I've got the 2007 New England Patriots, 2001 Seattle Mariners and the 2016 Golden State Warriors.
Any others that you'd put on that level?
How about the undefeated UNLV team that lost to Duke in 91?
Don't think losing to a team with LeBron James on it can be considered a choke.
Quote from: Mutaman on June 19, 2016, 11:33:01 PM
Don't think losing to a team with LeBron James on it can be considered a choke.
I agree.
When you're up 3-1 with 2 more at home I think it is
Quote from: Skitch on June 19, 2016, 11:35:08 PM
When you're up 3-1 with 2 more at home I think it is
When your starting 4 gets suspended for one of the home games and then your only rim protector against the 2 best finishers at the rim in the NBA/starting 5 gets injured in game 5 and is out for the series it changes things.
Quote from: wadesworld on June 19, 2016, 11:37:09 PM
When your starting 4 gets suspended for one of the home games and then your only rim protector against the 2 best finishers at the rim in the NBA/starting 5 gets injured in game 5 and is out for the series it changes things.
Word.
Quote from: wadesworld on June 19, 2016, 11:37:09 PM
When your starting 4 gets suspended for one of the home games and then your only rim protector against the 2 best finishers at the rim in the NBA/starting 5 gets injured in game 5 and is out for the series it changes things.
That's fair but I also think Green getting suspended was part of the choke. It's something he did himself, not like the Bogut situation
I hate to say it, but the Packers probably need to be included for Super Bowl 32. Pretty sure they were 14 point favorites.
Quote from: Skitch on June 19, 2016, 11:56:03 PM
I hate to say it, but the Packers probably need to be included for Super Bowl 32. Pretty sure they were 14 point favorites.
Within a single game the Packers at Seattle 2 years ago. Or 15-1 Packers who didn't even win a single Playoff game.
Quote from: wadesworld on June 20, 2016, 12:14:42 AM
Within a single game the Packers at Seattle 2 years ago. Or 15-1 Packers who didn't even win a single Playoff game.
Good lord I had completely blocked out that Seahawks game but you're right. If we're talking about within a game then I think the biggest might be Oilers losing to the Bills in early 90's after leading 35-3 at halftime.
I think it's not a choke when your team loses in 7 to a team that has the best player in basketball. As a huge GSW fan, I have to say well done to Cleveland.
Good thread.
Related: Best teams not to win the championship
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/photos/top-10-best-teams-failed-000000317/warriors-1466391998210.html
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on June 19, 2016, 11:24:41 PM
I've got the 2007 New England Patriots, 2001 Seattle Mariners and the 2016 Golden State Warriors.
Any others that you'd put on that level?
Yanks blowing 3 games to none lead to Red Sox and a 4-3 lead heading into the 9th of game 4 with Mariano Rivera ready to close.
This wasn't a choke. Cleveland earned it. Having Green miss a game and Bogut out certainly helped the momentum shift to the Cavaliers. But remember, without Irving and Love, Cleveland took GS to 6 last year. Time to acknowledge that LeBron is an all-timer. Losing to an all-timer, with all of his teammates healthy, while not having all of your pieces every game, is not a choke.
Quote from: tower912 on June 20, 2016, 07:35:41 AM
This wasn't a choke. Cleveland earned it. Having Green miss a game and Bogut out certainly helped the momentum shift to the Cavaliers. But remember, without Irving and Love, Cleveland took GS to 6 last year. Time to acknowledge that LeBron is an all-timer. Losing to an all-timer, with all of his teammates healthy, while not having all of your pieces every game, is not a choke.
Preach.
You go 73-9 and are up 3-1 it's a choke. I don't care if it's against the 96 Bulls, you have that type of regular season you're expected to win or else you choked.
That isn't taking anything away from lebron, not a fan of his persona or demeanor but he is an all time great.
You gotta have the 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup team on the short list.
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on June 19, 2016, 11:24:41 PM
I've got the 2007 New England Patriots, 2001 Seattle Mariners and the 2016 Golden State Warriors.
Any others that you'd put on that level?
2001 Mariners wasn't a choke either. The Yankees were just a way better team despite Seattle's inflated record.
I don't view it as a choke for many of the reasons stated here. Bogut was more important than people realized. Green being suspended too.
Packers giving away the NFCCG was a far bigger choke IMO. I guess I view chokes as more immediate than that.
Choke? Lebron failing to even acknowledge Bill Russell after Russell handed him the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
Quote from: The Sultan of Sunshine on June 20, 2016, 08:53:49 AMGreen being suspended too.
Now that it cost his team a championship (according to Green and plenty of others), I wonder if Green will get those spastic limbs under control so that they don't involuntarily flail and cause him to get suspended.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on June 20, 2016, 09:06:05 AM
Now that it cost his team a championship (according to Green and plenty of others), I wonder if Green will get those spastic limbs under control so that they don't involuntarily flail and cause him to get suspended.
At the same time, do we get to hear how lucky LeBron and the Cavs are to have had Bogut go out with injury like we heard about the Warriors all year? Losing Love was addition by subtraction. Losing Irving hurt. Losing Bogut hurt this year.
Absolutely losing Bogut hurt. I knew it as soon as it happened. It was one of the things that happened in the series -- that happen in many series (most? all?) -- that had an affect. It's absolutely not in the same league as the Cavs losing two starters last year, but definitely it had an impact on the series. Maybe changed the outcome...maybe not. Hard to know. Incidentally, I'd say the same thing about Iving and Love last year.
I just think a lot of people made too many apologies for Green -- "it was involuntary." BS. He's a world class athlete and a hell of a player. He could control those things if he wanted to. I suspect in the future he'll want to.
Davidson, 2013.
Yeah, I said it.
Or if it makes you feel better, Northern Iowa, 2016.
Quote from: tower912 on June 20, 2016, 07:35:41 AM
This wasn't a choke. Cleveland earned it. Having Green miss a game and Bogut out certainly helped the momentum shift to the Cavaliers. But remember, without Irving and Love, Cleveland took GS to 6 last year. Time to acknowledge that LeBron is an all-timer. Losing to an all-timer, with all of his teammates healthy, while not having all of your pieces every game, is not a choke.
Agreed.
Sure, the Warriors had the best regular season record and a 3-1 lead, but as you stated, the losses of Green and Bogut totally shifted the momentum. And LeBron and Irving played like champions.
I wanted the Warriors to win, but I tip my cap to a Cavaliers team that truly earned this championship.
Quote from: wadesworld on June 20, 2016, 09:08:06 AM
At the same time, do we get to hear how lucky LeBron and the Cavs are to have had Bogut go out with injury like we heard about the Warriors all year? Losing Love was addition by subtraction. Losing Irving hurt. Losing Bogut hurt this year.
Didn't MWP tweet something about luck being a big part of winning a championship? ( In response to comments about game 6 being"rigged"
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on June 20, 2016, 07:54:18 AM
You go 73-9 and are up 3-1 it's a choke. I don't care if it's against the 96 Bulls, you have that type of regular season you're expected to win or else you choked.
That isn't taking anything away from lebron, not a fan of his persona or demeanor but he is an all time great.
I am going with my guy Drew Magary on this one:
http://deadspin.com/hey-warriors-you-are-choking-crapbags-1782281499
ETA: Unfortunately, Drew is a potty mouth. Substitute the "s" word for "crap" or the link won't work.
Quote from: warriorchick on June 20, 2016, 12:35:31 PM
I am going with my guy Drew Magary on this one:
http://deadspin.com/hey-warriors-you-are-choking-crapbags-1782281499
ETA: Unfortunately, Drew is a potty mouth. Substitute the "s" word for "crap" or the link won't work.
As always, the best part of any article on DS is the comments section.
(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--E3wD2Q0V--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/uczpi0jiyrd0iwkwdhcb.jpg)
Quote from: Benny B on June 20, 2016, 12:40:53 PM
As always, the best part of any article on DS is the comments section.
(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--E3wD2Q0V--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/uczpi0jiyrd0iwkwdhcb.jpg)
Beautiful. Just beautiful. The article itself gave me some hearty laughs. I had never seen that Beiber vine before. Very very funny.
Quote from: warriorchick on June 20, 2016, 12:35:31 PM
I am going with my guy Drew Magary on this one:
http://deadspin.com/hey-warriors-you-are-choking-crapbags-1782281499
ETA: Unfortunately, Drew is a potty mouth. Substitute the "s" word for "crap" or the link won't work.
Great stuff, Chick. Hilarious and pretty much dead on. The 73-9, "greatest team ever" became the first and only team in NBA finals history to blow a 3-1 lead. And 2 of the 3 losses were at home. And this happened because the great "Rim Protector" Andre Bogut missed a couple of games? Andrew frickin' Bogut? Seriously? No, it happened because while Steph Curry was being too cool for school (that errant, totally unnecessary behind the back passes was both parts so dumb and arrogant it made me a Cavs fan) and Draymont Green was playing the fool, Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, et al outplayed and outworked them. By a lot.
Make no mistake. For the defending champs (and the team with the best record in NBA history) to turn into the only team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 lead is a choke job of monumental proportions. They didn't miss a field goal or make an error. They got their asses handed to them 3 straight games (2 of them at home) while looking (with the exception of Klay Thompson and last night anyway Draymont Green) equal parts inept and disinterested.
What was it? The final 4:39 of the game without a point? While they turned it over or jacked up contested 3s off the dribble while eschewing any semblance of their normal offense? Quintessential choke.
Quote from: CTWarrior on June 20, 2016, 07:15:36 AM
Yanks blowing 3 games to none lead to Red Sox and a 4-3 lead heading into the 9th of game 4 with Mariano Rivera ready to close.
Yup! ...and I'm a Yankee Fan. Now if that happened to the Red Sox, Mets, Cubs or the Old Brooklyn Dodgers we'd all understand, but the Yankees, c'mon!
Jean van de Velde. 18th at Carnoustie.
Have we forgotten the 2011 Marquette team that lost leads to Louisville, Notre Dame, and UConn all in the span of 10 days? No choker could ever choke more than the choking dogs of Marquette that peed down their legs.
Quote from: brewcity77 on June 20, 2016, 05:44:35 PM
Have we forgotten the 2011 Marquette team that lost leads to Louisville, Notre Dame, and UConn all in the span of 10 days? No choker could ever choke more than the choking dogs of Marquette that peed down their legs.
The Louisville and Vanderbilt losses were definitely chokes but I think the prior team choked more against Florida state, DePaul, WVU, Nova, and ND
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on June 20, 2016, 05:53:24 PM
The Louisville and Vanderbilt losses were definitely chokes but I think the prior team choked more against Florida state, DePaul, WVU, Nova, and ND
Guessing you're too new to Scoop to remember this...
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=23962.0
Agree that GS losing that series the way they did was a choke job.
Green did it to himself by missing that one game, but he also played pretty poorly in Games 3 and 6 (as well as several in the OKC series). There was zero, zero, zero guarantee that they win Game 5 with him.
Bogut? Maybe, early in games they missed him as a defensive tone-setter and also missed his fouls, but let's not make him out to be Shaq or Russell or even Mutombo. The man averaged 16.6 minutes in the playoffs -- roughly a third of each game -- after averaging 20.7 minutes during the regular season. Given that they won 73 games, I would say they were pretty good at playing without him. And he played little if at all down the stretch of any important game; their lineup was at its best without him.
As I said, it was a choke, but I really don't think it was a huge one. Compared to, say, the Cubs in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, Greg Norman in the Masters, the 1964 Phillies and plenty of others I could name if I had more than 2 minutes before hitting the send button here so I can take my dog for a walk, I don't think it was that monumental of a choke. They were facing the best player in the world, and they never had the Cavs beaten in any of the final three games.
Biggest choke in sports history?
How about this guy?
(http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/001/152/678/73381012_display_image.jpg?1312355773)
High level competitive sports is not an easy thing. I respect all athletes who make it to the upper tiers of their sport. So I do not really subscribe to the notion of choking. There are going to be winners and losers. Some athletes are simply better at maintaining their calmness and focus in critical moments and that is what makes them a winner. If you really peel the onion back you will find the guys who don't choke have lots and lots of experience playing their sport back to their youth days and things flow for them naturally.
Quote from: warriorchick on June 20, 2016, 07:54:31 AM
You gotta have the 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup team on the short list.
I was there to witness that. Ouch.
Jordan Speith at Augusta, 2016.
Quote from: Sheriff on June 20, 2016, 09:22:32 PM
I was there to witness that. Ouch.
It happened down the street from me.
Quote from: warriorchick on June 20, 2016, 09:29:46 PM
It happened down the street from me.
Same here. My wife and I walked home from Medinah.
Quote from: Pakuni on June 20, 2016, 08:49:36 PM
Biggest choke in sports history?
How about this guy?
(http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/001/152/678/73381012_display_image.jpg?1312355773)
+1. I remember the announcers admonishing him every time he grabbed a club. 'Just take your triple bogey and win the damn thing.'
Greg Norman was like an ice block in the sun. Took hours to melt away.
Quote from: Marquette Fan In NY on June 20, 2016, 08:57:58 PM
High level competitive sports is not an easy thing. I respect all athletes who make it to the upper tiers of their sport. So I do not really subscribe to the notion of choking. There are going to be winners and losers. Some athletes are simply better at maintaining their calmness and focus in critical moments and that is what makes them a winner. If you really peel the onion back you will find the guys who don't choke have lots and lots of experience playing their sport back to their youth days and things flow for them naturally.
The AP lead after the Cubs lost Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS:
CHICAGO - Kerry Wood trudged off the mound with his head down, flipping his glove into the stands as he hit the dugout steps. In the biggest start of his life Wednesday night, the Chicago Cubs' ace couldn't pitch his team into the World Series.
The Florida Marlins got seven hits and seven runs off Wood in 5 2-3 innings, and they went on to a 9-6 victory to win the NL championship series after trailing three games to one.
"I felt I let the team town, the organization down and the city of Chicago down," Wood said. "I choked."You are free to "not subscribe to the notion of choking," but the Cubs' top pitcher of that decade came right out and said that's exactly what he did. It wasn't the first time he said it about himself, and he also said it about his team's collective choke the previous night.
Quote from: MU82 on June 20, 2016, 10:09:52 PM
The AP lead after the Cubs lost Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS:
CHICAGO - Kerry Wood trudged off the mound with his head down, flipping his glove into the stands as he hit the dugout steps. In the biggest start of his life Wednesday night, the Chicago Cubs' ace couldn't pitch his team into the World Series.
The Florida Marlins got seven hits and seven runs off Wood in 5 2-3 innings, and they went on to a 9-6 victory to win the NL championship series after trailing three games to one.
"I felt I let the team town, the organization down and the city of Chicago down," Wood said. "I choked."
You are free to "not subscribe to the notion of choking," but the Cubs' top pitcher of that decade came right out and said that's exactly what he did. It wasn't the first time he said it about himself, and he also said it about his team's collective choke the previous night.
Including the fans!
Biggest choke job ever by a fan? Cubbies win.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Foul_ball_alou.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Bartman_seat_heckler.jpg/640px-Bartman_seat_heckler.jpg)
Cubs should paint this seat black. Or remove it and send it to Miami to enshrine in the Marlins HOF. Actually, I bet some Marlins fan would pay good money to have it.
Why get detailed ...
The 20th century Cubs.
Quote from: brewcity77 on June 20, 2016, 07:01:30 PM
Guessing you're too new to Scoop to remember this...
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=23962.0
No I used to read CS and scoop before I signed up. Just can't remember every post. Genuinely impressed that you did though.
More disappointed I forgot about that @ND game since I was there.
(http://www.scoreboardtx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/webberto.jpg)
Then there are the '69 Cubs, '64 Phillies and the '51 Dodgers. All choked in September.
Quote from: muwarrior69 on June 21, 2016, 02:58:28 PM
Then there are the '69 Cubs, '64 Phillies and the '51 Dodgers. All choked in September.
This shows you why the Red Sox are in a league of their own as collapsers or chokers. The Red Sox had an almost identical collapse to the Cubs 1969 collapse in 1974. Up 5 games on the Orioles on Sep 1 and finished 7 games out. If you ask an old Red Sox fan about their teams top 5-10 chokes, that season wouldn't likely even garner a mention. That's how often the Red Sox choked before finally getting it done in 2004.
In 1981 with about 8 or 9 days to go the Red Sox were in first place and the Brewers were maybe a game or two behind, and I remember talking to a Brewers fan at MU who said, "We just have to hold off the Tigers (or Orioles, I forget which)" I said, "What about the Red Sox, they are still in first place!" and he said he wasn't worried because they always blow it. Which, of course they did. That stuck with me at the time, that a fan of a team that had never won anything at the time was confident that the Red Sox would choke.
In addition to the 1969 and 1984 choke-a-thons, Cubbie fans had the "honor" of witnessing amazing chokes in consecutive years a decade ago.
We've already discussed the 2003 NLCS choke: up 3-0 with five outs to go and a pitcher who had been practically unhittable for 2+ months on the mound. The following year, the Cubs lost 7 out of 8 games in the final week of the season to blow a seemingly sure playoff spot.
The 2003 choke was quite quick. The Cubs went from 3-0 up to 8-3 down in a half-hour. (They then extended the agony by a night when Wood, as described earlier in his own words, choked.)
The 2004 choke was a slow-motion, week-long, drip-drip-drip of a Cubbie Water Torture choke job. You could feel it coming and everybody was powerless to stop it.
People think this season's Cubbies are the most hyped ever, but the hype surrounding the 2004 Cubbies was off the charts. They got Greg Maddux just before the season to go along with Wood, Prior and Zambrano (and Matt Clement). SI said it was one of the great pitching staffs in generations and predicted the Cubbies would win the World Series. If only they had known that Maddux, like every other Cubbie, would crap the bed that last week (6 runs, 3 HR in 5 innings in his start).
Nobody alive today has ever lost a nickel betting against the Cubs to win the World Series.
How about the 2011 Red Sox and the Braves. Those 2 had a playoff spot all but locked up. Craziest last day in baseball ever.
1984 Cubs choke. Up 2-0 against the Padres, lose the next 3.
Quote from: tower912 on June 21, 2016, 06:20:37 PM
1984 Cubs choke. Up 2-0 against the Padres, lose the next 3.
Effin Durham.
I have the 1978 Marquette Warriors. Defending national champions. Ranked 1 or 2 all season. Student body whose standard attire was "Meet me in St. Louis" t-shirts.
Never got out of the first round of the NCAA. Upset by what today would be a 16 seed, a school not worthy of holding their jock straps.
You can blame the refs. you can blame Hank. You can blame the team. But the fact is we choked. I could see us losing to Kentucky or someone like that. But Hillbilly U of Ohio? I don't think so.
Runner-up, either the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers or the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals. The latter was up 3 games to 1 in the World Series and had two Hall of Fame pitchers starting in the last two games -- Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton. Ughhh!
Honorable Mention -- the Green Bay Packers of two years ago. Field a punt against Seattle and you're in the Super Bowl. Or the year the Packers had the Eagles backed up on 4th and 26th late in the fourth quarter on the way to the Super Bowl. Gave up a first down on 4th and 26th. Wisconsin is still feeling the effects of that choke and rumor had it there was an earthquake in New Jersey somewhere near Vince Lombardi's grave.
Quote from: dgies9156 on June 21, 2016, 07:32:52 PM
I have the 1978 Marquette Warriors. Defending national champions. Ranked 1 or 2 all season. Student body whose standard attire was "Meet me in St. Louis" t-shirts.
Never got out of the first round of the NCAA. Upset by what today would be a 16 seed, a school not worthy of holding their jock straps.
You can blame the refs. you can blame Hank. You can blame the team. But the fact is we choked. I could see us losing to Kentucky or someone like that. But Hillbilly U of Ohio? I don't think so.
For the record, MU spent considerably more time at 3, 4 and 5 than we did at 1 or 2. And UNC started the season at 1, spent most of the year at 2, and ended at 16 in the final poll.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/1978.html
I agree it was a huge choke, even after the awful call...but MU not advancing wasn't even the biggest choke that season.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on June 21, 2016, 08:07:25 PM
For the record, MU spent considerably more time at 3, 4 and 5 than we did at 1 or 2. And UNC started the season at 1, spent most of the year at 2, and ended at 16 in the final poll.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/1978.html
I agree it was a huge choke, even after the awful call...but MU not advancing wasn't even the biggest choke that season.
OK Top 5 all Season! And UNC was NOT defending national champion.
Quote from: dgies9156 on June 21, 2016, 08:11:39 PM
OK Top 5 all Season! And UNC was NOT defending national champion.
No denying it was a huge choke and disappointment. I was in the stands in Indy that day, and missed the second game (MSU with a kid named Magic), because I was in such a fog that I left the arena.
How 'bout Latrell squeezin' da piss outta Carlesimo's size 16, hey?
Quote from: 4everwarriors on June 24, 2016, 03:09:39 PM
How 'bout Latrell squeezin' da piss outta Carlesimo's size 16, hey?
Or Bobby throttling Neil Reed.
anyone mention football johnny? he goes from first college freshman to win the heisman to out of football in a few years. the modern day ryan leaf.
can you believe his lawyer accidently tweets that his client had just spent over $1k at a head shop after his bumper car incident? that may not play out well in his domestic abuse situation. going to jail may save his life
Quote from: Benny B on June 20, 2016, 09:42:38 AM
Or if it makes you feel better, Northern Iowa, 2016.
I just went back and watched it again.... and I still can't believe it.