Fail Again, Fail Better: Five Crippling Losses in Professional and College Leagues

Since I began watching sports in 1987, I have seen the magnitude of effect that a single crippling loss can have on an organization, institution, or individual performer.

Sometimes a gut-wrenching failure can unhinge an athlete or team and instantly make their days of glory a thing of the past.

Of course, there was the New England Patriots' (18-1*) timely demise in Super Bowl XLII.  Will this big loss have a dramatic effect on their future?

To study this phenomenon, I've listed five big defeats that derailed once championship-caliber teams or a elite performers.

1. Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor

In March of 1990 in Las Vegas, IBF Welterweight Champion Meldrick Taylor (24-0-1) was beaten by WBC Welterweight Champion Julio Cesar Chavez (66-0) via TKO in the bloodiest battle since Antietam.

Entering the final round, every judge’s scorecard had Taylor winning.  Then, Chavez landed a vicious barrage of punches that floored Taylor with 13 seconds remaining in the bout.

Taylor was able to make it to his feet before being counted out, but referee Richard Steele decided to put a halt to the contest with two seconds left in the fight.  Steele believed that Taylor’s health was at risk.

Although extremely controversial, the ref likely made the right decision.

Taylor suffered several bone fractures in the contest and the damage done to his kidney caused the former Olympic gold medalist to urinate blood for a week.  Taylor was never the same fighter—or man—after this donnybrook.

In the aftermath of Ring Magazine’s “Fight of the Decade,” Taylor went a pedestrian 14-8 before retiring in 1992.  Today he speaks with such a jumbled and slow voice many have theorized that he suffers from pugilistic dementia.

Taylor lost more than a fight that night in Sin City.  He lost a piece of his life and being.

2. Boston College vs. Notre Dame

A week after defeating Florida State University in the “Game of the Century,” earning the No. 1 ranking in the nation, Notre Dame lost at home in November of 1993 to the mediocre Boston College Eagles 41-39.

The Irish have not been atop the polls since that devastating loss 15 years ago, and their program has never truly recovered from the sting of the defeat.

Largely because of this game, like the Big Lebowski might say, “I hate the f***ing Eagles, man.”

3. 1991 Final Four: Duke vs. UNLV

In the men’s 1991 NCAA Final Four, the Duke Blue Devils defeated the indomitable UNLV Running Rebels 79-77 en route to winning the first championship in their program’s storied history.

The Rebels, who entered the game as unblemished defending champions, were expected to trounce the Blue Devils in similar fashion to their slaughter of Duke in the previous year, 103-73.

This loss ultimately led to the ousting of the Rebel’s much maligned and scandalous head coach, Jerry Tarkanian.  It also started a descent which stripped the Rebels of their billing as one of the elite teams on the collegiate hardwood.

4. 2003 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. University of Miami

In the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, the University of Miami lost in overtime to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 31-24, in an upset that still reverberates to this day around South Beach.

Since the loss, the Hurricanes fired head coach Larry Coker.

The once proud and dominant Miami Hurricanes played in the petty MPC Computers Bowl only four years after being considered one of the greatest college football teams in the annals of the sport.  Enough said.

5. 2001 World Series: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees

The New York Yankees lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2, in game seven of the 2001 World Series, shattering the Yankees' dream of a historic four-peat.

The men from the South Bronx lost when the snake’s resident juice-head, Luis Gonzalez, flicked a lucky single into the deep-portion of the infield which allowed the game-winning run to cross the plate for Arizona.

Following New York’s demise, then-owner George Steinbrenner decided he couldn’t accept a one-year championship drought. He began spending more lavishly than ever on undeserving free agents and entirely abandoned the Yankees blueprint for achieving success in the late 90s.

Despite the fact that the Bombers made the World Series two years after this loss, they have not been the same organization since that night in the desert.

One wonders when they will recapture the magic that made the Yankees the most successful franchise in the history of North American sports.

Needless to say, this is a very subjective article.

The Patsies are run with steely precision and they have one of the greatest quarterbacks ever still playing for them in the prime of his career.  I am confident that New England will field very solid teams in the foreseeable future.

Nevertheless, I don’t envision Lombardi Trophies making their way to Foxboro for quite some time.  And I contend this will be the direct result of their collapse against the New York Giants last month.

For argument's sake, only time will tell.  But, in the meantime, I would be interested in hearing feedback from some of my readers.

What loss do you believe negatively altered a franchise or individual?  Did I miss one?  I look forward to your opinions and input.

Thanks for taking the time to give me some of your time.  Without your readership, I would have absolutely zero cause to write.