What's the worst loss in your time as an SU fan?

[pearl31]

Indiana
I am a geologist and I was working for Newmont Exploration in Nv.
We were looking for metals (gold) using geophysics
It was crushing to be working during that run but the work was fun and exciting
We had just finished an electrical survey in the southern part of the state
We had to be in Elko the next day to meet a mine geologist
My boss knew my passion and agreed we could stop to watch the game
Well if you know Nv you know we did not have many choices
So we rolled into tiny Austin, Nv around end of the first half
I finally found a bar w a tiny TV that was watching the game
After about 0.5 hrs I literally had the whole bar rooting for Cuse as I had promised many rounds on me when they won
It seemed like we were in control until those painful foul shots
DC and Triche Sr. both missed the front ends and left the door open...
for that scum, vermin, slime...Keith Smart
The bar was silent after that shot

NO OTHER loss comes even close
It was a brutal drive to Elko that night
My buddy in the lead truck said every time he looked in the rear view he saw a lighter lighting :<)

Richmond would be distant 2nd if I had to pick

OO44

whoa, is this in sonnet format?!

 

[AZOrange]

Sherman was a much better fit for that team. I don't think there's a question there.

The general is easily the most underrated "great" we've had. You could make a case he's the best...

 

[Jack Hall]

Sherman was a much better fit for that team. I don't think there's a question there.

i agree and thats a tough one for me as possibly The General and The Pearl are my favorite SU players ever. but imo the strength of the 87 team was everyone chipped in. Sherm facilitated that imo better than the Pearl could have...,,,

edit - all 5 starters on that team averaged double digit points. and my recollection is there have only been two SU teams where all 5 starters averaged double digits since the mid 80s and Sherm was the pg for both those teams. pretty amazing

 

[85SUAlum]

Indiana. I threw my TV set off of my second floor apartment balcony.

LOL - I came so close to throwing my TV out my window that night as well. Probably would have if it wasn't so damn heavy (big TVs weighed a ton back in the 80's).
2003 helped me get over that one finally.
For me, the worst loss that sticks with me is still Richmond - was listening to it on the radio in the car and just couldn't believe it.
Doesn't help that it's constantly brought up at NCAA tourney time as it was the first time a 15 seed beat a 2 seed.

 

[themole]

Arkansas.

Butler, then Indiana (only cuz I was 10 at the time)

 

[NineOneSeven]

Tourney: Vermont, butler, osu, michigan

Reg season: cleveland st, Villanova this year

 

[sabach]

Two points. Indiana is the toughest loss. I still think about that game. I even was thinking about it this morning. I don't know why.
Point two. Let this thread put to rest forever the question "would you rather win the NIT or lose in the first round of the NCAA." We are Syracuse. The only thing that matters is the Big Dance. This thread rightfully proves that.

 

[dinno28]

Losing to Indiana in the National Championship game is by far the programs most devastating loss

 

[mountaincuse]

Indiana, that's by far the worst, and not close. I was young then and was crushed, still remember not moving from the TV and ripping up my homemade poster.

Other than that, it's pretty much the loss each year that ends the season. The more hurtful ones already mentioned in this thread.

To that point; Dayton loss sucked most recently.

 

[cto]

Indiana - I was 8 and cried myself to sleep that night.

Arkansas - We won that game. We were the better team, and Arkansas went on to win the National Championship.

Vermont - Wanted to cry that night as well. We had so much potential.

Nope. Arkansas was the defending champion. UCLA won it that year.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Nope. Arkansas was the defending champion. UCLA won it that year.

outed.

anomander...cold busted.

tried to wrap a cry sad story around a slip-up, thus proving his fake-fandom.

i say we take it to a board vote...

Death??

or Exile??

 

[Alsacs]

outed.

anomander...cold busted.

tried to wrap a cry sad story around a slip-up, thus proving his fake-fandom.

i say we take it to a board vote...

Death??

or Exile??

To be fair though that 1995 Arkansas team did make the NC game before losing to Ed O'Bannon led UCLA.

 

[Orangezoo]

Just a repeat of others but for me:

1) Arkansas
2)UK
3)Mich St
4)Alabama- that bracket set up for us to get back to the FF
5)OSU screwjob
6)Michigan
7)Vermont- not as high on my list but still infuriating.

I relived IU through my dad as i was only 3 but would be number 1 if i had been older. Arkansas was the first heartbreak i was really into then the UK loss even if they were the huge favorite.

 

[Zippy1808]

Two tournament ones that still sting for unique reasons:
2010 vs. Butler - of course this is the year we got bounced from our expected #1 seed in the South to #1 seed in the West (Onuaku injury combined with the Dome hosting the East region)... so I bought tickets for the Sweet 16 in Houston (South region) and a plane ticket, given that an SU friend lives in Houston and it seemed like a no-brainer. Of course, we got moved to the West.. not all is lost.. the games would be on staggered days and I'd still get to watch some good games. Not so much. I landed in Houston, we rushed to a bar to watch the Butler game, and lost. Still had Fri/Sun games ahead of us, which were pretty much terrible knowing that our season had ended, and not even in the right city.

2011 vs. Marquette - went to Cleveland for this one with a friend who lives in Pittsburgh... so we 'commuted.' Did the Friday games too, and found out at the end of that session that we would have the late game on Sunday. Not ideal, since we'd be driving home very late to Pittsburgh that night. We lost. To Marquette of all teams. As we're leaving the arena through a side stairway/fire exit, we open the doors to the street and are immediately greeted by a monsoon. There's no shelter to even consider our options, we couldn't go back in the arena, and we were not dressed for the weather. The car was parked many blocks away. We drove 2.5 hours home soaking wet. Plus, I was holding great tickets to the East Regional in Newark, which I had to sell. I don't even recall making any money off them.

 

[DoctorBombay]

2006 NLCS Game 7 vs. St. Louis.

I thought we had it when Endy Chavez made that incredible catch.

Two words: Mike Scioscia ('88)

 

[donniesyracuse]

It might not be the worst, but the Rhode Island game killed me. I never wanted to strangle a blind man before.

 

[capeorange]

Indiana, I just had a conversation last Friday about that game. Talk about the importance of free throws...

 

[sherrillcuse]

1987 NC Game.
Put my foot through my TV spent the next 4 hours at ER getting 14 stitches in my leg...

 

[cpatrocks]

And I know it was a nasty pitch especially in that situation but Beltran just watching strike 3 with his bat on his shoulder. Ugh

Yup...but even if he swung we both know there was no way he was touching that nasty curve ball.

 

[RF2044]

This is a not so thinly veiled excuse for me to drop this here: http://.com/10-years-later-the-uvm-loss/

We're at the 10 year anniversary of losing to Vermont, and while a lot of folks have that one marked down as the worst loss they've seen (Richmond is worse, and even the regular season loss at DePaul a few years a go is worse, in my estimation), I just can't mark it down as the worst I've seen.

For me, it really would probably be DePaul, despite the fact that nothing was truly at stake there. I can't mark the UVM loss down for the reasons outlined in the link.

Just thought it might be interesting to see what losses stick out with SU fans. We're fortunate in that we don't see many...so when they come, the bad ones tend to stand out. I imagine the Cleveland State one is up there for a lot of folks, based simply on HOW it happened.

Richmond '91 was absolutely brutal.

Indiana '87 was also a soul crushing demon that took our '03 national championship to exorcise.

 

[OrangeTown]

Jekelish, I hate you for starting the most depressing thread in the history of Syracusefan.com.

I hate Keith Smart more, but now you're second.

 

[CusefanATL]

Ooh, a Pearl -vs- General question. '87 was my first real memories of the team, so I only know the Pearl from highlights. I'll hang up and listen.

Ha... there is a local sports afternoon guy in atlanta (mike bell) who does a skit about how friendly southerners calling in are vs NY'ers on the air. And it always includes the southern gentlemen ending the call "ill hang up and listen" vs the NY'er (where Bell is from) gets into an argument with the host.

Here is my million dollar question... where did you hear that phrase? The north or the south?

 

[rrlbees]

1987 NC Game. Put my foot through my TV spent the next 4 hours at ER getting 14 stitches in my leg...

You win.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'm 30 so don't remember much if anything prior to 96. Vermont in Worcester was awful. Worst loss by far. That was a home game for Vermont.

The end of the Michigan game really left a sour taste in my mouth. As bad as we played we had a chance to tie, and some official wanted to play hero as usual. The call on Triche was bogus, just like the year before against Ohio State, which also left a sour taste in my mouth. I would rather lose being thoroughly outplayed than have an official(s) have a say in who wins the game. We had a better chance than Michigan to beat Louisville. We had already beat them once without James.

 

[SUFan44]

Two tournament ones that still sting for unique reasons:
2010 vs. Butler - of course this is the year we got bounced from our expected #1 seed in the South to #1 seed in the West (Onuaku injury combined with the Dome hosting the East region)... so I bought tickets for the Sweet 16 in Houston (South region) and a plane ticket, given that an SU friend lives in Houston and it seemed like a no-brainer. Of course, we got moved to the West.. not all is lost.. the games would be on staggered days and I'd still get to watch some good games. Not so much. I landed in Houston, we rushed to a bar to watch the Butler game, and lost. Still had Fri/Sun games ahead of us, which were pretty much terrible knowing that our season had ended, and not even in the right city.

2011 vs. Marquette - went to Cleveland for this one with a friend who lives in Pittsburgh... so we 'commuted.' Did the Friday games too, and found out at the end of that session that we would have the late game on Sunday. Not ideal, since we'd be driving home very late to Pittsburgh that night. We lost. To Marquette of all teams. As we're leaving the arena through a side stairway/fire exit, we open the doors to the street and are immediately greeted by a monsoon. There's no shelter to even consider our options, we couldn't go back in the arena, and we were not dressed for the weather. The car was parked many blocks away. We drove 2.5 hours home soaking wet. Plus, I was holding great tickets to the East Regional in Newark, which I had to sell. I don't even recall making any money off them.

Similar story for me with the Alabama loss in 2004. My buddy and I flew out to Arizona for the regional after SU had beaten Maryland in the 2nd round. And figuring Alabama was a lower seed, we were a shoe-in to get to the regional final and face a very, very good UConn team.

So we fly from Syracuse to Arizona and the game is on Thursday night, the first day possible. And of course they lose. And we have tickets for the Saturday game and then we're supposed to fly out Sunday. I wanted to leave as soon as possible, regardless of the weather in Arizona being 10x better than Syracuse.

Such a miserable feeling. I had an opportunity to fly to Atlanta for the Final Four a couple years ago - didn't do it in part because I had a feeling I'd be let down. Does this make me a bad fan? Probably/possibly. I didn't have tickets yet, just a plane ticket and a place to stay. In retrospect I wish I had gone, but I am kinda glad I didn't given the loss to Michigan.