UConn vs. Butler and the 10 Worst Championship Games in Sports History
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
That was a familiar sound last night in Houston at the National Championship Game between UConn and Butler.
There were so many bricks thrown in that game last night I believe Habitat for Humanity has enough to house every homeless person in America now. So that's good news.
At least the game was fairly close for most of the night. So it kept us watching—in agony. There were contested shots for sure, but there were also some shots that were just plain missed. Layups were missed. Open jumpers banged off the rim.
It was almost as if this game should have been one of the "First Four" games instead of the title game. It was ugly.
Here is a list of the 10 ugliest championship games/series in sports history.
2011 NCAA Championship Game: Butler vs. Connecticut
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This game surely deserves to be among the top ten stinkers of all time. Butler was 12 of 64. 12 of 64? UConn wasn't much better.
Did Penn State infiltrate these locker rooms?
That game was awful.
Super Bowl V: Indianapolis Colts vs. Dallas Cowboys
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Super Bowl V was dubbed the "Blooper Bowl." There were turnovers galore and the hero ends up being a rookie kicker who was barely over 50 percent in his career. He had shanked a couple of kicks in the Super Bowl that day, one being an extra point. But he made the one that counted and gave the Colts the win in Super Bowl V.
Many of the Colts players say to this day that the win did not make up for losing to the Jets in Super Bowl III. Maybe it had something to do with the way they played in Super Bowl V.
2009 NCAA Championship Game: Michigan State vs. North Carolina
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The only thing worse than a poorly played championship game is a one sided one. This one was over early.
Carolina took a 55-34 lead into the locker room at half time. The second half was all garbage time. I expected a little more from Tom Izzo's team, especially since they almost had the home court advantage with the game being held in Detroit.
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Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots
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The Super Bowl.
It's two weeks of hype. Often times followed by a dud of a game.
The '85 Bears had an awesome defense, especially against the run. Had the Dolphins beaten the Pats in the AFC Championship game, the Super Bowl may have been one of the best ever.
Miami handed the Bears their only loss of the season in a Monday Night classic, when Dan Marino carved up the Bear's secondary. Back then he carved up everyone's secondary.
But the Pats were a running team behind Craig James. There was no way that was going to work. The Bears defense devoured the Pats offense. The game was over early.
2004 World Series: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox
5 of 11
After the 2004 Classic ALCS, the World Series was bound to be a bit of a disappointment. But this thing was a downright stinker.
The Sox waited a long time to win a World Series. So their fans aren't complaining, but it seems like they deserved a better series than a four-game sweep.
Super Bowl XVIII: Washington Redskins vs. Los Angeles Raiders
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Super Bowl XXIII at the Ole Sombrero in Tampa was a lopsided affair. The Raider defense bottled up Joe Theismann and the Skins offense and the Raiders romped through the Washington defense.
Marcus Allen ran for 191 yards including a 74-yard TD jaunt. He was the MVP.
The 38-9 margin was the largest in Super Bowl history at the time. It was a precursor to many more Super Bowl blowouts to follow in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
1998 World Series: New York Yankees vs. San Diego Padres
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The Yankees were such a juggernaut in the late 1990s that they were making the World Series a joke. None was worse than 1998.
The Yanks were at their most dominant in that year. They won 114 regular season games, beating the Red Sox by a mere 22 games in the AL East.
The Yanks then swept the Rangers in the Division Series and beat the defending American League Champion Indians in six.
The four-game sweep of the Padres gave them a record 125 wins between the regular and postseason with only 50 losses.
Super Bowl XXIV: San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos
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Joe Montana was the author of a few Super Blowouts in his day. He had to make Cleveland fans chuckle a bit with the beating he inflicted on the Broncos this day.
55-10 remains the most lopsided Super Bowl in history. There have been many challengers.
Montana was 22 of 29 for five touchdowns as the 49ers scored two touchdowns in all four quarters. The odds finally caught up to the place kicker who missed the last PAT.
1990 NCAA Championship Game: UNLV vs. Duke
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In 1990, UNLV beat Duke 103-73 in what was the most lopsided championship game ever.
Duke rebounded quite nicely, however, by winning back-to-back titles the next two years. There is some hope for you, Butler fans.
Larry Johnson led the way for the Runnin Rebs with 22 points and 11 rebounds
Super Bowl XIX: Miami Dolphins vs. San Francisco 49ers
10 of 11
The Dolphins were supposed to be better than that.
Super Bowl XIX will always be one of the most disappointing championship games in sports history because it was supposed to be so much better.
For his first two seasons, Dan Marino had been unstoppable. A showdown with Joe Montana promised to be one for the ages.
It was not to be. The 'Niner defense finally showed that Marino could be slowed down. Perhaps the most disappointing of all is that "Dan the Man" never made it back.
The 38-16 blowout was not a fitting way for perhaps the greatest QB of all time to go out in his only Super Bowl appearance.
Honorable Mentions
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Some others that nearly made the list:
-2007 World Series: Boston Red Sox vs. Colorado Rockies
-Any of the Super Bowls involving Buffalo, except the Bills vs. Giants game in Tampa.
-Super Bowl XXXVII: Tampa Bay Bucs vs. Oakland Raiders. Not only a blowout but just too many roman numerals.
-2000 NCAA Title game: Florida vs. Michigan State: Not that big of a blowout but my team lost.
-1996 Fiesta Bowl: Florida vs. Nebraska: This one was a blowout and my team lost, so maybe this should have made the list.
-1997 Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Florida State: I had fun. I don't know about the rest of you.
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