Biggest failures

We should be ashamed. Four pages, and not a mention of this guy.

 

Still the only time I've ever cried following a sporting event (I was a kid)... way to sit on a 35-3 lead, Pardee.

Also would like to nominate the playoff performance of the Atlanta Braves dynasty... er, Knots Landing... of 1991-2005 (14 division titles, 1 World Series crown)

 

Silky Sullivan.

 

I still want to cry over that. That shit was worse than the team leaving town. There is no meltdown in sports comparable to that. And the worst thing of it was, you knew the Oilers were going to lose it, even when it was 35-24.

 

And I think I cried that night, in the shower. Was stinking drunk.

 

Brazil 2006 World Cup...It's coming.

 

The funny thing about this book ... I bought it for 99 cents. OK, that's not the funny thing. But the first 5-6 pages aren't so terrible.

And Shawn Bradley isn't the worst NBA player ever. Hell, he lasted, what 12-13 years?

 

The XFL

 

If memory serves correct, the 1995 Miami Dolphins were a pretty big failure. It was Shula's last team and they loaded up on free agents like Eric Green. They had something like 25 former first rounds picks on that squad and finished 9-7, losing in the first round.

 

Just to refocus this thread, I believe the original query asked "What single pro or college sports team is the biggest failure of all the time, the team to fall furthest from its preseason goals or expectations?"  

I've seen a lot of answers that don't fit, failures though they may be.

A good way to get some candidates might be to go back and look at college football and basketball preseason polls and find some top ranked teams that really tanked.  For example, UNC hoops was in the top 20 the year they went 8-20, Duke was top 10 the year Gaudet took over at midseason and lost game after game.

It's tougher with the pros because there are no "rankings," but you might look at some previous year's champions that tanked.  I remember the Giants and 49ers having some bad seasons after winning Super Bowls.

 

Well, Playboy picked the Browns to go to the Super Bowl in 1984 and 1995. They went 5-11 and 4-12.

Dude is right about the '95 Dolphins.

I would submit any of these teams:

1996 Broncos (lost to second-year Jacksonville in divisional round after wrapping everything up by Week 12)
1986 Bears (set since-broken record for fewest points allowed even in a year muddled by injuries)
2001 Mariners (116 wins)
1998 Vikings (15-1, one of the most prolific offenses the league has seen)

 

But are teams that won so many games really failures with regard to preseason expectations? I would take particular exception to your last one. Lost the NFC championship on a missed field goal after going 15-1 with a rejuvenated fill-in quarterback when absolutely no one expected it. Heartbreaker for sure, but that's not what I consider a failure.