The 19 Worst Choke Jobs In Sports History

So yeah, the No. 1 team in the NCAA tournament made the bad kind of history Friday night as Virginia lost to University of Maryland, Baltimore County to become the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed.

And just like the top team in the entire tournament is out and brackets everywhere are busted.

Where does that performance rank on our list of biggest choke jobs in sports history. Let’s take a look!

19. Buffalo Bills, 2000 AFC Wild-Card Game

“The Music City Miracle.” That phrase alone still sparks a bad feeling in the collective gut of Bills Mafia. The Bills just needed to avoid giving up a kick return for a TD at the end of their wild-card game against the Titans in Tennessee and, well, we know how that went for them. The loss hurt the franchise for years as the Bills didn’t make it back to the playoffs until just last January.

10. Jean Van de Velde, 1999 The Open Championship

Van de Velde will always be remember for what is easily one of the biggest collapses in a major championship. He stepped to the tee on the final hole at Carnoustie with a 3-stroke lead and all he needed to do was record a double bogey or less and the Claret Jug would be his. Instead a couple of bad swings, paired with a couple of bad breaks, led to a triple bogey and a second place finish.

9. Syracuse, 1991 NCAA Tournament

Jim Boeheim’s 1991 team, led by Billy Owens, who would be the third pick in the NBA draft a few months later, made tournament history. But not the kind of history you want to be a part of as they become the first No. 2 seed to ever lose to a No. 15 seed, falling to Richmond, 73-69.

8. Golden State Warriors, 2016 NBA Finals

Steph Curry and the Warriors built a 3-1 series lead over the Cavs and looked primed to win their second straight NBA title. Then they lose Game 5, Draymond Green got suspended for Game 6, and LeBron James and Kyrie Irving made some incredible plays down the stretch of Game 7 to complete the comeback and bring a title to Cleveland.

7. New England Patriots, Super Bowl XLII

Remember when Tom Brady and the Patriots entered the Super Bowl a perfect 18-0? Yup, all that stood between them and a perfect season was Eli Manning and the Giants – and, well, David Tyree’s helmet. We all know how this thing played out – with Eli and the Giants shocking the Patriots 17-14 thanks in large part to one of the craziest/luckiest catches in the history of the game and also a late TD pass to Plaxico Burress. Brady and the Patriots finished the season 18-1, the 1972 Dolphins remained the only unbeaten team in NFL history, and Eli Manning got his first of two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots. For real.

6. New York Yankees, 2004 ALCS

What’s worse than blowing a 3-1 series lead? Blowing a 3-0 series lead, which is exactly what Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and the Yankees did in 2004 against the rival Red Sox. Thanks to some clutch hits by David Ortiz, Boston somehow stayed alive long enough to stun the Yankees on the road in Game 6 and 7 and win the ALCS. The Red Sox would then go on to erase years of painful history by winning their first World Series since 1918.

5. Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Series

Yeah, this is a large part of that painful history for the Red Sox. We all remember that ball going through Bill Buckner’s legs at the end of Game 6. But the Red Sox actually held a lead in Game 7, too, before losing to the Mets in a World Series that haunted Red Sox fans until 2004.

4. Greg Norman, 1996 Masters

Greg Norman is smiling in this photo, which speaks a lot about his character. Because before this photo was taken he had coughed up a 6-stroke lead in the final round of the Masters that was extremely painful for golf fans to watch. Norman shot a final round 78 and lost to Nick Faldo by five strokes.

3. Houston Oilers, 1993 AFC Wild-Card Game

The then-Houston Oilers led the Bills 28-3 at halftime of their wild card game in 1993. Then after an early pick-six in the third quarter they led 35-3. But the Bills ripped off five TDs, forced OT with a late field goal and won it in OT with a field goal.

2. Virginia Cavaliers, 2018 NCAA Tournament

And here we find the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament. And it wasn’t just any No. 1 team, it was the No. 1 ranked team in the whole tournament. Virginia lost just one game in the ACC this season and just two games overall. They were the easy pick to win it all. But then UMBC dominated in the second half to win by 20(!), 74-54. Wow.

1. Atlanta Falcons, Super Bowl LI

28-3. Falcons fans will never forget those numbers. Because that’s what the score was late in the third quarter of Super Bowl 51. But as we all know by now, Tom Brady and the Patriots completed a Super Bowl-record comeback, capped with a game-winning TD in overtime.

18. Toronto Maple Leafs, 2013 NHL Playoffs

The Maple Leafs had a three-goal lead in the third period of Game 7 in their playoff series with Bruins. And then… they didn’t. Boston scored three times, including twice in the final minute, to force overtime where they wrapped up the series and incredible comeback with a goal to win 5-4.

17. Michigan State, 2016 NCAA Tournament

The Spartans were a sexy pick to make it to another Final Four last year. That’s just what they do under Tom Izzo. And then, on the second day of the tournament, they destroyed a ton of brackets by losing to No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee, 90-81.

16. Duke, 2012 NCAA Tournament

It seems like a lot of people like when Duke loses in the tournament, and boy were those people happy after this happened to the Blue Devils in 2012. Ranked in the top 10 all year long, having a 27-6 record, and playing their opening round game in their home state… all meant nothing as Duke lost to No. 15 seed Lehigh(!) in the first round.

15. Gary Anderson, 1998 NFC Championship Game

Anderson was perfect on field goals and extra points all season… until late in the 1998 NFC title game. That’s when he missed a 38-yarder with just over two minutes left that would have given the Vikings a 10-point lead and likely trip to the Super Bowl. Instead, the Falcons forced OT where they eventually won.

14. Seattle SuperSonics, 1994 NBA Playoffs

The Sonics were the first seed in the West after finishing with a franchise-best 63 wins. They even had a 2-0 series lead, when first round series were a best of five, against the 42-40 Nuggets. But then they lost three straight, including a stunner at home in Game 5, and were the first No. 1 seed since the NBA the NBA had changed it’s playoff format in 1984, to lose in the first round.

13. Arizona, 1993 NCAA Tournament

The Arizona Wildcats were 22-1 after Christmas in 1993 and, as a No. 2 seed, seemed primed to make a deep run in the tournament. But then, thanks in large part to some guy named Steve Nash, they were headed home after the first round as Santa Clara rallied to pull off a stunner, 64-61.

12. Chicago Cubs, 2003 NLCS

While every Cubs fan in the world wanted to blame Steve Bartman for their team’s collapse in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, let’s not forget how players on the field actually blew it. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez had a chance to get an inning-ending double play going shortly after the Bartman incident but the routine ground ball shot through his legs, an error that led to five of the eight runs scored by the Marlins in the 8th inning being unearned. The Cubs lost that game 8-3 and lost Game 7, 9-6.

11. Memphis, 2008 NCAA Championship Game

Derrick Rose and the Memphis Tigers led the Kansas Jayhawks by 9 points with 2:12 remaining. Then Derrick Rose and the Memphis Tigers missed a bunch of free throws down the stretch, watched Mario Chalmers drain a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, and ended up losing in overtime. Ouch.