Phoenix’s Most Miserable Sports Moment
According to Forbes Magazine Phoenix is the 4th most miserable sports city in America. That’s right the “Valley of the Sun” the place where everyone wants to retire and everybody loves to be from October through April is apparently miserable when it comes to its sports teams.
I understand the fact that if you are an Arizona Cardinals fan that you would be miserable. I mean hell they are bigger teases than your high school prom date (I’d know I went 0-for-5 on Proms) every year you think they are going to come up big and pay off with a playoff appearance and nothing. In 20 years in the Valley they have give fans a total of one playoff appearance/win, one winning season and thousands of hours of heart break. But can the entire sports landscape be similar to this one franchise.
Suns have gone 40 years without the big payoff but they have been a winning team and in the playoffs. The Yotes have only been here 11 years and they had early success in terms of winning seasons but have dropped off as of late. The Dbacks are 10 years removed from their conception and have already won a world series (Thank you Jerry Colangelo for spending more money than you had) , 4 division titles and the one horrible season they had netted them the best young player to come out of the draft since Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. (Not my words but the experts).
I wonder though what moments in Phoenix sports history truly have made the fans miserable? What memories are etched into our collective sports mind that hurt so bad? What fraise or play by play call rings loud and clear anytime something bad happens to one of our sports franchise (”Paxson for three….YES and the Bulls lead by one” anyone?). We have compiled a list of miserable moments and we want you the Phoenix sports fan (No San Antonio fans allowed) to vote on the most miserable moment in the towns sports history.
WARNING THE FOLLOWING IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. IF YOU LOVE YOUR SPORTS TEAMS AND AREN’T A MASICIST YOU MAY WANT TO AVOID READING AND OR WATCHING ANYTHING BELOW THIS SENTENCE.
1968: NBA Expansion Draft Phoenix Suns vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The year was 1968 and a young Jerry Colangelo was faced with a simple task, call heads or tails. What he probably didn’t realize was this moment would be the foundation of years of heart ache for Phoenix fans. Jerry made the wrong call and the Milwaukee Bucks received the number one pick in that years draft. That number one pick turned into the hall of fame center Kareem Abdul Jabar (than known as Lew Alcindor) and success. The Suns got Neal Walk and 40 years of chasing after an illustrious big man until they landed Shaq this season.
1987: Phoenix Suns Drug Scandal
1987 was a very dark year for the Suns in Phoenix. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office indicted three Suns players (James Edwards, Jay Humphries and Grand Condrezick) who had been turned in by teammate Walter Davis in exchange for immunity. No one was ever tried but the “scandal” left a mark on the franchise. The light at the end of this dark period? Jerry Colangelo bought the team for $44 million (Not a bad turn around for JC who sold the team for $401 Million, guess he isn’t one of the miserable sports fans in Phoenix).
1993: 1993 NBA Finals Paxson for Three………..
If you lived in Arizona in 1993 you had Suns fever. You owned a KJ or Barkley jersey. You knew every player’s name and you thought Richard Dumas and Oliver Miller were the cornerstones of the franchises future. You also thought that no one could stop the “Purple Gang From Phoenix” from hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy not even the great Michael Jordan. As we are all so painfully aware all of us were wrong and with the Bulls leading the series 3-2 and the Suns coming home there was still hope. That is until John Paxson ripped the heart out of every fan in Phoenix. If you don’t remember or were alive enjoy the video below.
1997: ASU National Championship Hopes Dashed
Another championship heartbreak, this time in the college ranks. The year was 1997 and Jake Plummer and the Sun Devils found themselves in the midst of a dream season. They entered the Rose Bowl ranked #2 in the country and undefeated. They faced Ohio State led by wide receiver David Boston and the quarterback tandem of Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine . Late in the 4th quarter Plummer’s 11-yard TD scramble gave ASU a 17-14 lead with only a few minutes on the clock. Fans could see national title trophies in their head but not so fast. The Buckeyes mounted a furious drive and with just 19 seconds left Germaine threw a pass to Boston who was wide open and walked in for a touchdown. The extra point was missed but it didn’t matter as Ohio State won 20-17.
1999: Diamondbacks Vs. Mets
There haven’t been many reasons to be miserable if you are a Diamondbacks fan but the 1999 playoffs saw a 100 win Diamondbacks team meet an early exit in their first post season appearance. The worst part, it came on a walk off homer from a back up catcher. That backup was Todd Pratt and his 10th inning home run in game 4 gave the Mets a 3-1 series victory.
2004-Present: Phoenix Suns Playoff Disappointment
Whether it was the disappointment against Dallas, the Amare Stoudemire Injury, the Nash bloody nose or the David Stern ruling the Suns sure have been through a lot over the last 4 seasons. You all know what happened no need to rehash it all.
1988 to Present: Any Cardinals Season Except for 1998
The Cardinals have always held such great promise and every year they manage to con the fans into expecting another great season (if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “this is the Cardinals year” I would have …… well a lot of dollars) yet they never live up to the hype. The Cards have been good for two things, a new coach and a new quarterback every three years.
We’ve given you our thoughts on which moments should be consider now it’s your turn to vote on which is Phoenix Sport’s Most Miserable Moment. Feel free to add your own moments in the comment section and if it’s good we will add it to the poll.
Join the discussion at The Locker Room Forum. Arizona Sports 24/7.
Posted by Greg Esposito
Co-founder of AzSportsHub.com. Greg provides the sometimes serious, sometimes sarcastic and always interesting takes on Arizona sports (at least we hope). Whether it’s on In The Zona with Matt or in his column Greg reports, rants and raves about whatever is in the news for Arizona Sports.
http://www.azsportshub.com/author/espo
(3 votes, avg: 4 out of 5)
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