Sometimes it’s as fun to watch the bloopers in athletic competitions as it is to witness the moments of shining victory. Everyone can relate to that instance when an athlete drops the ball (often literally) – since we’ve all made mistakes like that in some form or another throughout life. So read on to learn about some of the most major sports errors in history:
NFC Championship Game 2010
When football superstar Brett Favre intercepted the ball during the Championship Game, he made a blunder that was considered by many sports fans to be one of the most egregious in recent history. Without Favre’s interception, the Vikings could have run the ball and kicked the field goal. Instead, his action marked the ending of his career (not to mention the end of the Minnesota’s strongest season in years). It just goes to show how even the most talented and accomplished athletes can make a split-second error with major consequences on the field.
Sleeping through the Olympics
In 1960, a runner named Wym Essajas was receiving major buzz during the Summer Olympics. He was predicted to become the country of Suriname’s first Olympian. But then a tragic mix-up took away his chances at gold – he was given the wrong starting time for the 800 meter race and slept through the event. In this case, the blunder wasn’t his, but it still had major consequences for his athletic career.
Cowardly Call on the Clock
When footballs teams Notre Game and Michigan State were playing a highly anticipated game against each other in 1966 – considered by many sports fans to be the game of the century – they reached a point where they had tied 10-10 with 0:34 seconds on the clock. Notre Dame decided to run the clock rather than going for a win, and this decision is widely held to be one of the biggest blunders and most cowardly moments in football history.
Playing for the Wrong Team
During the 1982 NCAA Basketball Championship, Georgetown and North Carolina were faced off in an exciting game. As the clock was running out, Georgetown players were taking the ball up the court in the hopes of scoring at least once more before the buzzer went off (they team was only down a single point). But one of the Georgetown guards, Fred Brown, mistakenly threw the ball to North Carolina player James Worthy, a mistake that cost Georgetown the game.
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