Biggest Choke in Sports History

Now that is what choking is all about... not losing a first-round playoff series

 

It pains me to say it, but McEnroe losing to Lendl at the French, after being up two sets and a break (I think), was a bigger gag.

 

Let's just face it, the Lone Star State knows all about choking....

 

the 2003 Cubs?

 

I'll let Vin Scully call this one:

"A little roller."

"Down the line."

"And it gets through Buckner!!!"

 

Dallas never choked.

They got their asses beat.

 

Covered that Oilers-Bills adventure. Early in the third quarter, the Oiler beat guys were already making their reservations for Pittsburgh (I think it was) the following week.

Got a pretty funny quote afterward from Ernest Givins: "One minute you're blowing out a team as capable as you. The next, you're fighting for your motherfucking life. Then the next minute, you're getting your motherfucking ass kicked."

Had to clean it up a little.

Good times.

 

I swore I wouldn't engage in a battle with Yawn when I returned to the board, but this just has to be responded to, immediately.

Yawn, not sure from where you hail, but in case you haven't checked the recordbooks, Texas has been home to a multi-time Super Bowl winner (hate the Cowboys all the same, though), a multi-time national champion in football, multi-time national champions in baseball, multiple NBA titles and appearances, a World Series appearance and a Stanley Cup championship.

Have there been choking instances involving Texas teams? Yep. But I'll take those chokes right along with those titles, too.

 

It was a massive upset but I don't know if I'd call Tyson-Douglas a choke job. It's not like Mike won every round and then pissed the fight away. He'd been getting his ass kicked from the opening bell, with the exception of about eight seconds in the eighth round when he knocked Douglas down. Douglas was no Lennox Lewis but he was in shape and fought the fight of his life.

 

I see your point. In your view, the Tyson-Douglas fight falls into the "that's why they fight in the ring and not on paper" category, rather than a choke.

To be a choke, under your definition, a person/team would have to have been dominanting a contest and, through their stupidity/incompetence/arrogance/freak of nature, squandered it away. In boxing, I guess you could call Michael Moorer getting knocked out by a 45 year old Foreman in the 10th round after leading the whole way a choke job (although not the Biggest Choke).

 

Seven offensive Pro Bowlers played as perfect a first half as you'll see in an NFL playoff game. Then they couldn't do squat for 35 minutes.

The Oiler teams from 1990-93 pissed away more talent than any in sports in that time.

 

The Moorer example is better than Tyson's but, as they always say on TV, anything can happen when the big boys get in the ring. Put De La Hoya - Trinidad here too when Oscar pissed away the last few rounds thinking he had the fight won only to lose by a narrowly majority decidion.