Due in large part to a Twitter conversation from this evening, and a YouTube video recommendation regarding an NCAA tournament incident, I wanted to share some thoughts on some of the worst sports losses I can remember, and also share some thoughts as to why it's hard to be a Missouri Tigers fan.
Worst Losses (no particular order)
1. 2004 World Series- This one was extremely tough for me to take. As a die hard Cardinals fan, I eat, sleep and breathe Cardinals baseball during the season, and if so fortunate, during the playoffs. The 04' Redbirds won 105 games and seemed a well-oiled machine by the time the playoffs rolled around. After a pretty easy division series, the Card's had to beat Astros ace, Roger Clemens in game 7 of the NLCS to win the pennant. However, they were facing a Red Sox team fresh beating their arch-rival Yankees in the ALCS. They were the first team to come from a three games to none deficit and win a playoff series. Still, they hadn't won a world title since 1918. However, they swept the Card's 4-0, and before you knew it, it was all over. It left a bitter taste in my mouth that will never be completely washed out, and was only softened by the clubs 2006 world title.
2. 2005 NLCS- The 'birds again reached 100 wins in 2005, and in the NLCS found themselves facing the Astros for the second consecutive year. Even though this series gave me one of my greatest sports memories (Albert Pujol's bomb off Brad Lidge with the Card's facing elimination), the defeat was tough. I had grown to hate that group of Astros and their "killer B's". I badly wanted a World Series ring after being so close the year before, but once again, the Cards came up just short.
3. 2002 Elite Eight- By the time the 2002 NCAA tournament started, the Missouri Tigers weren't supposed to make it out of the first round, let alone the elite eight. However, the 12th seeded Tiger got hot at the right time and beat Miami (FL), Ohio State, and UCLA in route to the elite eight where they faced conference rival, Oklahoma. Missouri is a proud basketball program and the only thing missing of it's otherwise very solid resume, is a final four (something I still DESPERATELY want). The Tigers fought hard but came up short losing 81-75. It didn't help that it seemed Tiger G Clarence Gilbert couldn't hit a shot, or that Arthur Johnson couldn't hit a free throw, or that Kareem Rush fouled out in the crucial final minutes of the game. The morning after this loss is vivid to me. I woke up to the Eagles song "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and was looking at my "Thank You, Clarence!" poster from senior day at Mizzou that season. It was sad.
4. 2009 Elite Eight- The 2009 Tigers came out of nowhere to end up with 31 wins and a 12-4 Big XII mark. When the tourney came around, Mizzou was a 3rd seed, and had some favorable match ups in the first couple rounds. After a slow start, they cruised by Cornell, but then had to fight hard to beat Marquette. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Tigers started fast and dominated 2nd seeded Memphis to once again reach the elite eight. Once again, Mizzou fought hard, but a second half scoring drought and an unbelievable shot by UConn's Kemba Walker led to Mizzou losing in the round of 8 for the fourth time (5th if you count the time when only 8 teams made the tourney and Mizzou was one of them) in school history.
5. 2007 Big XII Championship- What a magical year it had been for the Mizzou Tigers football team. They had finished the season 11-1 (7-1 Big XII) and were fresh off a 36-28 win over the hated, arch-rival Kansas Jayhawks. The Beakers came into the game ranked 2nd in the nation, but Mizzou won, and coupled with a loss by LSU, ascended to #1 in the country for just the second time in school history. Their only regular season loss came on the road to the Oklahoma Sooners, the team they now faced in the conference title game. Not only was revenge on the line for the Tigers, but a trip to the National title game was on the line as well. It was good for a half, with the game tied up 14-14. However, Mizzou mustered only a field goal in the second half and lost 38-17 knocking them out of the title game and leaving a bitter taste in my mouth (mainly due to the fact, that the game could've very well been Mizzou's best chance to play for a national title in my lifetime).
6. 2003 Big XII Tournament Championship- This one probably in the grand scheme of things is a loss Mizzou fans don't take all that hard. It's just one that has always stuck with me, and for reasons I can't explain, this loss really gets to me. The 2003 Missouri Tigers were already tournament bound when this game came around. It was only a matter of seeding by this point. They were facing a pretty darn good Oklahoma team. After the first half, things looked bleak, but the Tigers dominated the second half playing stout defense and finally beginning to put the ball in the hoop. In the waning seconds of the game, with the Tigers trailing 49-47, Mizzou forward Rickey Paulding drove the lane and put up a lay-up attempt that went just off the side of the rim as the buzzer sounded. I can't explain it, but that loss hurt and still hurts bad. Mizzou would go on to lose in overtime against Marquette in the round of 32 in the NCAA tourney.
7. 1994 Elite Eight- I was all of six years old when this game was played, but I was deeply involved with Mizzou tournament run. The '94 Tigers went 14-0 in Big 8 play and entered the tourney as a #1 seed. They faced Arizona in the elite eight, but were thoroughly beaten. As the final minutes ticked by, I remember sitting in my upstairs living room almost on the verge of tears, but I didn't cry, because midway through the second half, it was apparent it wasn't Mizzou's night.
8. Super Bowl XXXVI- The St. Louis Rams were a heavy favorite in this game. They had rolled through the '01-'02 season with a 14-2 mark. They faced the underdog New England Patriots. The upstart Patriots begin a dynasty with a 20-17 win on an Adam Vinetari field goal as time expired.
9. 2004 NFL Divisional Playoff Game- The Kansas City Chiefs had started the year 9-0 and finished 13-3 and were the second seed in the AFC. They hosted the Colts at Arrowhead, and lost a heck of a shoot out, 38-31. Neither team punted. It was unreal. Still, it was just another Chiefs playoff disappointment. One that still has me riled up (no disrespect to Payton Manning).
Honorable mention:
1. 1996 St. Louis Cardinals NLCS loss to Braves
2. 2008 Mizzou football loss to Oklahoma State
3. Any horse since 2000 that won the first two legs of the triple crown, but failed at Belmont (especially Smarty Jones and Big Brown).
4. St. Louis Rams playoff loss to New Orleans Saints in 2001
Last, just a few thoughts about my life as a Mizzou fan. Let me say this: it's hard. There have been some really good times, but there have also been some really bad times. It wasn't until I was 9 years old that Mizzou football had a winning season. They had back to back winning years in '97 and '98, but then fell back into a drought that lasted until 2003. Mizzou teams with high expectations have fizzled in my lifetime, chiefly the 2004 football team. From 2002-2004 the hoops team dramatically underachieved when one considers the talent on the roster. In the long history of the football program, they have been more bad then good. There have been some bright spots here or there, but many experts on college football consider Mizzou to be on of the most under-achieving football schools of all time. Sure, they have a .544 all time winning percentage, but they are 12-15 all time in bowl games. But hey, at least they've been to 23 of them, right? The team has won 15 overall conference titles, but the last one came in 1969. I repeat, 1969. People will argue that current coach Gary Pinkel has the Tigers on the right track. They've played in 5 straight bowl games (this year will probably be 6) and played in bowls six of the last seasons. They also won back to back North division titles in 2007 and 2008, but for the most part, it was a weak North. My point is, when a program that has been playing football since 1890 hasn't won a conference title since 1969, and has only once sniffed at a national title since 1960, I expect more. The recruiting base and the facilities are there, yet the Tigers consistently put out mediocre to bad teams, sprinkled in with some good/great years every now and again. Long suffering Tiger fans deserve more. Now, I could go into greater detail, but I'll end here. I'm depressed enough just thinking about this stuff.
As for the basketball team, the program has been historically good. Long time coach Norm Stewart is considered to be one of the greats of the game, though even he seemed to fail to win key NCAA tourney games. The hoops team also has won 15 regular season league titles, but none since 1994. They've won the league tournament 7 times. They've been to 7 sweet sixteens and 4 (some say 5) elite eight's. Here's the real kicker: they have the second most NCAA tournament appearances of all time without a final four appearance with 24 (BYU has the most). That number by itself is good enough to be tied for the 22nd most appearances of all time (which is pretty good considering the number of schools that compete in division one basketball). Most experts have the overall program ranked anywhere from the mid 20's to the mid 30's when ranking the greatest programs ever, so just imagine what a final four and a big 12 title would do for this team. It's just so hard, when even in my lifetime, the team has been on the brink of a final four three times, and failed to do so each time.
I could go on and on about the questionable decisions of current AD Mike Alden, the antics of former hoops coach (and my ex arch-nemesis) Quin Snyder and the bad luck that has frequently befallen the football team (5th down, kick and catch, etc) but I'll end here. To be brutally honest, Mizzou is a program competing in big time college athletics, that is, for the most part, mired in mediocrity, even though grand success has been just a breath away at times. The program, both of them, should be better. With the football program, who knows. However, current hoops coach Mike Anderson has Mizzou basketball headed right back up again, and I predict he brings a final four to Columbia by 2011. If he does that, it won't be so hard to be Mizzou fan. Here's hoping...
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