Coming off an NBA Finals where the "best player in the game" decided to phone it in for a few games, I started thinking about the biggest choking performances I've seen in sports. I didn't think a whole lot about it, until I started watching a little bit of coverage of the U.S. Open, seeing the first round leader's name on the leader board. Twenty-two year old Rory McIlroy shot a six under par 65 to open the first round of the 2011 U.S. Open. Outstanding performance for anyone, but even more so for McIlroy, coming off what could've been considered a major choke in this year's Masters. So, what are some of the other "chokes" in sports, either specific plays, matches, games, or series?
Given McIlroy's age (22) and virtual inexperience at the top of the leader board in major championships, it might be hard to actually consider his 2011 Masters fourth round performance a "choke", but it does have to be put into the conversation. However, when it comes to the Masters itself, one performance in my mind sticks out as an even bigger collapse. Back in 1996, Greg Norman entered the final round of the Masters up by six strokes. After his final round on Sunday, he finished a total of five shots behind eventual winner Nick Faldo. For someone widely considered to be one of the better golfers of his generation, this was easily one of Norman's darkest hours, and definitely ranks up there as one of the greatest chokes in all of sports, not just golf.
Boxing saw one of it's biggest choking performances back in 1990, when Mike Tyson was knocked out for the World Heavyweight title in Tokyo to little-known James "Buster" Douglas. For a lot of people, this was one of those events in history where, if you were old enough, knew exactly where you were when you heard the news. Tyson was always a little off-key, but the loss to Douglas was just the beginning of the downward spiral Tyson's career would see. Was it a choke? Maybe. Or, maybe Tyson just took Douglas a little too lightly. Hard to say, but regardless, it goes down as one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
When it comes to choking in a playoff series, the most recent that comes to mind is that of the 2004 New York Yankees. Up 3-0 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series against the hated rival Boston Red Sox, it was considered a lock that the Yankees would end up in yet another World Series. It had never been done before in Major League Baseball history, that a team trailing a series 3-0 had come back to win the series...until 2004. Boston scrapped and clawed their way back, eventually winning four straight games, and moving on to the World Series, where they went on to win their first World Championship in 86 years. Definitely an amazing performance by Curt Schilling, David Ortiz, and the rest of the Boston Red Sox...but, an equally impressive meltdown by the New York Yankees.
Sometimes, it's difficult to distinguish between a "choke" and a hard-fought comeback. This was definitely the case in the 1993 NFL Playoffs, when the Buffalo Bills overcame a 32 point deficit, to comeback and defeat the Houston Oilers in a Wild Card playoff game. The Oilers had looked very impressive for the first half of football, seemingly steam-rolling over the powerful Bills. The second half, however, saw a completely different game. The Oilers looked nothing like they had in the first half, and the Bills looked twice as hungry as they had to start the game. So, was it a choke, or did the Bills just outplay the Oilers? Always a tough call, but I think any time you lose a 32 point lead, there has to be some choking involved.
So...help me out everyone. What are some of the other choking performances in sports history? Give me your thoughts. Let's see how many we can come up with.
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