Which Athlete Broke Your Heart?

Olajuwon was such an athletic freak. He moved so well, and had incredibly quick hands for a big. I loved that guy's game. The only thing he didn't have was a three point shot, but that was a different era and bigs were not encouraged to even try them much.

 

Definitely with you on Tom Watson.

 

Yeah, so many people loved to blame Bartman, but Gonzalez really blew the game there.

Agree on Watson, too. ... And, man oh man, if only Gordon Hayward's half-court heave had gone in. Hearts broke for him everywhere.

 

I was child. I cried.

 

What? No Golden Seals? Just kidding.
I understand how, as a child and a fan, Barry's departure would hurt. I was a kid, too, and for me it was like WTF?

 

Coming from Pittsburgh, even though I wasn't a huge Pirates fan, I think I can toss Sid Bream on this list. To have him, running like he was in quicksand, be the one who beat out that candy-armed throw from left by Barry Bonds was a huge punch to the face.

 

The 2000 Blazers squad. If they hadn't epically collapsed in Game 7 against the Lakers, I am convinced they would've thrashed the Pacers in the finals that year.

And then Greg Oden. He, Brandon Roy, and LaMarcus Aldridge had like a 52-10 record when they all played together. But we know how that turned out.

 

Watched it all unfold in the backroom at our high school library.
Ugh.
I had so much invested in the Expos as a kid. My older brother moved on to become a Blue Jay fan after their demise but I could never bring myself to do the same.
The Expos were the last pro sports team I really cared about.

 

I’m part of the strain of Expos fans who grew up resenting the Jays as they started to dominate the national media coverage in the 1980s. The Expos really took a back seat to them.

I don’t really hate the Jays anymore, but I don’t really follow baseball and I don’t jump on the bandwagon when they are in the playoffs.

Just like my love for my first dog ruined me for all other dogs, I can’t really get over the Expos. Even if they come back, I don’t think it would be the same.

 

As a Toronto kid I became a Jays fan in 1977 but had supported the Expos up until that point. The last Expos game in Montreal was a sad day for Canadian sports.

 

My old was a huge boxing fan and Roberto Duran was his absolute favourite, he revered the guy as not only one of the greatest of all time but as the baddest guy around. When he quit in the second Leonard fight he said he'd never watch another Duran fight and even though Duran had some great wins and one terrific near miss (against Hagler) after the No Mas fight he never did.

 

Two more and then I'm going to walk away from this topic for a little while. They weren't heroes so much as they left us too soon.

Taylor Bradford was 20 years old when he was gunned down one night while getting out of his car at the U of Memphis campus. What days he had here were rich, but the conviction nags that there was so much ahead for this young man. This is a loss that didn't have to happen. So senseless.

Wade Belak was like so many other enforcers. (Olli Jokenen comes to mind as another example.) He was scary on the ice but a big softie when he wasn't skating. He was a devoted dad who was loved by his families by birth, marriage, and shared faith as well as The Tiger Tribe at Broadway. A mutual friend tried repeatedly to call him while he was in Canada doing a celebrity skating show. He had a gut feeling something was wrong. A lot of us would have given anything if he'd answered.

And with that, I am going to start dinner and then write some booger jokes as mental floss.