13 Things Sore Losers Say

Unfortunately, you can’t have sports without a few sore losers. Often, the media is privy to the musings of those feeling the fresh sting of defeat. Some blame the referees, others subtly criticize their opponent and still others simply admit to handling defeat poorly.  

Some people are calling Manny Pacquiao a sore loser after the fight of the century—I am not one of those people. I am however, someone who thinks Bo Ryan was a little too salty after losing to Duke. Let's take a look at a few other phrases uttered in defeat (or almost defeat, in the case of John Calipari) and determine which is the sourest of all.

To be clear, what follows are just examples—Not all of these folks are career sore losers. Some lean that way, and others just lost themselves in a moment of frustration.

'We Were the Better Team Today'

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The Green Bay Packers lost the NFC Championship Game in crushing fashion in January. Many felt Aaron Rodgers and Co. had in fact played a better game, but the Seattle Seahawks pulled off a comeback win in overtime to devastate the Pack.

Dan Hanzus of NFL.com reported that after the game, Rodgers said, "We were the better team today and we played well enough to win and we can't blame anybody but ourselves."

Even though that might be true (the Packers led by 12 with five minutes to play), it's still sort of a sore loser thing to say.

'Sweet Dreams'

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Chandler Parsons and the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs this year. The Rockets subsequently lost Game 1 of their second-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Minutes after the conclusion of that game, Parsons, who used to play for Houston, tweeted, "Sweet Dreams." This could be a coincidence of course, or it could be a dig at the Rockets. Impossible to tell. However, if it was a dig at the Rockets, that's just sore loser talk.

'I'm a Sore Loser'

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Riddle: Is a sore loser less sore if he admits it? 

Amid a four-game losing streak with the Boston Celtics in 2013, Rajon Rondo admitted his hatred for defeat. Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston reported Rondo said, "I'm a sore loser and it's tough to lose."

Points for honesty.

'We Have Had Other Tests'

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Only John Calipari could be a sore loser when he didn’t actually lose. His then-undefeated Kentucky Wildcats eked out a win against a gritty Notre Dame team in the Elite Eight this year. Calipari later took a lot of heat for his postgame comments, some of which were interpreted as disrespectful to Notre Dame.

According to Andrew Holleran of College Spun, TBS reporter Lewis Johnson suggested to the coach that ND had been Kentucky’s toughest test all year. To this, Coach Cal replied, "No. We have had other tests, but this (was) another test, but we have a will to win."

Calipari also gave praise to Notre Dame, but those particular comments didn't exactly paint him in a good light.

'No Question in My Mind There Was a Pass Interference'

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Jim Harbaugh has a bit of a sore loser reputation. Last season, he wouldn’t even make eye contact with Bruce Arians after his San Francisco 49ers lost to the Arizona Cardinals.  

In Super Bowl XLVII, Harbaugh took issue with several officiating decisions in the 49ers' loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and he let people know about it postgame. According to Will Brinson of CBS Sports, Harbaugh addressed an incomplete fourth-down pass to Michael Crabtree by saying, "No question in my mind there was a pass interference and a hold on Michael Crabtree on that last one."

And he was just getting started. There’s always some questionable calls in big games like that, but Harbaugh has a habit of really harping on them.  

'I Don’t Complain Much'

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Speaking of blaming the refs...The Los Angeles Clippers eventually beat the San Antonio Spurs in their first-round playoff matchup, but the Clips lost a close Game 5 along the way.

Mike Foss of For The Win reported that after the loss, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said:

"

I don’t complain much. I thought we got some really tough calls tonight, some brutal calls. The travel on Blake [Griffin], the goaltend on Matt [Barnes], which wasn’t a goaltend. You think about the playoffs, and they’re single-possession games. Those possessions, those were crucial. J.J. [Redick] ‘s foul that got him out, J.J. didn’t touch anyone. It’s not why we lost, but those were big plays for us.

"

"It’s not why we lost," but…you kind of think it is, don’t you Doc?

'We Haven’t Seen It That Soft'

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Sometimes sore losers are a little more passive aggressive about it. For instance, 21-year-old Jordan Spieth just won the Masters, and he did it while tying Tiger Woods' record score of 18-under par, set in 1997.

Woods, who also played in the tournament, had this to say after Spieth's incredible victory, via Kevin O'Brien of the Chicago Sun-Times:

"

With the length of the golf course, I didn't think that people would be getting that low, but they kept it soft all week. And that’s something that the older guys in the clubhouse and in the Champions Locker Room were all talking about, that we haven’t seen it that soft. It wasn't springy until today.

"

In other words, the real champions had it tougher than you, kid.

'They Have to Wake Up Tomorrow and Have the Same Life'

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Sometimes sore losers will attack the haters—the ones who take pleasure in their failures. LeBron James appeared to take this route after his first season in Miami did not result in an NBA championship.

This was less than a year after The Decision, and you may recall James’ likeability was sort of low. Anyway, after losing in the Finals, the King's comments were as follows, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN:

"

All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that.

"

James later said his comments were misinterpreted, but they sure sounded a lot like, "My life is better than yours."

'He's That Kind of Guy'

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The New England Patriots didn't play the Seattle Seahawks in the 2013-14 NFL postseason, but that didn't stop Tom Brady from commenting on Richard Sherman's famous Michael Crabtree rant.

Brady's Patriots had lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, while the Seahawks had advanced to the Super Bowl. Jerry Spar of WEEI reported Brady had the following to say about Sherman on The Dennis and Callahan Show:

"

I don’t know him at all. I've watched him play, and he’s that kind of guy. I approach the game and I have respect for my opponents. That's the way our team always plays. We win with graciousness, and when we lose we can do better. Some teams don’t always do that or that's not their program.

"

The whole "respect for my opponents" thing has a particular ring of irony to it, given the findings of Theodore Wells' report on Deflategate though, amirite?

'We Don't Do a Rent-a-Player'

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Duke outlasted Wisconsin to win March Madness this year, and Badgers head coach Bo Ryan had a couple of notable things to say following the game. Ryan voiced his apparent displeasure with the officiating but also took a shot at one-and-done players.

Chip Patterson of CBS Sports reported that Ryan said, "Every player that's played through the program, okay, we don't do a rent-a-player." It certainly came across as a shot against programs like Duke who traditionally have more players leave for the NBA after one year in college.

'No More Smiling Faces with Hidden Agendas'

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During the 2014 NBA offseason, LeBron James decided to go home to Cleveland. This may have left a sour taste in the mouth of Miami Heat President Pat Riley. The Heat failed to make the playoffs in the first year post-LeBron, while King James took the Cavs back there for the first time since he left.

In April, Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reported on Riley's comments regarding the upcoming NBA draft. Riley said, "No more smiling faces with hidden agendas. So we’ll be going in clean." He didn't elaborate of course, but it was interpreted by some as a dig at James.

'We Beat Ourselves'

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Jameis Winston didn't lose a lot of games in college—one, to be exact—so it's no surprise he didn't exactly handle it perfectly.

Following a staggering 59-20 loss to the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl, Winston didn't really give credit to his opponent. ESPN reported the Florida State quarterback said, "We beat ourselves. We were never stopped at all."

Never stopped at all? In a 59-20 defeat with five second-half turnovers? OK.

???

Sometimes it's hard to tell what might have been said in a sour moment of defeat. Such was the case with Milan Lucic when his Boston Bruins were eliminated from playoff contention in 2014.

Lucic appeared to have some not-very-nice words in the post-series handshake line with the victorious Montreal Canadiens. The Canadian Press reported (via NHL.com) Canadien Dale Weise said, "Milan Lucic had a few things to say to a couple of guys."

I'm no lip reader, but it didn’t exactly look like, "Good game," and it didn't exactly look SFW.