Heartbreak Hotel: The Five Biggest Letdowns in Arizona Sports History

From pure ecstasy to absolute nothingness.

From jumping into the arms of the nearest human being (even if you don't know the guy), to the all-too-familiar facepalm.

Yes, just about every real sports fan has felt that sense of willingness to curl up and die.

And so, the Phoenix Suns' Game Five buzzer-beating loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 Western Conference finals got me thinking: How many other times have I felt this terrible while watching Arizona sports?

Here's what I came up with.

Author’s Note: Feel free to leave your own top five in the comments section below.

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5. 2005 NCAA Basketball Regional Final: Arizona vs. Illinois

Although it checks in at No. 5 on this countdown, this game, by far, earns the title for the biggest collapse in Arizona sports history.

Coming off a last-second win in the Sweet 16 and up by 15 points over the top-seeded Illini, just four minutes separated the third-seeded Wildcats from completing an improbable Final Four run.

But it was not to happen.

Illinois, in front of its home crowd, went on a 20-5 run to tie the game, capped off by a stolen inbounds pass and three-point field goal by now-Utah Jazz star Deron Williams.

In overtime, Williams hit another pair of three-pointers to lift Illinois to a 90-89 win.

Post-game quote: "Guys left and right on their team were hitting big buckets, left and right, left and right. Whether it was a big guy or a guard," Arizona's Mustafa Shakur told the Associated Press. "It was just an unbelievable thing to lose a game that way."

4. 2007 NBA Western Conference Semifinals Game Five: Spurs vs. Suns

Tied two games apiece entering Game Five, the Suns were left without All-Star forward Amar'e Stoudemire and replacement Boris Diaw.

The pair were suspended by NBA commissioner David Stern for their involvement (yeah, it still bugs me too to say that) in a scuffle that occurred in Game Four, when Steve Nash was driven into the scorers' table by the Spurs' Robert Horry.

Still, with just a six-man rotation, Phoenix managed to build a lead as big as 16 in the second quarter and were up 79-71 with five minutes left to play in the fourth.

San Antonio went on to tie the game up and eventually took the lead for good when the much-maligned Bruce Bowen sank a three in the corner with 36 seconds to play.

Phoenix lost its following away game—and what most experts considered its best shot to win an NBA title—just two days later.

Post-game quote: "We were short-handed," Nash told the Associated Press, "and you can look at it any way you want. I've definitely been self-critical the last 20 minutes or half-hour, but it was a lot to ask I guess when you look back. We needed more out of each of us and we just didn't have it."

3. 1976 NBA Finals Game Five: Suns vs. Celtics

Sorry to do this to you two spots in a row Suns fans.

With the NBA finals tied 2-2, Phoenix traveled to Boston looking to steal a game from the home team.

Down 18 points after the end of the first quarter, the Suns clawed their way back and forced a first overtime with the score tied at 95.

Towards the end of the first extra period, Boston's Paul Silas motioned for a timeout that his team did not have.

The referee, however, failed to acknowledge the action that would have given the Celtics a technical foul and the Suns a chance to win.

Still deadlocked, the game went to a second overtime.

In the second extra frame Boston's John Havlicek gave the Celtics a one point advantage that ignited a frenzy of Bean Town fans to storm the court.

After order was restored, a single second remained on the game clock.

To give his team a fighting chance, the Suns' Paul Westphal asked for, and recieved, a timeout he knew his team did not have.

The resulting technical free-throw gave the Celtics a two point lead but also gave the Suns the ball back at mid-court.

Phoenix's Gar Heard caught the ensuing pass and sank a jumper to push the marathon game to another overtime.

In the third and final overtime, the Celtics edged out the Suns and came out on top with an 128-126 win.

Boston fans rushed the court to celebrate again.

Two days later the Celtics closed out the series with an 87-80 victory in Phoenix.

Post-game quote: Rick Barry, Hall of Fame player and broadcaster of the game, called the contest, "The most exciting basketball game I've ever seen."

2. 1997 Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Arizona State

Still considered the most successful year in Sun Devil football history, ASU failed to put the finishing touches on an undefeated season in Pasadena.

It was the same season the Sun Devils ended then-No. 1 Nebraska's 26-game winning streak with a 19-0 win in Tempe.

Down 10-14 in the fourth quarter, Jake "The Snake" Plummer scrambled into the end zone on a 3rd-and-11 to put ASU up 17-14 with just one minute and 19 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing drive, the Buckeyes started on their own 35-yard line and converted on three third-down plays before Ohio State wide receiver David Boston caught a five-yard touchdown pass to seal the game.

Post-game quote: "The talent level on the field that night was unreal," Buckeye linebacker Jerry Rudzinski told the Associated Press. "In my mind, it was the best pool of players I've seen in this decade in college football. Guys like Jake Plummer, Shawn Springs, Orlando Pace, the names go on and on."

1. 2009 Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers vs. Cardinals

Although the previous four spots can easily be debated, this one cannot.

Never has a team gained and lost so much in a matter of moments than the 2008-09 Arizona Cardinals.

Overcoming the pre-halftime debacle that was James Harrison's 100-yard interception return of Kurt Warner, the Cardinals seemed destined to win the most unlikeliest of titles.

After going into the fourth quarter trailing by a 20-7 margin, the Cardinals strung together 16 unanswered points capped off by a Larry Fitzgerald 64-yard catch-and-run with two minutes and 37 seconds remaining.

But just as quickly as Arizona had scored, the Steelers methodically marched down the field and, with the help of a few Cardinal defensive mishaps, found themselves knocking on the doorstep of another championship.

Then, the play that will live in Super Bowl lore—Pittsburgh wide receiver Santanio Holmes' toe-tapping game-winning catch.

Replay upheld the call.

Post-game quote: "I knew it was a touchdown 100 percent," Holmes told the Associated Press. "My feet never left the ground. All I did was stood up on my toes and extended my hands."