6 Most Devasting Game Ending Scores that Break Fans Hearts

After watching the World Cup Soccer match between USA and Portugal I was acutely reminded of all of the heart breaking scenarios that happen in sports and end hopes, dreams, and sometimes leads to serious damage of the viewing apparatus we just witnessed the heart break on.

So in celebration of all the serious and devastating losses the sports world has experienced I am putting in my top 6 devastating end of game scenarios. These break hearts, destroy dreams of glory, and help us lose our faith in our favorite teams. So without further fanfare here is my list.

While a shot with a few seconds left can be a dagger to the heart, a buzzer beater is the final blow. While usually this scenario is within a close game, maybe even a see saw battle that has been close the entire quarter.

The buzzer beater then becomes less a devastation knowing that there may be more games in the series, or in the season. So it does kick off our top 6 as the least devastating scenario of our list. But still it can hurt, especially if it is in the finals, and a game 7.

So a walk off hit is pretty devastating. A walk off grand slam is even more so. But a walk off hit doesn't top our list because again it is not such a final devastation to make you fall on the ground huddled in a ball of tears.

Baseball always has been a game of statistics and playing the odds. So in some cases you can almost predict the final outcome of some at bats and prepare yourself for the upcoming blow.

While we can lump a lot of sports in this category it is the scenario of being beat at the last moment. Being out touched at the wall in an Olympic gold metal swim, a photo finish with your favorite horse, or a lean into the tape in the 100 meter dash.

All of these give hope for a few moments until the tape is reviewed and the winner finally announced.

If your athlete wins you are elated, but if they lose, well the loss stings oh so much more because of the anticipation.

I think what makes this end of game scoring scenario so devastating is that it unfolds right before your eyes. Every moment in agonizing slow motion, as you yell at the TV and second guess the defensive coordinator, only to end up with a sour taste in your mouth and gut queasy from all the junk food ingested.

Somehow an "I told you so" just does not cut it. So you walk away totally invested in a 2 hour waste of time. You would think that after all this time that teams would give up on this tactic but alas still so many teams think that their prevent defense is the best, while even the most casual fan knows a prevent defense only prevents you from winning.

Nothing is more final to me than on overtime Hockey playoff goal. You have invested three periods of your life in watching a game. An your team could have dominated the whole game statistically and outplayed their opponent but still find themselves in a sudden death over time scenario where the next goal wins. It is pure agony, watching the teams go back and forth.

Every shot makes the knot in your stomach grow bigger. The fans pounding on the glass, the puck flying in an erratic teasing motion, and the players shift changing and leaving everything on the ice. Then the horn sounds, the blaring horn, signaling and end to all of your emotional investment.

If you win you are jumping up and down, but if you lose somehow you felt like you have been punched in the stomach. For this an overtime hockey playoff goal is up there on devastating end of game scenarios.

It took me a long time to decide between the top three but after watching World Cup and Real Salt Lake in MLS I have decided there is nothing more devastating than an end of game goal for a winner.

There is just something about investing over 90 minutes of your time, in a charged atmosphere of constant singing, cheering, and chanting to make sure you are fully engaged in the moment. And when you are ahead, or tied, especially when you are not expected to be, and a team comes back and scores a goal in the last few moments, well it hurts. I mean it hurts deeply, it is like all of the scenarios above combined.

I guess that is why they call it the beautiful game. There is only but beauty and grace in winning and losing.

When WILL the Sports gods Align and all 4 Major Championships be Won by one City in the Same Year?

Do you know that no city has ever won or held all four major sports championships at the same time. One city came close all the way back in 1935. Detroit one with the Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings. But this can hardly count since there was no Superbowl. But in the modern era only six cities held only two championships at one time.

Now for me the best year was 2002 when the Los Angeles Lakers and the Anaheim Angels won. It is also a side note to add that the WNBA Sparks, and the MLS Galaxy also won, making it four teams in one year but at the time were not considered major sports.

With this in mind I had, at the very least, a good year where all the Championships lined up the way I wanted them to. First these are my favorite teams.

NFL - Seattle Seahawks (comes way back from the Steve Largent and Jim Zorn days)
and the Indianapolis Colts

MLB - Anaheim Angels and the New York Yankees

NBA - Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz

NHL - Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks (their series was a killer)

So as you can see I did well just on my favorites getting two of them to hold the title. As for the other two, well I hate the Miami Heat so I was rooting for the Spurs, and not only did the turn in a great performance they dominated the Heat. This made their wins all the more sweeter.

As for Baseball I did not really have a rooting passion for either team but the series delivered. And since the World Series is in October there still may be time to get a third favorite team to hold a tri-fecta. Can you say go Trout!

So lets make some noise of the teams I love and hopefully we can have another great year. Please leave a comment below.