Losing is never fun, but some losses are easier to cop than others.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Santiago Casilla became the latest athlete to steal defeat from the clutches of victory in a MLB game against the San Diego Padres, but he is far from the first athlete to cause his side to lose in unbelievable fashion.
Spare a thought for the athletes below that suffered the most heart-breaking of defeats, but also those punters that backed them!
San Francisco Giants – 2016 Major League Baseball
Santiago Casilla was bought in to finish the game in the ninth innings for the San Francisco Giants in their Major League Baseball clash against the San Diego Padres and it is fair to say not everything went to plan.
Casilla quickly gave up the game-tying run, but things went from bad to first when he tripped on his own feet at the mound and was charged with a baulk!
This allowed Derek Norris on third base to advance to the home plate and claim the match-winning run for the Padres!
Ben Hunt – 2015 NRL Grand Final
It is the moment that will be forever savoured by North Queensland Cowboys fans.
The 2015 NRL Grand Final went to extra-time after Johnathan Thurston narrowly missed the match-winning conversion and the Cowboys were instantly put in the box seat when Hunt was unable to control the Kyle Feldt kick-off.
Thurston went on to kick the match-winning field goal in the resulting set of six to consign the Broncos to their maiden Grand Final defeat.
Jane Saville – 2000 Olympics
This is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the history of Australian sport.
Saville was leading the 20km walking event at the 2000 Olympics, but as she headed down the stadium tunnel to begin her final lap of the track she was disqualified for an illegal gait.
Saville was inconsolable, but she bounced back to win gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Steven Gerrard – 2013/2014 English Premier League
Liverpool looked set to claim their very first English Premier League title when they went into their final three games with a five point lead, but an unfortunate incident against Chelsea cost them dearly.
Steven Gerrard was the heart and soul of Liverpool for the better part of a decade and he played a key role in their title charge, but he slipped and fell at a key moment in the Chelsea clash and he allowed Demba Ba to score what ended up to be a match-winning goal.
That defeat cost Liverpool dearly – they finished second behind Manchester City by just two points!
Beach Ball – 2009/2010 English Premier League
This was not the first time that Liverpool had lost a game in heartbreaking circumstances.
There was only one goal in the 2009/2010 English Premier League clash between Sunderland and Liverpool and it just happened to come off a beach ball!
A Darren Bent strike took a deflection off a Liverpool beach ball that had been hit onto to the pitch by a Liverpool fan and the deflection was enough to beat Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina.
Referee Mike Jones ruled that the goal would stand and that decision is debated to this very day!
Dro – Italian 7th Division Football Playoff
A penalty shootout for the right to be promoted to the 6th level of Italian football ended in tragedy.
Dro looked to have won the penalty shootout when Michael Palma hit the crossbar with his penalty, but as Dro goalkeeper Loris Angeli ran towards the crowd the ball bounced back and went into the net.
Dro missed the next penalty and it was Termeno that was promoted!
Canberra Raiders – 2016 NRL
The Canberra Raiders have a made a habit of clutching defeat from the jaws of victory in recent years, but this was their best effort yet!
After the half-time hooter sounded during the golden point period of their clash with the St George Illawarra Dragons earlier this season, Jack Wighton made the interesting decision to keep the ball alive.
This ended up going very badly for him as he threw the ball into the hands of Dragons winger Euan Aitken who raced away to score the match-winning try.
Tony Romo – 2006 NFC Wildcard Game
Tony Romo has been the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys for almost a decade, but some Cowboys fan are yet to forgive him for this mistake.
The Cowboys were in the perfect position to kick a 19-yard field goal that would have all but ensured them victory against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2006 NFC Wildcard game, but Romo fumbled the snap and was then tackled by the Seahawks defence.
The Seahawks progressed to the next round of the playoffs and the Cowboys have won just two playoff games since!
Leon Lett – 1993 NFL Thanksgiving Classic
This might be the most staggering entry on this list.
The Cowboys looked to have recorded a narrow victory over the Miami Dolphins in the 1993 NFL Thanksgiving Classic when a Dolphins field goal was blocked.
However, Lett had an inexplicable brain snap and he attempted to recover the ball, but he slipped on the ice as he tried to pick up the ball.
The Cowboys would have automatically received the football if Lett had not touched it, but his interference saw the Dolphins get the ball back and they kicked a field goal to score a memorable win.
Batley Bulldogs – Rugby League Championship
This is one of the biggest brain snaps in the history of sport!
At full-time Batley centre Shaun Ainscough attempted to kick the ball out in celebration, but he failed miserably and the ball was picked up by Featherstone Rovers winger Will Sharp, who scored the match-winning try.
The commentary only adds to the incredibleness of this entire scene!
South Africa – 1999 Cricket World Cup Semi-Final
We never miss out on an opportunity to share this ripper.
You all know what happened – South Africa needed one run off the last three balls to secure a place in the 1999 Cricket World Cup Final, but a horrible mix-up between Lance Klusener and Allan Donald led to Donald’s run-out and Australia progressed to the final.
This video never gets old!