankfully every other tournament after that (2 per year for the next 6 years or so) I picked up at least one trophy for winning or runners up in singles, doubles or mixed doubles so that was cool.

Also in another tournament when I was about 15 I was playing some lad on a court and his parents and family were all sat behind the court at one end. When he was playing that end I hit a lush lob over him and it landed about two inches inside the baseline. They all jumped up screaming and shouting that it was out so it was called out. My dad (a very peaceful kinda guy) got very annoyed. I lost that match by a couple of points and that point was on my serve when I was on a real run.

The only other time I dad got annoyed was when I was captain of a club cricket team and the other dads sometimes complained about field placings I'd set (bear in mind I was 11/12 at the time so hardly Michael Vaughan in the captaincy stakes). He told em all to shut up one time, which, stunned, they did. He hated coming to watch me play after that cos of all the uber-competitive dads.

Edited February 7, 2007 by ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster

[Commander Sheepard]

When my high school football team was in the playoffs my senior year, everyone was expecting us to at least make it to the championship game. We had a great, balanced team, and had won all but one of our games for the season. We were state ranked, close to nationally ranked, and looking forward to kicking ass in the semi's. Unfortunately, we played the number ONE ranked team in the state of Texas. Still, it was a close game, going back and forth all game. I was in the band, to set the stage. Anyway, it's getting close to the end of the game, and the other team scores to put them up 31-28. There's only enough time on the clock for a kickoff return. They kick the ball off, our guy gets it, and then breaks loose and runs it in for a touchdown! Our side goes crazy, and we (the band) start into the fight song, when all of a sudden...We see the referee waving the play off. There's been aholding penalty, and the game's over. Talk about heart-breaking.

[Mongrel]

1997 Preliminary Final, up by five goals at 3QT, to lose by fuck all at the end of it to Adelaide. Most gutting thing I've ever seen, Liberatore kicking a goal which was called a behind making it that much worse.

[FLiam]

Arsenal losing to Barcelona last year.

We were so close.

[Lowerdeck]

Aaron fucking Boone.

aka an 11th inning home run by Boone off Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. Yankees went to the World Series, Boston fans want to hang Grady Little.