What were your hardest defeats to take both college and pro? TV & in person?

[john4psu]

In an effort to reverse jinx the Penguins blowing a 2-0 and then a 3-1 game series, I'm posing this question now.
What were your hardest defeats to take both college and pro (any sport) watching on TV and in person?

College: Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama

In-person: The loss to Minnesota in '99 and the Iowa 6-4 loss. My heart just bled for those kids on defense vs. Iowa that played their hearts out and scored more points than our offense did.

Pro: Francisco Cabrera and Sid Bream. Enough said.
-The Pens loss to the Islanders when David Volek beat Tom Barrasso with a shot from Oakland and the best team in the NHL that year, the Pens, were denied a chance at a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
-Bob Moose's wild pitch which let the Reds win the '72 NLCS over a Pirates team that was even better than their '71 World Series championship team.
-The Steelers loss in the '76 AFC Championship Game to Oakland when that season, the greatest team ever led by the greatest defense ever was short-handed without Franco and Rocky in the lineup, two thousand-yard gainers that season, and the Raiders took advantage of a depleted Steelers offense and won.

In-person: The Steelers loss to the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game although I still feel the Steelers would of lost to the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

For me it's without a doubt the 99 Minnesota game, in person. When Ali lost the title to Leon Spinks I was really bummed out, was just a kid then. But that Minnesota loss, I'll always remember that one, and I can still recall the feeling in the pit of my stomach when that kick went through. Another real bummer was Smarty Jones losing to Birdstone in the Belmont. Wasn't there but that was a crusher to watch on TV. The Joe Carter HR, against the Phils didn't bother me as much as it did a lot of people. That season was great.

 

[psuro]

TV-1979 Sugar Bowl.

Dolphins losing a game vs Pats when the Pats had a convict plow snow off the field for the winning FG.

In person -1999 Minnesota game.

 

[mrtailgate]

Sixers blowing 3-1 lead in games in 67-68.
Phillies losing in 2011 to STL
Minnesota game in 1999 and then coming back next week to lose late to Brady led 4th quarter
Michigan walk off TD to Manningham

 

[joestheman]

In an effort to reverse jinx the Penguins blowing a 2-0 and then a 3-1 game series, I'm posing this question now.
What were your hardest defeats to take both college and pro (any sport) watching on TV and in person?

College: Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama

In-person: The loss to Minnesota in '99 and the Iowa 6-4 loss. My heart just bled for those kids on defense vs. Iowa that played their hearts out and scored more points than our offense did.

Pro: Francisco Cabrera and Sid Bream. Enough said.
-The Pens loss to the Islanders when David Volek beat Tom Barrasso with a shot from Oakland and the best team in the NHL that year, the Pens, were denied a chance at a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
-Bob Moose's wild pitch which let the Reds win the '72 NLCS over a Pirates team that was even better than their '71 World Series championship team.
-The Steelers loss in the '76 AFC Championship Game to Oakland when that season, the greatest team ever led by the greatest defense ever was short-handed without Franco and Rocky in the lineup, two thousand-yard gainers that season, and the Raiders took advantage of a depleted Steelers offense and won.

In-person: The Steelers loss to the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game although I still feel the Steelers would of lost to the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

 

[sluggo72]

Sugar bowl
Minny
Gilman
U Dub
Eastern mich
U Penn
Miami

 

[joestheman]

At the end of1994, psu blows out Oregon in bowl to cap off an undefeated season. On the day before that game, I had 5 psu friends over to cheer on of all teams, the Miami hurricanes. Unfortunately Nebraska won 24-17 to also cap an undefeated season.

 

[nittany119]

Sixers blowing 3-1 lead in games in 67-68.
Phillies losing in 2011 to STL
Minnesota game in 1999 and then coming back next week to lose late to Brady led 4th quarter
Michigan walk off TD to Manningham

Minn

At the end of1994, psu blows out Oregon in bowl to cap off an undefeated season. On the day before that game, I had 5 psu friends over to cheer on of all teams, the Miami hurricanes. Unfortunately Nebraska won 24-17 to also cap an undefeated season.[/Minn, Michigan and Alabama sugar bowl

 

[nittany119]

Minn, Michigan and Alabama were all lost because of poor coaching on Joe!s part. I loved joe as much as anyone,but if you look at each game, the moves he made put us in a position to lose. As for Miami, 1994, that really sucked. The great canes with the "great" warren sapp couldn't play one last decent half of football to win in their own building.

 

[GregInPitt]

For me it's without a doubt the 99 Minnesota game, in person. When Ali lost the title to Leon Spinks I was really bummed out, was just a kid then. But that Minnesota loss, I'll always remember that one, and I can still recall the feeling in the pit of my stomach when that kick went through. Another real bummer was Smarty Jones losing to Birdstone in the Belmont. Wasn't there but that was a crusher to watch on TV. The Joe Carter HR, against the Phils didn't bother me as much as it did a lot of people. That season was great.

Yep, I was at the PSU/Bama game for the MNC with Guman getting the ball all those times..... but the loss to Minny was really tough. The team was on a roll and possibly could have run the table, but lost the momentum and a few injuries caused the season to close out with a whimper.

 

[nittany119]

Yep, I was at the PSU/Bama game for the MNC with Guman getting the ball all those times..... but the loss to Minny was really tough. The team was on a roll and possibly could have run the table, but lost the momentum and a few injuries caused the season to close out with a whimper.

But

 

[nittany119]

But do you recall why we lost? And it had nothing to do with the catch the kid made

 

[CF LION]

College: Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama. The :02 second loss to UM was personally devastating due to a family rivalry with a UM alum.

Pros: Steelers loss to Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. Neil freakin' O'Donnell. I really thought the Steelers were going to end the NFC run.

In person: '99 Minnesota. Never felt worse walking out of a stadium.

 

[sluggo72]

But do you recall why we lost? And it had nothing to do with the catch the kid made

We didn't get off on the snap count??

 

[ClarkstonMark]

The Bills - Norwood. I shredded a Bills sweatshirt after that kick

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Sixers blowing 3-1 lead in games in 67-68.
Phillies losing in 2011 to STL
Minnesota game in 1999 and then coming back next week to lose late to Brady led 4th quarter
Michigan walk off TD to Manningham

That Michigan game sucked. The heel-toe, extra seconds . . . . it sucked. I wound up getting banned over that one I was so mad. That was in a previous life, of course.

 

[nittany119]

We didn't get off on the snap count??

 

[nittany119]

Had we att noted m

 

[nittany119]

Had we punted instead of trying the field goal attempt into the wind and missing it, we could have pointed them deep. Instead they got great field position and once they completed the long 4th down pass, they were already in field goal range. Why didn't joe punt and trust the very good defense we had?

 

[sluggo72]

Had we punted instead of trying the field goal attempt into the wind and missing it, we could have pointed them deep. Instead they got great field position and once they completed the long 4th down pass, they were already in field goal range. Why didn't joe punt and trust the very good defense we had?

Hindsight is 20/20??

 

[NittanyBlue92]

In an effort to reverse jinx the Penguins blowing a 2-0 and then a 3-1 game series, I'm posing this question now.
What were your hardest defeats to take both college and pro (any sport) watching on TV and in person?

College: Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama

In-person: The loss to Minnesota in '99 and the Iowa 6-4 loss. My heart just bled for those kids on defense vs. Iowa that played their hearts out and scored more points than our offense did.

Pro: Francisco Cabrera and Sid Bream. Enough said.
-The Pens loss to the Islanders when David Volek beat Tom Barrasso with a shot from Oakland and the best team in the NHL that year, the Pens, were denied a chance at a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
-Bob Moose's wild pitch which let the Reds win the '72 NLCS over a Pirates team that was even better than their '71 World Series championship team.
-The Steelers loss in the '76 AFC Championship Game to Oakland when that season, the greatest team ever led by the greatest defense ever was short-handed without Franco and Rocky in the lineup, two thousand-yard gainers that season, and the Raiders took advantage of a depleted Steelers offense and won.

In-person: The Steelers loss to the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game although I still feel the Steelers would of lost to the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

In order:

Minn '99
Iowa '08
Michigan '05

 

[Connorpozlee]

Worse sports loss for me was the Islanders losing the cup to Edmonton in game 5 of the Cup finals in '84. Only time I ever shed a tear for one of my teams. I just remember the guys looking so wiped out but still fighting to get the fifth in a row.
Worst in person was the Miami game in '92. I saw that damn screen pass from John Sacca getting picked off for seemed like a minute and a half. Still can't believe Gino Toretta won the Heisman that year.

 

[mrtailgate]

Worse sports loss for me was the Islanders losing the cup to Edmonton in game 5 of the Cup finals in '84. Only time I ever shed a tear for one of my teams. I just remember the guys looking so wiped out but still fighting to get the fifth in a row.
Worst in person was the Miami game in '92. I saw that damn screen pass from John Sacca getting picked off for seemed like a minute and a half. Still can't believe Gino Toretta won the Heisman that year.

Miami game is a good selection. I can still see that pass floating in the air. Nits dominated the U that day but lost.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

Sid Bream...never ran so fast in all his time as a Bucco (and I'm still skeptical he ever touched home). Also, Chico Lind never booted a ball all year until that night!! Ugghhh!!!

Minny game just sucked...that is all.

Steelers losing to the Chargers sucked.

 

[21Guns]

In junior high, I had both Terry Long of Tyrone and Greg Wykoff of Huntington beaten after one period, 2-1, but they came on with takedowns and then I had a ton of trouble getting out of their rides. Losses. In high school, during a 7-3 season in which we would have qualified for the district playoff(there was none at the time, we lost a controversial 20-12 game to Moshannon Valley, then were robbed in Spring Mills, having 3 touchdowns called back on phanom holding calls. At Penn state, some tough fluke injuries in the spring, that took out my shot at a successful preferred walkon chance to make the team, although I was doing well in drills. Then later at the U of A, as a third stringer, losing to colorado in Arizona stadium by a single point 14-13. Finally, The loss of a potential recording contract with MCA records, by an asshole of a talent lawyer, and the refusal to travel to play more showcase gigs by my band members of that particular band. All, touch losses.

 

[N&B4PSU]

toss between villanova destruction of penn 1971 (and since i listened on radio and did not see it, does anyone recall why steve bilsky on played 14 minutes in his final game.. with only 2 fouls?)... ali's loss to frazier... our loss to bama.

but i never swore more than the loss to um in 99 when the refs blew call after call and gave the game to michigan.

 

[pandaczar12]

The 2002 and 2005 Michigan games were both tough, especially in person. But it's hard to count them as "defeat" when PSU won those games outright, and the outcome was simply changed by the refs. I take solace in the fact that if the games had been fairly officiated, PSU wins.

 

[psu4343]

Minni 99
Pitt 02

 

[pandaczar12]

Minni 99
Pitt 02

Do you mean Pitt 2000? When Pitt snapped a 7 game losing streak against one of the worst PSU teams of all time?

 

[BobPSU92]

This one still hurts.

 

[GastonLion]

I attended two of Penn State's most devastating losses and still feel the pain years later.

I was at the 1986 Orange Bowl when Oklahoma beat us 25-10. We would have won the National championship if we won the game, making the loss even more bitter. Oklahoma fans were great before and after the game. My recollection is that they simply outplayed us, and Brian Boswoth had a great game.
I was also at the 1999 Minnesota Homecoming game, and that one hurt even more. We went into prevent offense and defense and let Minnesota come back and beat us. We had the game in hand and got too conservative. The path to another NC was wide open and we gave it away.

 

[john4psu]

Do you mean Pitt 2000? When Pitt snapped a 7 game losing streak against one of the worst PSU teams of all time?

Pitt still counts this as another of their mythical national championships even though we didn't play them in 2002.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

TV - Minny '99, Iowa '08

In person - Temple last year. Humiliating.

 

[PSU Mike]

I've never hired a pro, but in college I lost this perky little redhead to some rich a$$hole whose family did a lot of sailing.

 

[psualt]

Miami game is a good selection. I can still see that pass floating in the air. Nits dominated the U that day but lost.

Went to that game with my now wife....she didn't run off after all the screaming and yelling so I knew she was a keeper.

Blocked fg against Bama was my worst.

 

[Brad908]

Being at the UVA game when Ficken missed all those field goals, plus add in the rain storm. Miserable.

 

[anon_is9z1n0h3zblb]

6-4 in person. That was, I thought at the time, the low point of PSU football and I had concerns that we would never recover. Unfortunately we really reached the low point about 8 years later but I believe that we are recovering from that.

 

[nittany119]

I attended two of Penn State's most devastating losses and still feel the pain years later.

I was at the 1986 Orange Bowl when Oklahoma beat us 25-10. We would have won the National championship if we won the game, making the loss even more bitter. Oklahoma fans were great before and after the game. My recollection is that they simply outplayed us, and Brian Boswoth had a great game.
I was also at the 1999 Minnesota Homecoming game, and that one hurt even more. We went into prevent offense and defense and let Minnesota come back and beat us. We had the game in hand and got too conservative. The path to another NC was wide open and we gave it away.

I too was at the Orange Bowl It was devastating, but keep in mind wouldn't have had the play and beat Miami the following year. The 5th year seniors would not have returned, with the goal to come back and win the MNC.

 

[nittany119]

The 2002 and 2005 Michigan games were both tough, especially in person. But it's hard to count them as "defeat" when PSU won those games outright, and the outcome was simply changed by the refs. I take solace in the fact that if the games had been fairly officiated, PSU wins.

Sorry, we gave away the 205 game by not kicking deep after we scored that late touchdown. Paterno chose to kick short and effectively gave them half a field to work with u know the rest...
That was a very brutal los.

 

[joeparules]

College: 1986 Orange Bowl (in person) and 2005 scUM (on TV, when I realized it was more than a conspiracy theory)

Pros: nothing memorable (in person) and 2005 Super Bowl (on TV, actually thought the Eagles might finally win one)