The Five Most Devastating Losses You'll Ever See in Sports

There are moments in sports that make you want to go to your garage, stuff a hose into the exhaust pipe of your car, run it through the passenger window, and take a nap in the front seat with the engine running. 

It usually happens when your team is on the verge of winning something only to see them cough it up in unbelievable fashion, or when they put on a display of brilliance during the regular season and then suck at the time when things count the most.  

There are so many examples to list that we could be here all day, so we’ll just look at the top five in the last decade and a half.

5. Sacramento Kings Vs Los Angeles Lakers: 2002

After being ousted by the Lakers in their last two playoff appearances, the Kings appeared to be the team of destiny in 2002.

Chris Webber, who spent as much time on the disabled list as he had in front of juries during his career, managed to stay healthy for most of the season and as a result had an All-Star year. 

The addition of Mike Bibby, along with the elevation of players like Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie, and sixth man of the year Bobby Jackson, finally gave the Kings the talent they needed to become a title contender. Big men such as Vlade Divac, Scott Pollard, and Hedo Turkoglu, also provided the necessary depth at the center position to slow down the freight train that was Shaquille O’Neal.

Sacramento won a league leading 61 games to capture the western division and earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

But their road to glory was upended when they were unable to dethrone the two-time defending champion Lakers in the conference championship. Though the Kings outplayed Los Angeles throughout most of the series, a miracle shot by Robert Horry in the waning seconds of Game 4, and a terribly officiated fourth quarter in Game Six kept the contest even for a deciding game at Sacramento.

In Game 7, the Kings shot a Shaq-esque 53 percent from the free-throw line, and somehow managed to get the game into overtime where a pathetic lob by Doug Christie on a wide open 3-pointer spelled a frustrating end to an otherwise impressive season.  

While the series will always be remembered for the outrageous officiating in Game 6, the Kings were their own worst enemy in Game 7, freezing like a deer in the headlights as the clock and a championship evaporated.

4. Detroit Red Wings Vs Colorado Avalanche: 1996

In 1996, the Red Wings were in the midst of one of the longest title droughts in professional sports. The addition of several key players, which included Slava Fetisov and Mike Vernon, was instrumental in their success during the regular season as they won an NHL record 62 games.

Famously known for its “Red Army” line aka “The Russian Five,” which consisted of five Russian players—Vyacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, and Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit outmaneuvered and outshot its opponents across the ice en route to the President’s Trophy and a shot at the Stanley Cup.

After an exhausting seven game series against the St. Louis Blues, the Red Wings squared off against the Avalanche in a showdown that would spark one of the most intense hockey rivalries in recent memory. Trailing in the series 3-2 and going into Colorado, Claude Lemieux put a viscous hit on Kris Draper from behind, sending him face first into the boards and knocking him out the game. Draper suffered a broken jaw and cheekbone, and needed 30 stitches to repair the damage to his face.

The injury was an added insult as the Avalanche went on to win the game nailing the coffin shut on the Red Wings' dream season.

Unlike the other teams on this list, the Red Wings rebounded from their collapse and won the Stanley Cup the following year. What made their victory even sweeter was that they avenged their postseason loss to Colorado by beating the Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. They also beat the crap out of Lemieux in the infamous “Hockeytown Brawl” that occurred during the last regular season meeting between the two teams before the playoffs. The latter was probably more satisfying.   

3. Golden State Warriors Vs Dallas Mavericks: 2007

For six seasons the Mavericks were championship contenders.

They had gotten closer and closer only to realize that there was another team better than they were.

Then in 2007, Mark Cuban finally had his dream team. Dirk Nowitzki went from being one of the most talented players in the NBA to the undisputed league MVP, and the Mavericks coached by Avery Johnson won a franchise record 67 games to snag the first seed in the Western Conference.

In the playoffs, the front-runner Mavericks ran into early trouble against an explosive young Golden State Warriors team with the likes of Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, and Jason Richardson. After dropping the first game in Dallas, the Mavericks were unable to regain home-court advantage, losing all three games in a hostile road environment, which included a 25-point blowout in the clinching game of the series.

The sea of yellow created by 20,000 screaming fans wearing “We Believe” T-shirts in Game 6 remains a lasting image in NBA history.   

2. Minnesota Vikings Vs Atlanta Falcons: 1998

Have you ever seen a season where everything seemed to go right for a team?  1998 was like something out of a cheesy sports movie for the Vikings.

Randall Cunningham made one of the most storied comebacks in the NFL, winning the MVP award as the Vikings coasted to a 15-1 record, becoming only the third team to achieve that mark since the 16-game format was introduced.

Randy Moss shattered numerous records during his rookie season campaign and along with Chris Carter formed one of the most devastating receiving tandems in history. Running back Robert Smith also rushed for a thousand yards as the Vikings offense set a then NFL record 35 points per game.   

The Super Bowl seemed within easy reach for a Minnesota franchise which had suffered a long string of postseason failures dating back to the 1970s.

But a crucial miss by Gary Anderson (who had converted all 35 of his field goal attempts during the regular season) during the NFC championship breathed new life into the Atlanta Falcons, who were able to even the score on a last minute drive and win the game in overtime behind Morten Anderson’s clutch field goal.

The last time the Vikings came as close to the Super Bowl was last year, when they lost in similar fashion to the New Orleans Saints yielding a field goal in sudden death overtime.

1. Chicago Cubs Vs Florida Marlins: 2003

I don’t know what I enjoyed more. Watching Dusty Baker sitting clueless in the dugout during one of his patented playoff collapses I was so used to seeing when he was managing the Giants, or all the shots of crying fans in and around Wrigley Field as the Cubs choked away another National League pennant.

When the Cubs built an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the 2003 NLCS, the Marlins were finished. They were fish food. Even if they managed to win Game 5 they would still have to beat both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood at Wrigley Field, something that had not been done once during the regular season.

It appeared that 100 years of disappointment was finally coming to an end for the Cubs faithful.

Then with a three-run lead and five outs left in Game 6, an omen came in the form of a lazy fly ball drifting towards the right field foul line that was deflected from Moises Alou by an overzealous fan wearing headphones and a Cubs jacket.

I say deflected, but in reality Alou couldn’t have caught that ball with a hand net. But his resulting temper tantrum, along with a critical error by Alex Gonzalez, along with some terrible managing by Dusty Baker, led to a cataclysmic eight-run inning that left a priest sprinkling holy water on the Wrigley grass after the game.

There was still another game to be played the next night, but the best thing the Cubs could have done for themselves was to roll over and die quickly. The Marlins prevailed in Game 7 and the Cubs haven’t won a playoff game since.