The Craziest Gambling Moments in Sports History

Since sports became professionalized, people have been gambling on it.

There are few things that can make sporting events more nerve-wrecking for a fan than having money riding on a tight game. 

That said, there has been tons of heartbreak over the years in sports. With heartbreak comes gambling losses. 

These 15 events are the craziest gambling moments in sports history. 

15. Northern Iowa Screws Your Bracket Over Royally

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OKLAHOMA CITY - MARCH 20: Ali Farokhmanesh #5 the Northern Iowa Panthers attempts a shot against the Kansas Jayhawks during the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Ford Center on March 20, 2010 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo

One shot, one team, one moment.

Millions of brackets were annihilated in that moment (mine included). When Northern Iowa knocked off No.1-seed Kansas last season, it cost Americans millions of dollars in office pools across the country. 

I still haven't forgiven Ali Farokhmanesh for that shot. 

14. Tennessee Can't Count to 11

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BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Les Miles of the Louisiana State University Tigers cheers during pregame before playing the West Virginia Mountaineers at Tiger Stadium on September 25, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Tigers defeated the M

Les Miles loves to play with your head.

In his LSU Tigers' clash with Tennessee this season, Miles appeared to have wasted the final play of the game on the 1-yard line of Tennessee, and the upset was sealed. But, apparently, he noticed that Tennessee had too many men on the field, and got a do-over, on which the Tigers scored. 

Or, maybe he got lucky. Either way, gamblers everywhere went from furious to ecstatic in the blink of an eye, thrilled they'd pulled one out. 

13. Chris Webber's Timeout

Anytime you don't know how many timeouts your team has left, that's a pretty serious problem. As evidenced by Weber killing thousands of bets on Michigan. 

12. Doug Flutie Hails Mary

When tiny Doug Flutie played the role of David in smiting Miami's Goliath, thousands of gamblers went down with them. 

11. Boston Red Sox Break Gamblers' Hearts in 2004

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NEW YORK - OCTOBER 20: The Boston Red Sox celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees 10-3 to win game seven of the American League Championship Series on October 20, 2004 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Ge

When a team completes an unprecedented comeback, there are going to be people who end up getting burned. In this case, it was anyone and everyone who bet against fate in 2004. 

10. Brian Westbrook Hates Your Fantasy Team

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DALLAS - DECEMBER 16: Brian Westbrook #36 of the Philadelphia Eagles carries the ball during the game the against the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium December 16, 2007 in Dallas, Texas. The Eagles won 10-6. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

When Brian Westbrook took a knee on a massive touchdown run against the Dallas Cowboys, he simultaneously kneeled on the throats of thousands of Americans who needed those points to beat the spread or win their fantasy football matchup. 

9. Maurice Jones-Drew Pulls a Brian Westbrook

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 15: Maurice Jones-Drew #32 of the Jacksonville Jaguars takes a knee at the 1 yard line with a minute left to play in the game against the New York Jets on November 15, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

See: Westbrook, Brian. 

8. David Tyree Punches All of New England in The Groin

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GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 03: David Tyree #85 of the New York Giants catches a 32-yard pass from Eli Manning #10 as Rodney Harrison #37 of the New England Patriots attempts to knock it out in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 at the

I don't need to re-hash this, but my loathing of Bill Belichick makes me really, really want to. 

So here it goes.

Third and the season for the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. Eli escapes pressure (why didn't the fat ass Vince Woolfork wrap up?) and fires a strike to Tyree, who implodes the Pats' perfect season on a catch at the 24-yard line. 

Twenty-four seconds later, Manning hits Plaxico Burress for the game-winning score. 

There, all you Patriots fans. In case you forgot. 

7. The Music City Miracle

The roar from the crowd when Dyson pulled in Wycheck's pass was actually the sound of thousands of gamblers screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOO."

6. Cal-Stanford: The Play

Any time a game is decided by the marching band's presence on the field, there are bound to be some pissed-off gamblers. 

5. Valpo Slays Ole Miss

Before Ali Faroukhmanesh, there was Bryce Drew. Tiny Valpo upset the balance of power in college basketball forever. 

4. Barbaro's Tragedy

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Barbaro, ridden by Edgar Prado, pulls up lame at the beginning of the 131st Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday May 20, 2006. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

He was supposed to be the one to win it all.

Barbaro was destined to win the Triple Crown. And then, he broke his leg, and the dreams of gamblers everywhere were dashed in an instant. 

3. 5 Downs?!?! What The F*@%?!

So, Colorado got a fifth down, and still almost didn't get in. This is the kind of game that can lead gamblers to kill a man. 

2. Douglas Knocks Out Tyson

All I'll say is this: when a fighter like Buster Douglas knocks out a fighter like Mike Tyson, it's going to be an upset.

And there are going to be some irked-off gamblers. 

1. Andres Escobar's Fatal Mistake

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22 JUN 1994: ANDRES ESCOBAR OF COLOMBIA TRIES TO CONTROL THE BALL DURING COLOMBIA's 2-1 LOSS TO THE USA IN A 1994 WORLD CUP MATCH AT THE ROSE BOWL IN PASADENA. Mandatory Credit: Shaun Botterill/ALLSPORT

Escobar's own goal cost Colombia a place in the elimination round of the World Cup, cost drug cartels millions in gambling losses, and ultimately cost the defender his life.  

Someone should have reminded them it's just a game.