Another year is winding down as we prepare to flip the calendar over from 2018 to 2019, and while no one can really guarantee what’s in store for the upcoming year, we can guarantee you that there will be plenty of fails, heroic moments, hilarious and outrageous referee and fan moments, and jaw dropping moments throughout the world of sports.
Since there are only a few days left in 2018, we decided this would be the perfect opportunity to spend some time to remember some of the greatest sports related fails of the year.
2018 was only a few weeks old when we got out first fantastic fail of the year. On January 21, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 in the NFC Conference Championship and earned a visit to the Super Bowl, where they eventually beat the New England Patriots. While it’s a night most Eagles fans can say they’ll never forget, we’re guessing this fan doesn’t remember most of it after his encounter with the subway.
If you grew up playing hockey you probably witnessed at least one person attempt to go onto the ice with their skate guards still intact and have a quick wipe out, but they most likely didn’t have that moment caught on camera. Lucky for us, and unlucky for this young player, someone had their skate guard fail moment caught on camera and will now live on through the power of the Internet.
Breakaways aren’t for everyone. Some people know how to stay calm and cool under the pressure and use the moment to their advantage to pad their stats while others freeze up and completely buckle in that moment. For this fail we go back to the 2018 IIHF World Championship Group B game between Romania and Estonia where a Romanian forward walked in all alone and somehow managed to cause a turnover.
Sticks break at the worst time, we get it. But it’s how you handle yourself after losing your stick in the middle of the play is what matters. Earlier this year in a Swedish Hockey League game, former NHL draft pick Johan Ryno lost his stick and got burned by the opposing team in a hilarious manner.
Never stop working until the final whistle or buzzer goes, no matter what the sport is. Unfortunately for 29-year-old Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, she learned about that the hard way.
Gender reveals have become a hit over the past couple of years and people are somehow managing to still find different ways to figure out the gender of their baby. While most people have gotten over the whole online gender reveal thing, we must say they have been the source of some of the best fails of the year, especially when someone’s baseball skills are put on display.
A lot of people probably worry about calling someone by the wrong name if they had just previously met them, but imagine calling someone by the wrong name on live television? For KTLA reporter David Pingalore that scary moment happened during an interview with Colorado Rockies rookie outfielder Noel Cuevas earlier this year, when he had mistook him for Carlos Gonzalez.
This one doesn’t even feel like it happened this year but it did and it’s a moment we’ll never forget. Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Golden State Warriors, game tied at 107 with only a few seconds left on the clock. Rodney Hood misses the free throw to put the Cavs up, but JR Smith was right there to grab the offensive rebound. All he’s got to do is tap it off the backboard and the Cavs escape with a Game 1 victory. Instead, one of the greatest misplays of the year went down.
Mascots are supposed to keep their true identity a secret and convince the world that there’s no one inside the costume that’s providing the entire arena with enjoyment. However, every mascot’s nightmare became reality during a game this season for BYU’s mascot, Cosmo, after its head went flying off in the middle of a stunt. While losing its head was a fail in itself, the person behind Cosmo gets major credit for keeping their identity a secret during the mishap.
This video is definitely going to make another appearance in our ‘Worst/Best Fan Moments’ later this week, but it’s easily one of the worst fails we’ve ever seen so we had to include it in this one as well. During an in-game competition between a couple of Pacers fans in Indiana, the two fans went head-to-head in a game of tic-tac-toe. Pretty simple, or so everyone thought. The game was played so poorly that the in-game host was about to lose his mind.
We can’t wait to see what fails the sports world has in store for us next year.
