10 of the Best Revenge Stories in Sports

Few motivating factors in sports hold a candle to revenge.

This applies for athletes, teams and fans. Much as some might want to pretend it isn't a factor, revenge can play a major role in how sports unfold. Athletes are humans like the rest of us, and their striking back at a person or organization that wronged them in some way is more human than the silly scripted interviews and appearances they give in the media.

Ditto for fans. Nothing sparks a sports conversation better than revenge. Plug in "debate" for "conversation" and the theme sticks. Analysts might detest it, but the human desire for revenge, which channels itself into motivation, is why terms such as "revenge game" and even "revenge series" exist.

With historical revenge blending into current revenge topics in the sporting world, now seems like a great time to look back and appreciate some of the best revenge storylines from various periods in sporting history.

Keep in mind revenge has played a role in sports for, well, a long time. This list isn't an all-encompassing one by any means, so feel free to drop other examples in the comments below.

Blue Jays Give It Right Back

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Let's start with some recent revenge served by a cold-blooded (and stone-jawed) slugger.

Rougned Odor of the Texas Rangers socked Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays back in May, which most anyone in sports knows about. Bautista became a meme, and him getting hit in the jaw even made the cover of a Joe Budden diss track going at Drake.

Alas, Bautista played the long con. His Blue Jays got the Rangers in the 2016 American League Division Series, and he used Game 1 to exact revenge, blasting a 425-foot home run in the 10-1 laugher.

"I know that made him happy," teammate Josh Donaldson said, according to Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet. "And I was happy for him to be able to do that as well."

It was a sign of things to come, really, with Toronto going on to win all three games and meet the Cleveland Indians in the next round.

Yeah, maybe Bautista shouldn't have done a bat flip to incite the fight in the first place. But physical fighting doesn't have a place in baseball, and Bautista was more than happy to see Odor and the Rangers again and send them home.

Deion Sanders Claims His House

BOB GALBRAITH/Associated Press

Deion Sanders wasn't the most popular guy when he returned to Atlanta in 1994 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

After leaving two Atlanta teams over the prior year (he left the Atlanta Falcons via free agency, and the Atlanta Braves traded him to the Cincinnati Reds), Sanders returned and orchestrated a 42-3 beatdown of the Falcons.

Sanders himself returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown.

After? The quote to headline all revenge quotes.

"I've been humble all week," Sanders said, according to Charles Chandler of the Charlotte Observer (via the Orlando Sentinel). "Now I've got one thing to say: This is my house. I built this, and this is my house. I don't care if I'm with the Falcons or not. This is my house, and this will always be my house."

Over a career of crowning achievements, Sanders returning home and claiming his home ranks among the best.

Steve Smith Gets Back at Those Who Betrayed Him

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Opposite Sanders is a wide receiver such as Steve Smith, who for a long time looked like a guy who would spend his entire career with one team.

Nope. Said team was the Carolina Panthers, which selected the Utah product in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft. Smith spent 13 years with the organization before the team gave him the boot after the 2013 season. Smith had only tallied 745 yards and four scores that season, but his 11.6 yards per catch are probably what told the front office he wasn't worth the cash anymore.

Smith went on to ink a deal with the Baltimore Ravens and showed he still had plenty left in the tank by posting another 1,000-yard season with six scores.

Oh, and Smith met the team that cut him early in the season. There, he caught seven passes for 139 yards and two scores.

To top off the revenge in oh-so-sweet fashion, he took to a radio station a few days later and told the hosts the Panthers had "stabbed him in the back."

That's how it's done, folks—produce first, then do the talking.

Brett Favre Joins the Dark Side

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Brett Favre's messy split with the Green Bay Packers could go under any number of lists: the biggest betrayals, heartbreaks, so on and so forth.

It certainly falls here, though. Favre changed his mind about retirement and wanted to come back for an 18th season in 2008. It put the Packers in a tough spot, and the team decided to move on—especially after Favre told the team he wanted to start in Green Bay or be traded within the NFC North.

Go ahead and pretend Favre's stint with the New York Jets didn't happen. He pulled another retirement stunt and indeed wound up with the Minnesota Vikings.

Then the legend got his revenge. He faced the Packers four games into the 2009 season and tossed three touchdowns to no interceptions in a win. Even better, he entered a hostile Lambeau Field, perhaps a place he could say he built, and threw four scores in another win later in the season.

Things have smoothed over between the two sides now, but both felt wronged at one point or another thanks to drama akin to a soap opera. Favre, at least at first, served the best dish of revenge possible.

Giants Get Revenge on the Ultimate Stage

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Remember when the New England Patriots finished 16-0 back in 2007?

Those were simpler times, an era of inflated balls (well, probably) when Tom Brady's image hadn't been 100 percent ruined, and Randy Moss still graced the NFL with his presence. Brady threw for 50 scores that year, 23 of which went to Moss.

Nobody told the Patriots to take it easy with the celebrating of 16-0, though. The final game came against the New York Giants in 38-35 fashion, with few within the organization seeming to care it came at New York's expense.

The Giants never forgot. Both sides advanced to the Super Bowl, where folks know the drill—an epic New York defense held Brady to one touchdown pass, and David Tyree pulled off the helmet catch.

New York wound up as the good guys, another possible Patriots dynasty averted in epic fashion. Call it a lesson in what revenge can do as a motivator—revenge held the ball to Tyree's helmet and produced the win.

Joe Montana Gets One Shot at the 49ers

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The 49ers did what any smart organization would do and added another legendary quarterback while one was already on the roster.

San Francisco added Steve Young in 1987, which was smack in the middle of Joe Montana's prime. Young played well in eight games over the course of that season, but Montana shut down any chatter about a quarterback controversy.

Winning back-to-back Super Bowls tends to do that.

Montana did wind up getting traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993. It made perfect sense from the 49ers' standpoint no matter what fans wanted—Montana spent the prior few years mostly on the shelf with injuries.

Fast-forward to 1994, though, and Montana got a single shot at the franchise he brought four Super Bowls. Revenge for uprooting him in mind, Montana tossed a pair of touchdowns in a victory, besting Young, before eventually hanging up the cleats in the offseason.

Jon Gruden Stomps on His Old Team

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The Oakland Raiders and head coach Jon Gruden parted ways after the team lost the "tuck rule" game that spawned the first New England dynasty.

Gruden teamed up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while the house he helped build went on to make it to the Super Bowl the season after.

The rest writes itself in only a way Hollywood could pen it—Oakland had to encounter the Gruden-led Buccaneers with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.

Gruden's new defense bullied his old offense, picking off Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon five times and shunning Gruden's replacement, Bill Callahan, en route to the 48-21 blowout.

"We knew that he wanted to beat the Raiders and he wanted to stick it to ’em," Keyshawn Johnson said, according to Steve Serby of the New York Post.

To be fair, Oakland could have never predicted it would need to take on Gruden in such a fashion. For Gruden, though? It's one of the best examples of sports revenge in history.

Terry Francona Breezes Past the Red Sox

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Terry Francona wins.

After eight years with the Boston Red Sox, two World Series and becoming the first Red Sox manager to win a World Series in 86 years, Francona and the organization underwent a nasty split, especially when alleged clubhouse leadership issues entered the discussion. He was then apparently the subject of an unnecessary smear campaign on his way out.

Though Francona isn't the type to publicly blast his former organization after so many great memories and relationships, it was undoubtedly a sweet moment for his Indians to wipe the floor with the Red Sox this postseason.

In fact, Francona's side looks downright dominant right now—the team won its first six games of the playoffs in 2016, almost making the Red Sox an afterthought on the march.

For a guy like Francona, that's the best possible outcome.

LeBron James Shuts Down the Warriors

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Almost lost in the storyline of LeBron James getting the Cleveland Cavaliers a title was his wicked tale of revenge.

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors ruined James' initial bid at hoisting a title in his hometown in the 2015 NBA Finals. Cleveland had plenty of injuries to deal with, but it didn't make the loss sting any less.

Most didn't give the Cavaliers a chance in the 2016 Finals, either. After all, the Warriors had just put on the best regular season in NBA history and had beat the Cavaliers the year prior.

James wasn't about to let it happen twice.

The King posted 32 or more points in three games over the seven-game series, taking things into his own hands and taking down one of the best teams to ever grace a regular season. He didn't just get a title for Cleveland—he ruined something for the Warriors that may never happen again.

It doesn't get much better than that. Now James has to gear up for another run at besting a hyped Warriors team.

Tom Brady's Return

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How about a revenge tour still in session?

There are few better things in sports than watching a revenge saga unfold on a weekly basis. Such is the current happenings with Brady, fresh off his four-game suspension for his role in Deflategate.

No matter where a fan falls on the whole deflated-balls topic, all without blinders on can agree—Brady playing angry like this is too much fun to hate. Over his first two games back, Brady has orchestrated 33-13 and 35-17 victories while throwing for 782 yards and six touchdowns.

Digest that for a moment—the man has 782 passing yards in two games.

Clearly in control of the AFC East, if not the AFC itself, Brady and the Patriots look well on the way to competing for another Super Bowl.

Maybe observers won't celebrate it as much as they should if it happens, but Brady returning to dismantle the league (hopefully taking extra measures against silly allegations, too) would make for one of the best revenge stories of all time.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.