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From showboating blunders to catastrophic collapses, sports history is full of moments athletes would love to forget! Join us as we count down the most infamous errors and meltdowns that cost athletes and teams everything. Which of these legendary fails left you speechless? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00Cannot believe the call. You've got Marshawn Lynch in the backfield.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous errors and collapses during competitions that
00:09cost athletes or their teams severely.
00:11We won't be looking at broadcast or business mistakes in the video.
00:14Should I either boot it into the goal or row the head, but don't play a 1-2 with the
00:22post?
00:24Number 20. Texas Rangers blow the lead, twice.
00:27Coming into Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, the Rangers were leading by three games to the St. Louis
00:32Cardinals, too.
00:33But the Rangers get three, and lead by three as they try to win the World Series here tonight.
00:39Sweet victory, and the first Rangers World Series looked on the cards.
00:43All they had to do was secure one strike in the bottom of the ninth inning.
00:46Then David Fries stepped up to the plate for the Cardinals.
00:49He drove a triple to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
00:52Once more at the bottom of the tenth, the Rangers needed one solitary strike.
00:56Yet the Cardinals tied the game with a Lance Berkman single.
00:58In the 11th inning, Fries' home run secured the win.
01:01Fries hits it in the air to center.
01:04We will see you tomorrow night.
01:07After disheveled Rangers were beaten in Game 7, the Cardinals lifted the iconic championship.
01:12Number 19.
01:13Banma Duoji's flop flip.
01:15Sports are rife with celebrations featuring backflips.
01:17When they go to plan, they're delightful and impressive.
01:19Yet when they don't... oh no.
01:21In 2025, Banma was competing against Joshua Pereira at one fight night 29.
01:26Unfortunately, Pereira tore his ACL during the MMA bout, allowing Banma to capitalize with
01:31some strikes, earning him the TKO victory.
01:33Celebrating his victory, the Chinese flyweight went to do a backflip off the corner ropes.
01:37Instead, he slipped and flopped back on the mat.
01:39If that wasn't embarrassing enough for Banma, his win was overturned later as he failed a
01:43doping test, earning him a six-month suspension.
01:46Number 18.
01:47Laura Garcia Caro didn't look behind her.
01:49As every athlete knows, never celebrate until you've finished and won.
01:53However, since they're humans with emotions, that doesn't always happen.
01:56Oh my word!
01:57She's been caught!
01:58I can't believe it!
01:59I cannot believe it!
02:01At the 2024 European Athletics Championships, Spain's Garcia Caro was around five meters
02:07before the finish line after a 20-kilometer racewalk.
02:09Understandably, she was delighted as she was set to finish third, securing her first medal
02:13at the event.
02:14So Garcia Caro enjoyed the moment by wearing her country's flag, smiling, and waving to the
02:18crowd.
02:19Yet all of that delight disappeared for the racewalker when she realized Ukraine's Lyudmila
02:23Oleana Fasca was rapidly closing the gap.
02:26She stormed around the final circuit, she had a target, Trapleti in second, but Garcia Caro,
02:33who we thought was safe for the bronze, had no warning, too much noise in the arena.
02:38While Garcia Caro panicked and tried to get ahead of her sudden rival, it was too late, and
02:41Oleana Fasca won the bronze.
02:43Number 17, Double Embarrassment.
02:45In 2019, internet cricket fans made sure this incident went viral, and unfortunately, it
02:50wasn't due to incredible skill.
02:51During an amateur match between England's Spundin and Kirkby Portland cricket clubs,
02:56the latter was fielding when the batter went for a four.
02:58One fielder rushed to stop it, only to slip in the ball to go through his legs.
03:02Still, no problem, there was another fielder behind him.
03:04Due to the batters making a run, this fielder had the opportunity to get one out.
03:08Instead, he fumbles his throws straight into the backside of his fallen fellow fielder.
03:11For non-cricket fans, those balls are super hard, so we can only imagine the size of the
03:15bruise after that, physically and mentally.
03:18Number 16, The Abrupt Fall of the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning.
03:21Throughout the 2018-2019 NHL season, the Lightning dominated by earning 128 points and equaling
03:27the 1995-1996 Detroit Red Wings, then record of 62 wins, securing them the President's Trophy.
03:33And accepting the award on behalf of the Lightning, the captain, Stephen Stamko!
03:43So when they were set to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern
03:47Conference first round, it looked like an easy win as the Lightning were deemed the overwhelming
03:51favorites.
03:52After all, Columbus only got through to the playoffs in the wildcard.
03:55In Game 1, it started as expected with the Lightning leading 3-0 after the first period.
04:00Yet the team then collapsed, losing the game 4-3.
04:04Incredibly, Columbus utterly destroyed them, winning each series game including emphatic
04:085-1 and 7-3 victories in Games 2 and 4, respectively.
04:12First time in their franchise history, the Columbus Blue Jackets have advanced in the
04:18Stanley Cup Playoffs.
04:20Number 15, Jean Vandeveld and the 1999 Open Championship.
04:24Everyone loves an underdog story.
04:26And at the 1999 British Open, we nearly had one.
04:28Coming into the tournament, Francis Vandeveld was ranked 152nd in the world.
04:32He's going to be at least three shots ahead.
04:41A six will do.
04:42Yet his incredible performance sent him all the way to the final round, and he was leading
04:46by three strokes by the 18th hole.
04:48All Vandeveld needed was six strokes on the par 4 course to win.
04:51Instead, it was a comedy of golfing errors.
04:53Taking unnecessary gambles, the Frenchman hit a stand, put the ball into the water, contemplated
04:59playing from the hazard, and stroked the ball into a bunker.
05:02In the end, he took seven strokes.
05:04Vandeveld did make the playoffs, but later lost to Scotland's Paul Lowry.
05:07He had it in the palm of his hand, and before he could close the fingers round the handles
05:12of the jug, it was snatched away.
05:14Number 14, Celebratory Own Goal.
05:17In 2024, in the Scottish Borders Rugby Union youth team, Hoyk Youth were leading the Gala
05:22Wanderers by two points when the latter had a conversion attempt in the final seconds
05:26after scoring a try.
05:27Scrum half Aaron Common got carried away with his own celebration and decided to kick the
05:32ball away.
05:33But he sliced his kick, and the ball changed direction, going in between the posts and over
05:38the bar.
05:39However, with the angle and distance against the kicker, the attempt went short.
05:42Yet this is where it gets truly bizarre.
05:44To celebrate seemingly winning the match, a Hoyk player kicks the ball before it hits
05:48the ground.
05:48Yet his enthusiasm sent the ball over the goalposts.
05:51In an incredibly rare incident of essentially a rugby-owned goal, the conversion was technically
05:55successful, earning Gala the two points and putting the score at 33-33 as the referee
06:00blew the final whistle.
06:01We probably didn't deserve it at all because the kick was awful, and we didn't probably
06:05play our best in the game, but I'll take it.
06:08Number 13, towel costs the match.
06:10Doing anything when unwell is terrible, let alone competing in professional sports.
06:14In 2026, that was the dreadful situation.
06:17Terence Atmane was in as he battled against Mjomir Kecmanovic in the quarterfinal of the
06:22Mexican Open.
06:23While Atmane told the umpire about his illness, causing him to get a towel to dry off multiple
06:27times, the Frenchman was still warned for a time violation.
06:30So, after Kecmanovic had won the first set, the Serbian had a match point as he lined up
06:34to serve.
06:35However, Atmane went off to grab his towel again to wipe away the sweat.
06:38Frustrated, the umpire gave him a penalty point, securing the match for Kecmanovic.
06:42It was a very anticlimactic end to a game of tennis.
06:45Number 12, the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl 51.
06:48After failing to qualify for the playoffs for the last three seasons, the Falcons completely
06:53turned it around for the 2016 season, earning them a chance at Super Bowl glory against the
06:57New England Patriots.
06:58For a franchise that hadn't won a Super Bowl, the Falcons looked phenomenal.
07:01By the third quarter, Tevin Coleman's touchdown gave his side a resounding 28-3 lead.
07:06Here is Coleman, endzone touchdown!
07:09Yet, rather than demoralize the Patriots, it did the opposite as Tom Brady and James White
07:13sparked an incredible comeback, tying the game at 28-28 and into overtime.
07:17A broken Falcons had no response as White got the game-winning touchdown, giving the Patriots
07:21a legendary win at 34-28.
07:23He's in!
07:24Patriots win the Super Bowl!
07:27Brady has his fifth!
07:29Number 11, Steve Smith's Own Goal.
07:31Having won the last two Stanley Cups, the Edmonton Oilers went into the 1986 playoffs as favorites
07:36to go all the way.
07:37However, first they had to beat the Calgary Flames.
07:39Goaltending has been a key in the series and likely will be again tonight.
07:43However, their Battle of Alberta rivals didn't make it easy.
07:46After exchanging wins, the series stood at 3-3 in Game 7.
07:49Five minutes into the third period, with the score locked 2-2, the Oilers' defenseman
07:53Smith collected the puck behind his net.
07:55However, when he tried to initiate a breakaway, he passed the puck off goaltender Grant Fuhrer's
08:00skate and into their own net, giving the Flames the win.
08:02Oh, they score!
08:04Oh, Steve Smith in attempting to get it out of his own zone, put it in the net!
08:09Thirteen years later, Smith would come out of retirement and play for the Flames, perhaps
08:13playing the long game all this time.
08:15Number 10, a non-three-pointer.
08:16With a history of sinking three-pointers, it's no wonder that Nick Young was feeling
08:20very confident as he took to the court for the L.A. Lakers against the New York Knicks
08:24in 2014.
08:25Was there any doubt he was going to shoot that basketball?
08:27Not at all.
08:28Swaggy P, Nick Young.
08:30Yet unfortunately for the shooting guard, rather than those he made, Young became a viral
08:34meme for the one he missed.
08:35Near the end of the third quarter, Swaggy P took a jump shot.
08:38So sure that it was going in, Young turned with his arms aloft.
08:41Instead, the ball bounced off both sides of the inner rim before rebounding away.
08:44Shoots the three, turns around to celebrate, and oh, you missed it, yeah.
08:48While Young reacted quickly to his miss and the Lakers won 127 or 96, the damage to his
08:53reputation was done, as the image of him celebrating too early swept over the internet.
08:57Number 9, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's impossible miss.
09:01Legendary Cameroon International has had an unusual career.
09:04After enduring relegations from the Premier League with Stoke City, Choupo-Moting moved from
09:08England's West Midlands to the French capital in 2018 by joining Paris Saint-Germain.
09:12It's one of the biggest clubs in the world, and I'm very, very proud to be here.
09:18In April 2019, PSG needed a win against Strasburg to confirm them as League One champions.
09:24Despite Choupo-Moting's scoring by the 27th minute, the score was one-all when PSG's
09:29Christopher Nkunku lifted the ball over the Strasburg goalkeeper, Mats Sells.
09:33Instead of watching the ball bobble into the net inches from it crossing the goal line,
09:37Choupo-Moting's inner defender came out as he touched the ball against the post and it
09:41was cleared away.
09:42Your eyes have not deceived you.
09:44Choupo-Moting makes a last gasp defensive clearance against his own team.
09:48As such, the game finished 2-all, causing PSG to wait to be crowned champions.
09:52Number 8, Tonche Pepio playing to the crowd.
09:55When showboating and athletics works, you get a legend like Usain Bolt.
09:58When it doesn't, you become infamous like Pepio.
10:00While competing at a 2015 track meet, the University of Oregon runner was taking part in the grueling
10:05steeplechase.
10:06Take my word for it, there's a moral to this story.
10:08With a good distance in the lead and approaching the finish line, Pepio decided that instead
10:12of digging deep to reach the end, he'd encourage the crowd to cheer for him.
10:15Seeing this lack of focus, second-place Marin Simon representing the University of Washington
10:19stepped up several gears and sped forward.
10:22Before Pepio realized what was happening, Simon was already in front and crossed the line.
10:26Showing great sportsmanship, Simon helped a broken Pepio to his feet and hugged him.
10:29So I tried to pick it up, but it just got me on the line.
10:34So I'm not proud of myself right now, but it's a good lesson for me, I think, not to
10:40do this in the future.
10:41Number 7, Greg Norman's Masters disaster.
10:44With his legendary career in golf, Norman had endured several heartbreaks at the Masters.
10:48For example, in 1987, it was Larry Mize's incredible chipped birdie during the playoffs
10:52and Norman missing the follow-up putt that cost him.
10:55That's it!
10:58Larry Mize, the 1987 Masters champion!
11:02In 1996, the Shark was hoping to make up for his bad Masters run.
11:06To begin with, he was seemingly doing just that as he led the leaderboard over three rounds,
11:11going into the final one with an advantage of six strokes.
11:13However, partway through, it was like Norman and Nick Faldo suddenly traded their luck as
11:17the Australian began to struggle while the Englishman dominated.
11:20By the end, Norman's collapse resulted in a 78, while Faldo ended with 67 and the Green
11:25Jacket.
11:26Never felt right today for Greg.
11:30In just 20, I thought he might have a chance, a glimmer of hope to get back in at 15,
11:35the
11:35Eagle.
11:37Just went right by the hole.
11:39Number 6, Alex Gonzalez's NLCS error.
11:42After this incident, it's no wonder that Chicago Cubs fans believe their team had been cursed
11:45for decades.
11:46With the 2003 World Series on the cards, they faced the Florida Marlins in the National
11:50League Championship Series.
11:51Coming into Game 6, the Cubs were leading 3-2 in the series.
11:54However, multiple incidents, including this one from Gonzalez, led to their demise.
11:58Followed by Gonzalez and everybody's safe.
12:01Miguel Cabrera hit a ground ball, which should have been easy for the Cubs shortstopper to
12:05collect and get a double play to end the inning.
12:07Instead, Gonzalez dropped it.
12:09This sparked the Marlins' comeback, helping them win Game 6 and 7 to advance.
12:13The other infamous incident involved Cubs fan Steve Bartman blocking Moisesa Lue's catch,
12:17which would have been vital in the Cubs' winning.
12:19Reaching into the stands and couldn't get it.
12:22He's winning with a fan.
12:23Number 5, Steven Gerrard's title slip.
12:25In the 2013-2014 Premier League season, Liverpool took on title rivals Chelsea with only three
12:30games remaining.
12:31At the time, the Scousers were top of the division and seemed destined to win their first
12:35league title since the 1989-1990 season.
12:38However, the reliable Liverpool legend and captain Gerrard would make a disastrous mistake.
12:42Give it away, here's Demba Ba, it's one-on-one, Demba Ba for Chelsea, scored!
12:48Can you believe it?
12:49Dropping deep into his own half to receive a pass from teammate Mamadou Sacco, Gerrard
12:54slipped, allowing Chelsea's Demba Ba to capitalize with the opening goal.
12:58Chelsea would go on to win 2-0, destroying Liverpool's 16-game unbeaten run.
13:02With Liverpool no longer having the title in their own hands, Manchester City took the
13:06league by the horns and finished as champions with the Merseyside team two points behind them.
13:10Yeah, absolutely devastated, you know, I can't sugarcoat it, personally gutted and gutted
13:16for the fans, they've been magnificent, Bo.
13:19Number 4, J.R. Smith runs out the clock.
13:21In 2018, for the fourth consecutive year, the NBA Finals would feature the Cleveland Cavaliers
13:26and the Golden State Warriors.
13:27Never before in the history of American sports had the same teams met for a championship in
13:32four consecutive years, until now.
13:35Considering the Cavaliers had only won the 2016 edition, they desperately wanted revenge.
13:39In Game 1, with seconds of regulation time left and the score level at 1.07, a missed free
13:44throw rebounded to Smith.
13:46Instead of shooting, he dribbled back to the half court.
13:48After seeing angry gestures, especially from LeBron James, Smith passed the ball to George
13:52Hill, but the clock ran out.
13:53You get the feeling J.R. Smith thought they had the lead.
13:56He didn't know the score.
13:57In the end, the Warriors won an overtime and swept the Cavaliers 4-0.
14:01Seemingly, Smith was running down the clock, believing the Cavaliers were ahead.
14:04However, he claimed he thought James was calling for a timeout, so he stopped.
14:08Number 3.
14:09Lindsay Jacobellis' showboating.
14:11A multi-time Winter X Games gold medalist and a world champion in snowboard cross, Jacobellis
14:15was one of the favorites to top the podium at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
14:19After sailing or boarding through the qualifications, the American took control in the finals, soon
14:23taking a very commanding lead.
14:25Yet as Jacobellis reached one of the last jumps, already seeing the gold draped around
14:28her neck, she decided to showboat with a method grab.
14:31Unfortunately, Jacobellis slipped on the landing, allowing Tanya Frieden to race ahead and grab
14:36the gold.
14:36While Jacobellis settled for silver, it wasn't until the 2022 Winter Olympics that Jacobellis
14:41finally got not one, but two gold medals to make up for her infamous error.
14:45Number 2.
14:46That Seattle Seahawks' call.
14:48In 2015, the Seahawks were looking to become NFL legends by winning their second consecutive
14:52Super Bowl.
14:53However, they'd need to beat the always-threatening New England Patriots with Tom Brady.
14:56Brady.
14:57Caught!
14:58Touchdown!
14:59Julian Edelman!
15:00In a thrilling game for neutrals and horribly nerve-wracking for fans of the teams, the Seahawks
15:05and Patriots traded touchdowns, with the latter eventually leading 28-24 in the fourth quarter.
15:10Described as one of the worst calls in NFL history, with 26 seconds left, the Seahawks
15:14had the opportunity for a touchdown near the Patriots' one-yard line.
15:17Yet they called for a pass play, which resulted in Malcolm Butler's interception and the Patriots'
15:22win.
15:22Intercepted at the goal line by Malcolm Butler!
15:25At 2026's Super Bowl 60, the Seahawks got their revenge with a 29-13 win over the Patriots.
15:41Before we continue, check out this single from SoundMojo's album current, EDM Transformed.
15:46Check out the full track and album below.
16:021. Bill Buckner's 1986 World Series Error
16:06Once the 1986 World Series rolled around, Buckner's life would forever be haunted by
16:10this.
16:10It had also strengthened the case of the curse of the Bambino for Boston Red Sox fans.
16:14The last time the Boston Red Sox won a World Series, the Doughboys were dug in the trenches
16:18of France, Mademoiselle Armentier, and finally Johnny came marching home.
16:24They're trying to do it again tonight.
16:25Coming into Game 6, Boston had a 3-2 lead over the New York Mets, however Buckner was
16:29playing through injury, which really came into effect at the bottom of the 10th inning.
16:33Mookie Wilson struck a ground ball that should have been routine for Buckner.
16:36Instead, the ball bounced between his legs.
16:38This allowed the Mets' rain night to go from second base to get the winning run, tying the
16:42series 3-3.
16:43Here comes night, and the Mets win it!
16:46After that catastrophe, the Mets went on to win Game 7 and the World Series, putting
16:49Buckner forever in baseball infamy.
16:51What's the worst sports fail you've ever experienced?
16:54Let us know below.
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