12 Terrible Sports Ideas That Almost Worked

In sports, us fans would like to think people who appear to be way smarter than us know what they're doing, implementing new rules, trick plays or inventions that would only help the game.

Unfortunately, not every idea that gets introduced into our favorite games always works, though, with a few just being downright crummy.

In honor of some of those terrible sports ideas, I figured we might as well take a look at some of them, awarding them as the worst anyone has ever seen in athletics—even if they did nearly work.

Landon Donovan Being Left off of Team USA in 2014 World Cup

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Remember that ingenious idea United States men's soccer coach Jurgen Klinsmann had last year before the World Cup that kept the U.S.' all-time leading goalscorer off the roster?

Yeah, it was shocking to everyone—especially the guy it happened to: Landon Donovan.

The decision almost immediately backfired, too, as Uncle Sam's squad was thrown with a major curveball when starting Striker Jozy Altidore went down in the first match with a hamstring injury, leaving Team USA shorthanded of offensive firepower.

As bad as all of this was—especially not having Donovan's services—the team still overperformed, equaling the deepest run ever seen by a U.S. men's team, reaching the Round of 16 before being bounced by Belgium.

Seattle Seahawks Pass Instead of Run

Forever ingrained into all of our minds, when the Seattle Seahawks called for a pass play with about 20 seconds remaining in this year's Super Bowl from their opponents' one-yard line, every sports fan was shocked.

With a man nicknamed "Beast Mode" in the backfield and trailing by four points, it was almost certain the Hawks would have Marshawn Lynch bulldoze his way beyond the goal line for the winning score, giving the team its second straight Super Bowl win.

And while the play call itself is ridiculed—justifiably—by just about everyone, the darn thing nearly worked, if not for a great play by Pats defender Malcolm Butler, who brushed off an attempted pick to intercept the pass.

Sure, nine out of 10 times a run should be called in that situation. But, if Butler doesn't somehow fight through that Seahawks wideout to make that play, everyone's talking about how the gutsy call actually worked.

The NBA's Synthetic Basketball

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From the alleged frozen envelope that "gave" the New York Knicks the rights to select Patrick Ewing first in the 1985 NBA draft, to the entire Tim Donaghy debacle, there are plenty of criticisms against former NBA commissioner David Stern.

One of his less decorated, yet still failed, decisions was the move to incorporate a synthetic leather basketball at the beginning of the 2006-07 season.

For whatever reason, the league determined bouncing some pleathery-like balls was a good idea—which turned into a nightmare within the first couple months of the season, as players absolutely ripped the idea apart.

Thankfully, the league didn't hold its ground for too long, returning to the original leather balls by the turn of the new year.

Tom Osborne Rolls the Dice for Two

There aren't too many head coaches in this world who have proven to have the guts former Nebraska Cornhuskers' legendary coach Tom Osborne had.

Osborne—who was still searching for his first national title during the 1984 season—showed he was willing to do anything possible in order to come out on top, even if that meant losing in the end.

After scoring a late, near-tying touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the 1984 Orange Bowl, Osborne kept his offense on the field to attempt a two-point conversion and go for the win, rather than kick the extra-point for the tie.

With no national title game or College Football Playoff system in place back then, Osborne knew that to earn a championship ring, his Huskers needed to win.

With the attempt failing and the Huskers losing the game, everyone points the finger at Osborne for making one of the worst calls ever remembered in sports—especially because he had to wait a decade longer for his first national title.

However, like the Seattle Seahawks play call mentioned earlier, if that conversion works, the narrative changes as to how epic that game was.

Legendary Athletes Who Cheat

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For obvious reasons, any athlete who is willing to tarnish his or her own name, disrespect their teammates and coaches and prove to corrupt their sport by cheating has made a poor decision.

But, seeing as how many are willing to do it because of the instant success it brings, fans are often left wondering if and when it will stop.

Take, for instance, former *seven-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, who lied and cheated his way to those titles in order to maintain his position as one of the most powerful and inspirational athletes on the planet.

At the time, Lance knew what he was doing. But, because he was getting his, he was willing to keep tossing whomever he needed to under the bus to protect his name.

Of course, when he finally admitted to Oprah Winfrey in 2013 that he, indeed, was doping throughout his career, no one was necessarily shocked, and he got stripped of his titles, but he still had millions in the bank.

In addition to that, had Armstrong not come forth and told the truth, would he have ever actually been punished? Who knows.

Cheating is a bad idea, but in the short-term, athletes often get away with it.

Instant Replay Flaws

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When sports fans first heard that professional leagues would introduce instant replay, the reception was a resounding, "finally," as there have been a number of historical plays that may have gone differently had replay been in existence.

However, to the surprise of many, there were actually restrictions as to what is deemed as reviewable, prohibiting some plays from an official to look at—which, in my opinion, just doesn't seem sensible.

In a world where technology is allowing views from absurd angles of games for fans to see, you would think the leagues would change their stance a little bit and go all-in on replay, rather than about 75 percent to save time and keep the pace of play consistent.

Replay was a fantastic idea, guys, now let's utilize it to its full potential.

Sepp Blatter as FIFA President

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

Much like any aforementioned legendary athlete who cheated during his or her career, now former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is famous for being one of the most corrupt people in sports history—and, to think, he nearly continued to get away with it.

Although all of the blame can't just be pointed at Blatter, himself, when the leader of a world sporting organization is turning a blind eye at the things going on in his games, that person should, rightfully, be ousted.

Yet, for all of the stories and hints that something was fishy with Blatter's 17-year reign as the president of FIFA, he continued to hold his position—which was a terrible idea from the start, and, just recently, will finally be corrected with the introduction of a new president.

The NBA's Sleeved Jerseys

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After hearing the news earlier this year the NBA and sports apparel company Adidas weren't going to renew their partnership, I'm sure one of the first things players thought of was the demise of the sleeved jersey.

Incorporating the tight-knit tops prior to the 2013 season, the league has ignored player complaints ever since, forcing them to play in the things as they continue to bash them.

Could the 2015-16 season finally be different, though?

According to Bleacher Report's own Howard Beck, league commissioner Adam Silver would consider taking the things from the court and tossing them into the dumpster.

With bad sales since their inception and bad reviews from those who play each and every night, let's just squash this idea and mark it down as a dud, OK?

The NHL's Glowing Puck

For those who have terrible eyesight, the glowing hockey puck Fox Sports introduced in the late '90s was probably a beneficial invention—but that doesn't mean it was a good idea.

Supposed to conveniently help fans on TV enjoy the game better by seeing the puck at all times, the gimmick wasn't well-received, with fans complaining and comparing it to a video game.

With an extended tail that was added to the puck during slap shots and hard passes, one can't blame fans for writing the "hip" idea off.

Any All-Star Game Selection

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It's no secret the voting for any professional sports league's All-Star Game is about as corrupt as anything out there.

Nothing more than a popularity contest, fans rush to fill out as many ballots as possible, stuffing the boxes with their favorite players checked off, ignoring how deserving the player is or of current stats.

And, while it's nice to get the fans involved, does anyone really want to, potentially, see eight Kansas City Royals start for the American League squad in a couple of weeks?

Even with a little bit of shifting in recent days to squash that notion, barely, there will have to be some consideration as to what makes sense for the players who most deserve to play in an All-Star Game to be there—with a few different possibilities needing to be considered by numerous leagues.

It was a nice idea at first, but it's time to admit fan voting just isn't going to work any longer.

The Bowl Championship Series

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Realistically, there was just no way on God's green earth the NCAA was going to convince sports fans the Bowl Championship Series was the best way to determine a college football national champion, right?

After seeing the drama that unfolded with last season's first ever College Football Playoff, the organization and school presidents are probably wondering why in the hell they hadn't switched to that type of format earlier.

And to think, the NCAA nearly got away with keeping this bogus system around for nearly two decades, as it was first implemented in 1998, finally resting in peace, for good, after the 2013 season.

When a computer is one of the ridiculous factors in choosing the two "best" teams in a college football season, there should have been a red flag to bury this thing from the start. Thankfully, people got smart.

Ten Cent Beer Night

Just one more inning; that's all the game between the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers had to go until it was complete.

However, for all those who are familiar with Ten Cent Beer Night—which was famously held at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974—you know the game was never completed because, well, the entire stadium was hammered off of beers that cost a dime!

Sure, it was a terrible promotional ploy by the Indians' front office to try and get fans into the stands, but, somewhat shockingly, it did make it to the ninth inning before the riot actually broke out.

If only those hooligans could have held off for about 10 more minutes, things may have ended just a little bit differently.