Mailbag: Worst Year Ever? Seriously, Is It?
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THIS POST IS NOT FUN, SO HERE IS A SMALL CHILD ENJOYING THE BUBBLE HOCKEY TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS [Bill Rapai]
HEARTBREAKER, LOVE TAKER
Brian,
Is this the most heartbreaking year in the history of Michigan sports?
Along with other painful experiences, we have lost by one play, one shot or one call the following four things of real consequence:
The Big Ten regular season hoops championship
The hoops national championship
Defeating undefeated Ohio State
Defeating #1 Arizona
And hell, let's just throw in the Tigers losing on a grand slam in the 9th inning to let the ALCS slip away.
I'm not sure I can watch this bowl game. I fully expect it to go to five overtimes, whereupon Gibbons shanks a kick, decapitates Hoke and Borges is made head coach.
dh
Oh man. It is bad when I see this list and immediately think not "wow, that's pretty grim" but "don't forget losing the Outback Bowl on the last play of the game." Oh and also "don't forget losing to Notre Dame in the CCHA championship game to break a 22-year tournament streak in hockey." Oh and "Wisconsin." Jesus. If I was a Lions fan…
But I'm not, so let's self high-five on that one. /self high five
My one quibble with your list is that Michigan was probably two or three plays away from beating Louisville. But with your things and my things we can create an Arbitrary Heartbreak Point Amalgam (AHPA) and compare it to previous years. I'm including hockey because I like hockey and you can eat your own face if you don't.
Outback Bowl outcome. 1 point. It's never too much of a heartbreak to lose the Outback Bowl. The way it went down was very frustrating, as Floyd's suspension came back to bite Michigan at the worst time. Did want Denard and Kovacs to go out with wins.
THAT GODDAMNED WISCONSIN GAME. 6 points. Championship not as obviously on the line (and even if they win that game they would still finish one game adrift of Indiana) but seriously, Wisconsin is the vanguard of the bug people.
Losing Big Ten hoops championship on missed Morgan putback. 15 points. This is a lot of points, because Michigan flat-out blew that game and then had it back in the palm of their hand not once but twice with Burke flying down court and then the putback. Winning that game means Michigan gets a banner from the best year of Big Ten basketball in decades. That one still hurts.
Losing tourney streak in hockey. 4 points. That game was always tilted towards Notre Dame and you just wanted them to get in for the streak's sake, but that streak was pretty great. Frustration factor high. Heartbreak factor not so much.
Outcome of national title game. 8 points. Conflicted. Michigan was on borrowed time after the Kansas game, played great, everything was terrific and fun, and just lost. Probably my favorite loss ever. But… so close.
Penn State outcome. 5 points. I was super mad about this, and the game did feature missed 40 and 33 yard field goals to win plus that game-tying drive. Though it meant little in retrospect, at the time it felt like Michigan had just given up a lot of ground in the division title race. Which lol, of course.
Ohio State outcome. 15 points. 11 of 13 feels bad; would be more points but by that point Michigan had outplayed expectations significantly.
Arizona outcome. 1 point. Probably a seed difference in March.
Professional baseball. 0 points, but I feel for anyone who is a fan of both Michigan and Detroit pro sports teams, as on top of all the crap listed above they've had to deal with Joe Dumars passing on Trey Burke for a guy who was so good at basketball that he led Georgia to a .500 SEC record and first round conference tourney exit, baseball happenings described above, and the continued existence of the Detroit Lions. This year the flavor is hilariously heartbreaking instead of hilariously incompetent.
I don't even know what I would do if I truly cared about those teams and Michigan. "Psychotic break" is a prime contender.
I have 55 points. This is offset by things like Michigan's tourney run and the Northwestern game, but I've built a lot of the offset into points given for the Louisville loss and seriously nobody cares about beating Northwestern as part of their overall happiness level, especially in that game.
I am all but certain that this total cannot be matched, as it requires investiture in all three sports and major things on the line. If anything is going to give it a run, though it's…
2006
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This is all based on your opinion of how much Football Armageddon was worth. The worst thing in the last 20 years of Michigan football is without question the Crable helmet-to-helmet call, and while there was still a lot of work to do even if that flag is not thrown, losing that game gets ever more heartbreaking in retrospect as it set the stage for Ohio State's dominion of the series and represents the last moment that Michigan could claim its place amongst the college football firmament. Some things fade as time goes on… next year the Arizona outcome probably wouldn't register in a post like this. Football Armageddon just looms ever larger. How many points is that worth? 40? I don't know, entirely, but it's in that ballpark.
As a bonus, that year's basketball team was 16-3 with a win against MSU on February 1st only to lose 7 of their last 9 games, including a 14(!) point loss to a miserable Purdue outfit that would finish 3-13 in the league and a 2-point home loss on the final day of the regular season against Indiana. Even then Michigan probably makes the tournament except for an opening-round loss in the Big Ten Tournament to Minnesota, which finished 5-11 in the Big Ten.
The hockey team was pretty bad that year and got a three-seed in Denver against North Dakota; North Dakota ran them out of the building. Frustration there, but not heartbreak.
Is that worse? I don't think so. Any other candidates are before my time, but if you want to make a case, uh, go ahead. 2005 was called the Year of Infinite Pain around here, but that was pure naiveté.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:03 PM ^
I think you will find that close calls are true for a whole bunch of football programs, not just us. Think about Ohio: in 1993, '95, '96, '02, '06, '12 and '13 they went into the Michigan game - the last regular season game - undefeated. In five of those seven years, they either lost to us or their next opponent, and in another year they were banned from the title game (when they would have played a very winnable ND team). Only one of those years did they end up winning the national title.
December 17th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
Not for old bastards like me. The '62 Lions went 11-3, blasted Green Bay in the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre," had eight players make various All-Pro teams, and had four eventual NFL HOF players on the squad. They were easily the third-best team in the NFL, and would have made it to the championship game from the Western Conference were it not for the dominance of the 13-1 Packers.
Wondering how in hell the Lions were so good back then? WCF didn't assume total ownership of the franchise until November 22, 1963. That was not a good day in history for both the nation and for Lions fans.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:08 PM ^
probably don't remember beating Cleveland 59-14 in the 1957 Championship Game. The Lions were the champs in 1952, 1953 and 1957 and played (but lost) in the Championship Game in 1954. Those were great teams, and watching them when I was a kid was enough to make me a fan for life. Since WCF bought the team, it's been rough sledding. He let the AFL team outbid us for a number of draft picks prior to consolidation and then finally paid up for Nick Eddy who, as best I can remember, never played a single regular season snap due to a string of injuries.
December 17th, 2013 at 1:32 PM ^
...should be worth more, IMO.
Look at these teams:
Quinnipiac
St. Cloud State
U-Mass (Lowell)
Yale
Those are not the schools that were eliminated on the first day of the tournament that Michigan could not qualify for; those are the schools that MADE IT TO THE FROZEN FOUR OF THE TOURNAMENT THAT MICHIGAN COULD NOT QUALIFY FOR.
December 17th, 2013 at 1:35 PM ^
December 17th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
No year in which our hoops team makes the Final Four and the NCAA Championship Game could possibly be the worst. In fact, every single year from 2007 through 2010 was worse, much worse. The basketball team was meh all of those years. In football, we all know what happened in 2007. In 2008 and 2009, we sucked. In 2010, the team got our hopes up only to be manhandled at the end of the year by Wis., Ohio, and Miss. State, displaying the worst defense in anyone's memory. No contest. This is a U of M blog; Detroit sports don't count.
December 17th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^
But wait, there's more! As an added bonus, I also root for my alma mater, you know, the Big Ten school that backed into a CBI invite and had the worst power-conference football team in the country. (Also the one that lost a regular-season volleyball match in five sets at home to Northwestern (??) and got whacked in the regional final by Wisconsin after crushing overrated Missouri at Missouri and sweeping Illinois at Illinois.)
And as awesome as the FA Cup final was, that was followed shortly thereafter by Wigan being relegated to the Championship, sleepwalking through much of the first half of that campaign, and then collapsing in Europa League play after being in position to qualify for the knockout stage with two matches left and their destiny in their hands.
SPORTS FTW
December 17th, 2013 at 1:44 PM ^
My roommate turned 21 the night of the Louisville game. We sat on the couch sad until about 12:30, when he stood up, exclaimed "let's go." and we went to Charlies. Then we got kicked out because a fight broke out right outside.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:07 PM ^
Maybe Brian was trying to make us feel better or he missed Michigan State. That has to be worth points. It doesn't matter what the score was.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:01 PM ^
To be fair, the fact that most of the tough losses in basketball were in championship games takes the sting off. I mean, I was at UM during the Ellerbe/Amaker transition; talk about irrelevance + losing.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:09 PM ^
As a Lions season ticket holder, U of M alum and Tigers Fan 2013 has been the worst sports year in recent memory. I'm 34. The issue for me is the expectations for my teams versus there performance was widely vaired. In the case of the lions they made be beleive with a blisering start and legit talent. Now the whole season comes down to winning out and hoping chicgo and green bay lose this weekend. Michigan footballs struggles are well documented in this blog. Having to hear Spartans chirp all day at work makes my head hurt. Tigers blowing another golden chance to bring home a title.
Sports aren't that fun for me this year. I really only watch my teams and no other games. I need 2014 to reset my sports passion.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
December 17th, 2013 at 2:31 PM ^
We have a winner.
2007-08 men's basketball: 10-22 (most losses in school history)
2008 football - 3-9 (most losses in school history)
December 17th, 2013 at 3:03 PM ^
December 17th, 2013 at 2:14 PM ^
Thanks! I feel sooooo much better than I did when I started reading this.
/jumps out of window.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^
Definitely not the worst ever. The Final Four run was incredible, an awesome reward for those of us who suffered through the Ellerbe/Amaker years. Bring up the 2012-13 basketball team and it will always bring a smile to my face.
Football was disappointing, but in the end, how much worse were we than we expected preseason? I thought we'd be about 9-3, so we disappointed relative to that, but I was basically expecting another Outback Bowl, not the Rose Bowl. As time passes it'll just be a "blah" season that we won't remember, other than for perhaps the ND/OSU games. It wasn't bad enough to make me forget the basketball run in the spring.
December 17th, 2013 at 3:27 PM ^
You're right if we're talking about level of overall terribleness.
However, from a heartbreak standpoint, 2013 is probably the worst of them.
December 17th, 2013 at 5:20 PM ^
1993 would still beat it.
Both the basketball and hockey teams made the Final Four for the second year in a row and this time, neither would be satisfied with anything less than the ring. Neither one got it.
And then the preseason top 5 football team lost four games by a total of 20 points.
December 17th, 2013 at 7:40 PM ^
I was under the impression we were rolling with "in the existence of MGoBlog" rules, but yes, that would top 2013.
December 17th, 2013 at 2:36 PM ^
December 17th, 2013 at 9:19 PM ^
December 17th, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
I registered for this site just to comment in this discussion. To me, this year has been the worst in recent memory. In addition to the litany of events previously described, losing D’Shawn Hand seriously stung, and hearing today that Raekwon chose those turds in Columbus just added to the daily misery of UM sports news. The punches seem to come daily.
December 18th, 2013 at 12:24 AM ^
I see your DaShawn Hand disappointment and I raise a George Campbell decommitment.
December 17th, 2013 at 3:00 PM ^
But as down as I am now, 2008 football was terrible. Sure, the hockey team had a memorable run to the frozen four, and bball was going through the end of the Amaker era. But FB outweighs everything for me, and if you're a Detroit fan, that was 0-16. Not to mention the economy was scary bad.
I guess the question is, what's worse? Deflated expectations, stomach punch losses, or being ground into a fine paste? For me, 2008 was by far the nadir.
And I really hope in the next few years we're trying to figure out which felt better - 2014, 2011, or 1998?
December 17th, 2013 at 3:10 PM ^
You're never going to convince me that 2006 was worse than 2008 or 2005.
December 17th, 2013 at 3:41 PM ^
December 17th, 2013 at 3:46 PM ^
I like to call the Ohio game the 2nd best possible outcome for the game.
December 17th, 2013 at 4:28 PM ^
December 17th, 2013 at 5:34 PM ^
We might want to add the fact that MSU and Ohio have top ten football teams going to BCS bowls and top 5 basketball teams and everything seems bright for them, while Michigan seems lost and completely confused in both sports. There is so much talent and so many resources here, but we can't seem to turn that into dominant programs. At least we are doing well in hockey, but it doesn't make up for it at all. It seems like we are becoming Notre Dame...
December 17th, 2013 at 5:34 PM ^
We might want to add the fact that MSU and Ohio have top ten football teams going to BCS bowls and top 5 basketball teams and everything seems bright for them, while Michigan seems lost and completely confused in both sports. There is so much talent and so many resources here, but we can't seem to turn that into dominant programs. At least we are doing well in hockey, but it doesn't make up for it at all. It seems like we are becoming Notre Dame...
December 17th, 2013 at 7:16 PM ^
I keep saying over and over, "At least the Red Sox won."
The Dolphins may make the playoffs. Thanks for the help Lions!
December 17th, 2013 at 9:22 PM ^
let me preface this with my allegiances: grew up in Cleveland, raised a Wolverine and went to U of M 2003–2007, studied abroad in Rome and became a (apolictal) Lazio fan.
now, 2007 for those teams.
Michigan basketball: completely forgettable NIT season
Michigan hockey: bombs out of tourney in that insanely terrible 8-5 game to NoDak. watched it in the State St. BW3 because they were the only place that had whatever cable backwater it was airing on.
Michigan football: The Horror &c.
Browns: 10-6, one of their better years, miss playoffs on a tiebreaker.
Cavs: utterly shellacked in NBA finals. beginning of the end of LeBron.
Indians: go up 3-1 in ALCS against the Red Sox, proceed to boot the rest of the series. while driving on I-90 and listening to one of those games on the radio, the brakes in my car failed and i spun out at 75 mph in dry conditions.
Lazio: winless in two derbies against Roma. a Lazio fan gets shot and killed by a policeman at a highway rest stop, causing country-wide riots and the suspension of the entire league.
that's a bad year. this year, i dunno. the tourney run _strung me out_ in an unhealthy way. i knew i had to retreat a little after that. now my prevailing sentiment is, "welp, SPORTS." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
December 18th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
December 18th, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^
If you are looking at one calendar year, I agree this was by far the worst. A combination of falling short of expectations, hopes for greatness dashed, and "general WTFness"--I stole that from Seth's tweet Monday after the Lions game.
In the angry aftermath of the Death to Backboards game against Wisconsin (2011 I think) I drafted a diary that traced Michigan (the state) sports from the moment Bo died in November 2006. From then, there is an almost neverending trail of pain. On top of what has been mentioned here:
Tigers lose World Series twice, plus the ALCS this year that they should have won.
Wings lose Game 7 of SCF in 09
Lions 0-16
Michigan Hockey: Air Force game in 2009, the Shawn Hunwick show ending 3 straight years 3-2 in overtime (lowlights including the Miami whistle game and NCG).
And probably more.
December 18th, 2013 at 12:40 PM ^
...to be able to be disappointed. A few years ago that hardly seemed possible.
December 18th, 2013 at 12:45 PM ^
And maybe there should be some negative disappointment-points handed out for the national titles in gymnastics and swimming, not to mention Mikulac winning the all-around at nationals to go with his NCAA title. And Davis and White winning nationals.
All that, plus national runner up in basketball, seems like a pretty good year if you ask me.
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