What was your toughest, hardest, most depressing, gut-wrenching loss to take?

UAH

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Nov 27, 2017
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I was at the 82 auburn game. Thought Bama pushed them all over the field. Painful loss. CPB last year.
It was a tough one to watch. I recall a Bama fumble that was recovered in the air and returned for a touchdown. Frank Broyles remarked that Coach Bryant often had luck on his side over his career but that was going against him now. It was hard to chew on that day and I had a long drive ahead of me after the game.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
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Beautiful Cullman, AL
I'll tell you one that got me pretty badly. 2001 Tennessee. We had hung around and I can't remember who scored, maybe it was Santonio Beard or maybe it was a Tyler Watts run, but we took a 24-21 lead either late in the 3rd or early on in the 4th. Keep in mind, we had not beaten Tennessee since 1994. But then they dominated the 4th quarter (a lot like we do nowadays under Coach Saban), and won 35-24. We could not cover Jason Witten. When the game was nearing the end, I had to leave the house and just drive around for an hour I was so devastated.
 

RammerJammer14

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Aug 18, 2007
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As bad as that was, though, it has to be the 2013 loss to AU. We were going for three in a row and should have been ahead by two touchdowns in that game, but we weren't, and we lost. That one made me not even think about football for a while. I tried to recover for the bowl game, but we completely pooped our pants in that one. We were undefeated and looking for a three peat and ended up losing the last two. I hated the end to that season.
Lol, I felt the same. I was at the game, then got heckled by the AU “friends” we were staying with that weekend the rest of the night. Somehow they convinced us to go out to the bars where the kick return was on non-stop repeat.

Then I went to the Sugar Bowl against OU where I got to watch a great team that should have played and beat FSU for the NC mope around and lose to a 3 loss- 3 loss! - OU team to seal the distaste. I didn’t watch any other bowl games I was so disgusted with football.

Then I was at a bar in Tuscaloosa the night of the NC game, and of course the game was on. I walked out in disgust. Was so glad that FSU beat them, even if FSU was a slimy team. Though we didn’t know quite how slimy at the time.
 

LSUgrad2BamaDad

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May 5, 2016
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As an LSU fan, it’s the 2012 loss to Bama. Yes, I hated the loss in the NC game earlier that year, but we were complacent. We went into that game unprepared and overconfident. We got embarrassed and needed revenge. Fast forward to November 2012 and the game was there for LSU to take. We received a punt deep in our own territory. We drove down to the Bama 32 yard line, gaining most of the yardage on Mettenberger passes to Landry and Beckham. Les Miles absolutely went conservative. Run for 3 yards, run losing 3 yards, run again, missed FG. You know the rest.

I will never forgive Les Miles for that.
 

NationalTitles18

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May 25, 2003
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Every loss is tough but...

2000 Southern Miss because you could just see that team crumble. I can't even recall watching several games that year (so I doubt I did watch), it was so bad.

The game that shall not be named because of the way it happened and the fact that team had the talent to win three in a row.
 

JDCrimson

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Feb 12, 2006
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For me I don’t get too upset long term about the close losses or last second fluke losses. It’s the others like la tech or la Monroe the eat at me still.

Of all the losses that still burns me is the loss to Auburn the year Brodie got sacked 11 times. I was in the stadium that day. It was and will be the last time I ever attend an iron bowl in their stadium.

If I had been coach I would have fired bucket step bob before we got off the field. I get angry just typing this thinking about it. I later heard the DL was going to coach literally begging to go in to play OL too to just stop the slaughtering. Just pathetic...


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CaliforniaTide

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Aug 9, 2006
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For me, personally, it's a tie between 2007 ULM, 2010 AU, and 2013 AU.

I was so disappointed to see how Alabama was playing against ULM, that I left at halftime. It's the only game I've left for any reason.

The 2010 Iron Bowl was such where Alabama was attempting to play its way into the BCSNCG and they were in control in the first half. But, Auburn showed up in the second half and won the game. Watching Cam Newton prance around with that smile of his made me feel sick.

We all know why 2013 Iron Bowl would be on this list. Again, it was more of a game where had Alabama converted here and there, worst case scenario was that they wouldn't be attempting such a long FG. My wife and I couldn't get friends to come over to watch, and we were pretty bummed until after Kick Six happened. I was just totally shocked and speechless. We later got ice cream and had a "I hate Auburn" session.
 

12Namath12

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Sep 24, 2016
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The worst loss for me was the 1975 Orange Bowl. As a 14 year old, I cried as Notre Dame's Reggie Barnett intercepted Richard Todd as we were roaring down the field in the last minute to win the game.

It became 2 straight losses to Notre Dame for the National Championship. The final was 13-11 to a mediocre Notre Dame team that lifted Ara Parseghian on their shoulders in his final game.

Tragic!
 

bamanut_aj

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2000
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Spring Hill, TN
Five OT’s to UT because I was there. It was gut-wrenching. Ran out of bourbon, and dang near sobered up through all the over times. It was horrible


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RammerJammer14

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Aug 18, 2007
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The 2010 Iron Bowl. It was my first Iron Bowl as a student, and that ticket didn't come in my package so I had to buy one from another student for $100. Also, the game was Friday, so I had to come back to Tuscaloosa early. Had to leave my family's thanksgiving dinner to make it back. It wouldn't have been so bad had the first half not been so electric. I've never experienced an atmosphere like that before....and then the second half happened. The 2013 iron bowl is a close second. Senior year, first time to ever get prime seats (visting section in the lower bowl, 4 rows behind MDB), and so I was in the endzone he returned that kick to. Auburn fans took on a mob mentality after the game, and I had a couple get in my face. It solidified my hatred for the barn a to new level I didn't know was possible. Lucky buttholes.
I was at the 2010 game too. That honestly might have been the most electric game atmosphere I have ever been a part of for that first half. I remember whoever was in charge of the music playing “Take the money and run” when Cam Newton took the field for warmups too lol. I think I lost my voice by the 2nd quarter.

We usually are expected to pound everyone which really makes our crowd a little lackluster to be honest. That was one of the only games, certainly home games, where we have actually been a legitimate underdog with a chance to upset a team headed towards the NC. Everybody was in on the crowd noise that night. I couldn’t hear the guy next to me talking directly into my ear it was so loud.

I was also at the 2013 game, upper deck though. I agree, we were mercilessly harassed the entire way out of the stadium and down the street. I usually think that people who have bad opposing fan experiences is because they are kind of obnoxious themselves. But we had people get up in our faces all night for no reason at all. That is one of the reasons I can never pull for AU, especially in any post season situation. I don’t care one bit about “the state” looking good, like I was told in 2010 and 2013.
 

2003TIDE

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Jul 10, 2007
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The ones in person always hurt the worst. Here a few.

1999 LA Tech.
Any of the 2000 home games.
2006 vs UF. For some reason I was dumb enough to believe the first half wasn't a fluke and we had a chance
2009 Sugar vs Utah. That was an embarrassment and was painful to watch.
 

bamanut_aj

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2000
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but...revenge is sweet...quotes from the ND board in 2013

Jan 8, 2013
regarding the benefits of scheduling a home and home against Bama
"To be the best, you have to beat the best. If being the best involves playing Bama, I don't wanna be the best no mo."


Jan 8, 2013via Mobile
"This is getting out of hand. An Alabama defensive end just jumped out of my television and knocked me over my couch." Or
"Maybe we shouldn't have started a ghost at left tackle."

"Their 4th string running back just broke one for 40 yards and all we could do was swing our purses at him".

"We had first&goal and had to punt" if I remember correctly.

That “first and goal and had to punt” was from the michigan state game


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selmaborntidefan

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I was at the 2010 game too. That honestly might have been the most electric game atmosphere I have ever been a part of for that first half.
I watched that game at home and you could FEEL it coming out of the television. I'm serious, it was unlike anything I've ever seen at an
Alabama game (I saw something similar in the first game of the 1987 World Series in Minnesota - a buzz that was unreal).

And you would also feel it leave at halftime. I'm serious as a heart attack.


The only other game I've seen something similar was the 2012 ATM game. Early on there was a similar feeling coming through the screen - not quite as fervent but still palpable. This one dissipated but there was a difference. In the 2010 Iron Bowl, it was almost like the euphoria had turned to depression. In 2012, the euphoria hung around until the end of the game but never reached the fervency of that 2010 Auburn game.

The feeling was so wild that I felt we had a potential wipeout in the making. And seriously - we should have led them at halftime about 38 or 42 to nothing. The Ingram fumble - perhaps the most insane fumble in cfb history in terms of what happened - was the turning point no doubt.
 

selmaborntidefan

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I think devastation with loss is - for the most part - a product of what age you are at the time the game is played. I think its worse when you're younger than as you get older and football or sports are less important in the bigger picture.

When I was a teenager and Alabama lost - especially my senior year in the fall of 1986 - it would ruin my whole week or even month in some cases. By the time we lost to Florida, 35-0, in 1991, it was more of "well, okay." The losses in 2000 started painful because of the high expectations but by the time we lost to UCF, not only did you not feel them but in that game I began rooting for UCF to beat us so DuBose would leave/be gone.

I'm serious. I was so put out with his lack of coaching. The 2000 USM game was just the most depressing atmosphere I've ever seen on screen for a game that didn't involve a death (like the ATM bonfire tragedy of 1999). It was a lifeless, undisciplined, going through the motions football team.

The 2011 game with LSU hurt a bit, but I was still numb from the Rangers blowing the World Series the week before.

The 2016 Clemson game, while disappointing, didn't even really affect me. They caught the TD, I watched onsides kick and called the buddy I always talk to about this stuff. I wasn't hurt or angry, I just mused, "I've never seen us lose a national title game before," so it was weird.


2013 Auburn though? That was an exception in all probability because of the way it happened. Auburn scored 13 points in the final 31 seconds to win. Plus, I liked our chances of a three-peat if we got past them.
 

LSUgrad2BamaDad

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May 5, 2016
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I think devastation with loss is - for the most part - a product of what age you are at the time the game is played. I think its worse when you're younger than as you get older and football or sports are less important in the bigger picture.
^^ This ^^

excellent point Selma. Even though I listed the 2012 loss to Bama in this thread, in reality, it’s emotional effect on me was no where near the 1994 loss to Auburn when we threw all of the Pick sixes. I will say, though, that in the 2012 game - my Bama son, then a 14 year old huge LSU fan, was quite upset. That made it harder on me.
 

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