The 5 Most Enraging Moments Of Boston's Sports Decade

Throughout the enduring pain of Boston's sports gods smiling down on them this decade, there have been many moments that stand out for the frustration and anger they created. For every lucky break or inexplicable comeback they had, the sports world suffered just a little bit more. Take, for example, the infamous Tuck Rule. Now at the time, Boston sports had not gotten on their karmic run, so who knew then that the Notorious Raiders' misfortune would become the Patriots' everlasting treasure. Looking back on it, Oakland was cheated and the Patriots actually cheated. That unfortunate event, as well as Drew Bledsoe's untimely injury in Week 2 of that season, changed everything for the worse. A look back (and hopefully, not forward from this point on) at the 5 most grueling and despised moments in Boston's recent run in sports, in no particular order:

Game 5 of the 2007 ALCS. The end does not justify the means here. The Rays may have won the series in 7 games, but lest we forget that Game 5 may have emotionally and psychologically drained them for the World Series, in which they came out flat against an inferior but rested foe in Philadelphia. The 7-0 meltdown suffered by Tampa Bay was one of the most painful things I've ever watched. It figured Boston was back at their old cheap tricks, coming back from a deficit in a series to prove their place in baseball lore. The Rays (and the fans) had to gut out such a gruesome thought until Matt Garza finally turned out the lights on Boston's 2008 season in Game 7. But the days between Games 5 and 7 were terrifying, to say the least.


Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals. As if the Red Sox and Patriots' successes weren't enough, the Lakers got to experience what many past victims of those aforementioned clubs had in Game 4 of the NBA Finals last season. A complete and utter choke job only explainable by means of divine intervention ensued, as the Celtics erased a 24-point deficit to rally for a command 3-1 series lead. They went on to win in 6 games to make it a grisly trifecta in sports titles in the present decade. Perhaps the worst part about the Celtics' title run was that very few people saw it coming. Alas, that's how it always seems to be, doesn't it?

Super Bowl XXXVIII. So many little things that could've changed the game but didn't. Either it was the two failed, ill-advised two-point conversion attempts by Carolina, or it was their kicker, John Kasay, kicking the kickoff following the game-tying TD out of bounds, setting up a short field for Tom Brady to claim to be a hero by leading a truly-defining, 47-yard drive to set up a field goal. When Carolina took a short-lived, 22-21 lead in the fourth quarter, it was the first time we had the pleasure of even seeing the Patriots trail in a game in over two months to that point. The Panthers gave up a touchdown and never led again. Adam Vinatieri, who gets props at least for bolting to the rival Colts after the '05 season, got to experience deja vu and hammer the final nail in the Panthers' coffin.

Marlon McCree's fumbled interception, 2006 Divisional Playoffs. This is the one that killed me to almost no end. Even though it paved the way for Peyton Manning's heroics the following week in the championship game, the annual Patriots charade should never have gotten that far. Tom Brady was picked off for the third time in the game, but McCree carried the return like a loaf of bread, only to be stripped by prehistoric receiver Troy Brown. IT gave the announcers and media a chance to laud a “truly selfless” effort by the overrated Brown, when really the focus should have been on McCree's utter stupidity, as well as Marty Schottenheimer's constant postseason failures. Mercifully, Schottenheimer's career ended after this debacle, but the Patriots luck did not. Predictably, the botched interception set up the tying touchdown and ultimately the 24-21 victory, which the classless Patriots followed up by mocking the Chargers at midfield after the final seconds ticked off.

May 13, 2007. This was possibly the worst of them all because it involved my beloved Orioles being victimized by the Boston terrorism. The Orioles were well on the verge of taking two out of three at Fenway Park, leading 5-0 in the bottom of the 9th. Jeremy Guthrie had pitched lights-out to that point, and got the first out of the inning before catcher Ramon Hernandez mishandled an infield pop-up that ignited a brutal 6-run rally by the Red Sox. The horrendous nightmare culminated with Julio Lugo hitting a ground ball to the right side of the infield. Former Sox hero Kevin Millar made an errant flip to pitcher Chris Ray at first, allowing the winning runs to score. I immediately wen to the gym and took out my frustrations on the punching bag.