With Sergio Garcia plummeting from first place to a seven-way tie for eighth at the Players Championship last weekend, Onion Sports examines some of the worst chokes in the history of athletic competition.
82 B.C.: After bloodying a lion within an inch of death, a Roman gladiator momentarily ponders the cruelty of mankind, giving the lion time to bite into the guy’s throat and eat him
1930-present: Detroit Lions
1964: Following a heavyweight title, promising young boxer Cassius Clay proceeds to go winless for the rest of his career while virtual unknown Muhammad Ali begins his dominance of the sport
1996: Greg Norman blows a six-stroke lead on the final day of the Masters by insisting on playing a ball where it lay after it dropped into the abyss of Augusta’s famous 12th-hole glacial ravine
1997: In a devastating loss for Michael Jordan during Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Chicago Bulls fail to cover the spread
2002-03: In one of the more disappointing collapses in NBA history, the Raptors lose their final eight games of the 2003 season, leaving them in the unfortunate position to draft Chris Bosh
2006: Leading 26-0 at the half against the Dillon Panthers in the Texas State Football Championship Game, the Mustangs surrender 27 straight points in the second half and lose to the Panthers on the last play of the game, courtesy of a touchdown from Brian “Smash” Williams as time expires
2007: Needing to preserve a seven-game divisional lead going into the final 17 games of the season, the New York Mets don’t do that
2011: Despite the fanfare of the “Big Three” of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, the Heat lose the NBA Finals to underdog Dallas Mavericks in six games, a disappointment that all three players would never live down for the rest of their careers
