Bottom 10, Part 1
Things they don’t tell you when you decide to be a fan of a team: there are going to be some very rough moments. Even fans of some of the most successful franchises in history have had their down moments (i.e. every time their team doesn’t win it all [looking at you, Lakers and Yankees]). Yet, for those of us that have decided to root for teams not affiliated with pure evil, those crushing moments hurt that much more. This is because we know, deep down, that coming oh-so-close to a magical moment doesn’t happen very often and that our teams must take full advantage of the situation at hand because next year isn’t always a guarantee (for a variety of reasons).
So here and now, I have decided to compile a Bottom 10 list, if you will, of my worst experiences as a sports fan. After writing up this portion I decided that it could get unruly if I tried to combine it into 1, so I split it up. Today will feature 6-10; next post [should be up tomorrow or Thursday] will have the top, er, bottom 5. (note: reading this blog and being a fan of the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Cubs, El Tri or Arizona Wildcats Men’s Basketball team may induce nausea, headaches, raging fever, rage and the innate desire to throw objects through and at windows. Enjoy!)
10. No Fancy Name
2001 Men’s National Title Game Duke vs. Arizona
There are certain instances in a boy’s life that he will always remember. His first bike, first kiss and the first time he started hating the Duke Blue Devils. For me, this night in April was it. By this time I had already committed to becoming a Wildcat (thanks in large part to the 1997 team) and was super excited to see them win another title. Duke had a loaded team that year (led by Shane Battier), but Arizona was no slouch either, going 23-7 on the season, nabbing a 2 seed in the tourney and blowing by Michigan St. in the Final Four. However, this was not to be, as Duke kept them at bay throughout the second half and eventually winning by 10. And so my hatred of Duke began.
9. Ron-Ron’s Putback
(2010 Western Conference Finals Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers)
There are a lot of moments in Suns history that I have been alive to theoretically have seen, but let’s face it: I was 5 when Paxson hit the game winning three in the 1993 Finals and 7 when Mario Elie hit the infamous Kiss of Death shot to eliminate the favored Suns. So I don’t remember the sting of them as much. However, this one I will remember possibly forever. The Suns had somehow managed to make a series of it after being down 2-0, switching to a zone defense and confounding the Lakers in games 3 and 4 to even up the series heading back to LA for Game 5. On this night (just like the first two games in LA), the Fake, er, Lake Show jumped out to a huge lead, only to watch Phoenix whittle away at it until finally, the Suns were only down by three with 14 seconds left. The final Suns possession was aggravating to watch (like reaching for an itch that you just quite can’t scratch). Nash for a 3, nope. J-Rich for 3, in and out! Arrrggghhhhh noooooo. Rebound! J-Rich AGAIN FROM DEEP OMG HE BANKED IT IN!!!!!!! (ßA pretty accurate description of my real time reaction). Tied game! Now if we could just make it to OT… I was sure the Suns would win in overtime. They had all the momentum, the Fake Show had to be discouraged after blowing that big lead; Suns just had to make sure that Kobe didn’t go all hero again. Kobe gets the ball, air-balls it! Overti… then Artest, seemingly out of nowhere, catches it and lays it up at the buzzer. Game. Shock would describe my demeanor over the next few days. Sure, the Suns had another chance to even the series in Game 6, but a win in Game 5 would have been so huge and momentum shifting. 3 in a row against the Lakers? That might’ve been the series right there. But alas, still no NBA Finals for the big Nashty.
8. I stayed up for this?!
(2002 World Cup, second round, Mexico vs. U.S.A.)
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love this country. Sure, there are a few (hell, a lot) of things wrong with it, but it makes up for them in a lot of respects. That being said, I dislike the USMNT. A lot. And this game is the beginning of that. My mom took care of my soccer fandom, and seen as how she is a Mexicana through and through, well, my fate was kinda sealed. So when Mexico advanced to play the U.S. in 2002, it was obviously a huge match. I mean, the U.S. was better than Mexico at many things, but futbol?! Hell na! So I stayed up (til 11 p.m. to watch a game halfway across the planet) hoping to witness a victory that would launch El Tri into the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986, but no. A grueling match, with a few questionable calls (or so I thought; I mean, we all have fan goggles on right?) led to a win for the U.S. and for Mexico, the stark realization that the gringos on the other side had finally caught up to them (But they still haven’t won in Azteca so ha!)
7. Dirk Goes Off
(2006 Western Conference Finals, Game 5, Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns)
The 2005-06 campaign for the Suns was probably the most exciting of the :07 seconds or less era. Despite losing Amare for all but 3 games due to knee surgery, the Suns (behind another MVP performance from Steve Nash and a monster season from Shawn Marion) powered their way to 54 wins and the second seed in the conference. Even with so much roster turnover (loss of Joe Johnson, integration of Boris Diaw, no Amare, etc.) the Suns still led the league in scoring and were battle tested after two grueling series against the L.A. teams. The first game of the series was bittersweet; while the Suns took home court with Diaw’s babyhook towards the end of the game, Raja Bell suffered a calf injury that would sideline him for all but 1 of the next 5 games (the only one the Suns would win after Game 1 was the one Bell played in). Despite the injury, the Suns found themselves in a 2-2 tie going into Game 5. However, Dirk Nowitzki decided that it was his time and his night. Going off for 50 points, Dirk took command of the game and led the Mavericks to a 3-2 series lead that they would not relinquish. I believe that the 05-06 Suns had the best chance of winning the title of all the Run ‘n Gun teams; had they defeated the Mavs, they would have faced off against the Heat with home court advantage and a 2-0 record against them during the regular season. But as was a common theme during this era, injuries and the Suns’ lack of depth did them in once more.
6. Sweep of the Century
(2008 NLDS, Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers)
Sometimes the stars align, and you just figure that fate has decided to play a part in a championship run. After decades of waiting til next year, it seemed the Cubs time had arrived. It had been EXACTLY 100 years since the last Cubs title, and this team seemed hellbent on erasing the pain of playoff runs past. 97 wins, home field advantage and a matchup against the winners of the NL Worst, the L.A. Dodgers. Yup, it seemed like the perfect time to throw the party of the century.
And then the Cubs choked. 7-2, 10-3 losses at home put them in a hole that they would not recover from. Alas, the Dodgers’ pitching staff turned out to be a horrible matchup for the righty-heavy Cubs lineup. Instead of the wildest title celebration ever seen, the Cubs watched another long suffering franchise (the Phillies) walk off with the trophy and into contender status. The Cubs? Fell off in 2009 and have yet to post a winning season since with no end in sight. We might have to wait another 100 years for a team that good again.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=3585911 [Copy and paste the link; even though it isn't the clinching game, it pretty much sums up the Cubs' play in the series.]
I haz a sad 
(and I’m not even at the worst ones yet… sigh). Tune in later this week for the remaining Bottom 5. I promise you, there are some doozies there. And there’ll probably be a movie blog. Who knows.
