Greatest underdog sports accomplishement ,team / single and worst under achievers!lol

[BookerL]

Hi all
What are sports most impressive Championship underdogs witch no expert predicted ?
Joe Namath and the New-York Jets http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/recap/sbiii
Super Bowl III
New York 16, Baltimore 7

SuperBowl.com wire reports



Joe Namath was named MVP after leading the Jets to victory in Super Bowl III.(AP)

Jets quarterback Joe Namath "guaranteed" victory on the Thursday before the game, then went out and led the AFL to its first Super Bowl victory over a Baltimore team that had lost only once in 16 games all season.

Namath, chosen the outstanding player, completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards and directed a steady attack that dominated the NFL champions after the Jets' defense had intercepted Colts quarterback Earl Morrall three times in the first half.

The Jets had 337 total yards, including 121 rushing yards by Matt Snell.

Johnny Unitas, who had missed most of the season with a sore elbow, came off the bench and led Baltimore to its only touchdown late in the fourth quarter after New York led 16-0.
Super Bowl III
New York 16, Baltimore 7


But there is many others
What is yours
Salutations
BookerL

 

[EagerBeaver]

1999 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship- UConn Shocks The World

In the 1999 NCAA men's basketball championship game UConn was a 10 point underdog to Duke, which would later become the only NCAA team in history to have all 5 starters selected in the 1st round of the NBA Draft during the next several years. Despite that talent deficit, UConn had two exceptionally talented starters, Richard Hamilton (who had a long NBA career) and Khalid El Amin (who would later win 3 championships in Europe). Led by senior Rickey Moore who played the game of his life, UConn hung tough throughout the game and then made several crucial defensive plays to win the game 77-74. This would be the 1st of 4 national championships in men's basketball since 1999, the last of the 4 coming this past April 2014 when UConn won both the men's and women's titles, the only school to sweep titles in the same year (and they have now done it twice, the other time in 2004). This short video shows El Amin's FT to ice the game followed by UConn's defense on the last play to foil a Duke 3 point attempt at the buzzer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdPxlP8W6tM

At the end of the video El Amin can be heard screaming, "we shocked the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" This became the mantra of this team.

This game is now considered one of the best championship games in NCAA tournament history. The Duke team, which had all 5 starters selected in the 1st round of the NBA Draft, is widely considered to be one of the most talented teams of all time and the best team to have not won a title along with Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma in 1983 which was stunned by NC State.

 

[EagerBeaver]

1983 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship -Houston Stunned by NC State

How could a team with Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon, two of the best players in NBA history, fail to win the NCAA men's basketball championship? This is a question fans have been asking since 1983 when Lorenzo Charles's putback at the buzzer led Jimmy Valvano and NC State to a stunning, dramatic win that sent a shocked Valavano running across the Court looking for people to hug:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubCybJk-IAY

If you watch the last play there was a very bad defensive lapse by Houston which failed to block out and protect the rim from this type of easy putback. Houston coach Guy Lewis's overall game strategy has been widely blamed for this stunning loss.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Miracle on Ice- 1980 Lake Placid USA vs USSR

Probably the greatest upset in both Olympic history and hockey history:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88

 

[EagerBeaver]

Jets quarterback Joe Namath "guaranteed" victory on the Thursday before the game, then went out and led the AFL to its first Super Bowl victory over a Baltimore team that had lost only once in 16 games all season.

Top 3 sports guarantees of all time:

1. Namath Guarantee
2. On a live TV interview before the 1999 NCAA Championship game, UConn's Khalid El Amin declares that UConn will "shock the world".
3. Mark Messier guarantees victory in game 7 of 1994 NHL conference finals Rangers vs. Devils.

 

[EagerBeaver]

1969 Mets Win World Series

Smuler is going to like this one, last out of 1969 World Series made by Orioles' Dave Johnson, who would later manage the Mets to their 1986 World Series win:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT9hBVPDk8E

The truth is the Mets had an outstanding pitching staff led by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and HOFer Nolan Ryan was a bullpen pitcher. However the Orioles had a much better team that year. The Mets' lineup was among the weakest of any WS champion ever. They batted .242 as a team and were below league average in runs scored.

 

[BookerL]

Top 3 sports guarantees of all time:

1. Namath Guarantee
2. On a live TV interview before the 1999 NCAA Championship game, UConn's Khalid El Amin declares that UConn will "shock the world".
3. Mark Messier guarantees victory in game 7 of 1994 NHL conference finals Rangers vs. Devils.

Well EB
You do know your sports !!!:thumb:
Excellent memory !
And a NCAA basketball fan !!
Anymore Underdogs ????
Warmest Regards
BookerL

 

[BookerL]

Probably the greatest upset in both Olympic history and hockey history:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88

Yeah it did have a shocker effect ,with NCAA hockey players US hockey Team realized the unthinkable a real miracle !
It does bring back excellent memories !:thumb:
The mighty USSR team brought to there knees unreal but true !!!
Best regards
BookerL

 

[EagerBeaver]

2007 Fiesta Bowl- Boise State Wins!

How about the Boise State "Statue of Liberty" play to shock Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Wfg0n2EE8

 

[str8flash]

In 1990, unknown James " Buster " Douglas knocks out undefeated Mike Tyson for the win and the belt in Tokyo.

 

[BookerL]

In 1990, unknown James " Buster " Douglas knocks out undefeated Mike Tyson for the win and the belt in Tokyo.

Yeah saw the fight !!
Not quite the expected ending!:thumb:
Regards
BookerL

 

[BookerL]

Here is a old one
June 13- James J. Braddock, with 24 losses, produces one of the biggest upsets in world Heavyweight championship history, defeating world champion Max Baer to take the world title, by a fifteen round unanimous decision, in New York.
James J. Braddock


Statistics
Real name James Walter Braddock
Nickname(s) Bulldog of Bergen,
Pride of the Irish,
Pride of New Jersey, Cinderella Man
Rated at Middleweight
Light heavyweight
Heavyweight
Height 6 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1.89 m)
Reach 75 in (191 cm)
Nationality American
Born June 7, 1905
New York City, New York
Died November 29, 1974 (aged 69)
North Bergen, New Jersey
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 86
Wins 51
Wins by KO 26
Losses 26
Draws 7
No contests 2


James Walter "Cinderella Man" Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935–37.

Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern set by two prior world boxing champions, James J. Corbett and James J. Jeffries), he was known for his powerful right hand, solid chin and comeback from a floundering career. He had lost several bouts due to chronic hand injuries and was forced to work on the docks and collect social assistance to feed his family during the Great Depression. In 1935 he fought Max Baer for the Heavyweight title and won. For this unlikely feat he was given the nickname "Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon. Braddock was managed by Joe Gould.
A film was made on his achievement !!!
Underdog James Braddock"Cinderella man"
BookerL

 

[Merlot]

Hello all,

Hi all
What are sports most impressive Championship underdogs witch no expert predicted ?
Joe Namath and the New-York Jets http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/recap/sbiii
Super Bowl III
New York 16, Baltimore 7

This is the most over-estimated game in the history of American sports because it was the most successfully over-hyped phoney media creation ever. Every professional sports expert I ever heard since then has said the reality at the time was that the teams were far closer to parity than the huge spread that was given indicated. There had been huge general bias/snobbery among fans favoring the old NFL teams and the media did everything it could to build up a rivalry based on that perception. Not the least of which involved Namath's guarantee. It was a guarantee Jets coach Ewbank was furious over and had issued directions to the team to praise the Colts to make them overconfident. Joe was simply expressing what the team thought...they would win. Why not, the odds were really closer to 50/50 than all the bias and hype could accept. If Joe was wrong it was what everyone supposedly expected. If he was right he'd get the fame.

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?RELEASE_ID=744

As for the game, Namath got the glory for his boast, but he was very mediocre in fact. He was 17 of 29 for 195 yards and no touchdowns. Probably his best contribution was not being intercepted. The defense was the real hero with 3 interceptions in the first half, and yet Joe could only lead the team to 1 rushing touchdown. In the 2nd half Namath couldn't lead the team to the end zone again and the Jets were forced to attempt 5 field goals, 2 of which they missed. The perception of a miraculous win was a big overestimation, the kind of win that can happen in any one-game championship. The Super Bowl III hype is the real factor that put Namath in the Hall of Fame. His career over all rating is a very poor 65.5, a rating that would get him quickly dumped today, and his best single season rating never cracked 75.0. What he did was put up a lot of yards, in some years, but never better than at a 52.9 completion rate, adequate compared to many contemporaries. His team had only 3 winning seasons, in 7 of which they had only 3 wins or less in 13 seasons.

Namath is the definition of OVER-RATED!

THE GREATEST COMEBACK/COLLAPSE:

I remember seeing this game when I was a small boy and had become a Notre Dame fan previously. I was watching it at home, then my mother took us shopping with Notre Dame winning 24-0. Imagine coming back to see USC had scored 55 unanswered points.

http://espn.go.com/abcsports/s/notredameuscgreatestgames.html

Nov. 30, 1974
No. 6 USC 55, No. 5 Notre Dame 24
The Coliseum
"The Comeback."

USC trailed 24-0 late in the first half against the nation's top-ranked defense. But with 10 seconds remaining before halftime, Anthony Davis scored on a 7-yard pass from Pat Haden. The two-point conversion failed, and the Trojans trailed 24-6 at the half. Davis took the opening kick of the second half 102 yards to open the floodgates for USC, which scored 35 points in the third quarter. Davis scored twice on short runs and Haden threw TD passes of 18 and 45 yards to Johnny McKay. Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Trojans scored twice more on a 16-yard pass from Haden to Shelton Diggs and a Charles Phillips' 58-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Cheers,

Merlot

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

I remember seeing this game when I was a small boy and had become a Notre Dame fan previously. I was watching it at home, then my mother took us shopping with Notre Dame winning 24-0. Imagine coming back to see USC had scored 55 unanswered points.

Same thing ( almost ) happened in the CFL last year between Calgary and Montreal. After the first 1/4 it was 24-0 Als and the final score was 38-27 Stamps.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Found this using google search.............

http://observer.theguardian.com/osm/story/0,,562527,00.html

 

[BookerL]

Hello all,



This is the most over-estimated game in the history of American sports because it was the most successfully over-hyped phoney media creation ever. Every professional sports expert I ever heard since then has said the reality at the time was that the teams were far closer to parity than the huge spread that was given indicated. There had been huge general bias/snobbery among fans favoring the old NFL teams and the media did everything it could to build up a rivalry based on that perception. Not the least of which involved Namath's guarantee. It was a guarantee Jets coach Ewbank was furious over and had issued directions to the team to praise the Colts to make them overconfident. Joe was simply expressing what the team thought...they would win. Why not, the odds were really closer to 50/50 than all the bias and hype could accept. If Joe was wrong it was what everyone supposedly expected. If he was right he'd get the fame.

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?RELEASE_ID=744

As for the game, Namath got the glory for his boast, but he was very mediocre in fact. He was 17 of 29 for 195 yards and no touchdowns. Probably his best contribution was not being intercepted. The defense was the real hero with 3 interceptions in the first half, and yet Joe could only lead the team to 1 rushing touchdown. In the 2nd half Namath couldn't lead the team to the end zone again and the Jets were forced to attempt 5 field goals, 2 of which they missed. The perception of a miraculous win was a big overestimation, the kind of win that can happen in any one-game championship. The Super Bowl III hype is the real factor that put Namath in the Hall of Fame. His career over all rating is a very poor 65.5, a rating that would get him quickly dumped today, and his best single season rating never cracked 75.0. What he did was put up a lot of yards, in some years, but never better than at a 52.9 completion rate, adequate compared to many contemporaries. His team had only 3 winning seasons, in 7 of which they had only 3 wins or less in 13 seasons.

Namath is the definition of OVER-RATED!





Cheers,

Merlot

Hi all
Hi Merlot
Joe Namath one game to fame ,the rest of is career a Shame !!!Stats facts !!
Super Bowl III[edit]

A high point in his career was his performance in the Jets' 16–7 win over the Baltimore Colts in the third Super Bowl in January 1969, before the AFL-NFL merger. Namath was named MVP of Super Bowl III, the win made him the first quarterback to start and win a national championship game in college, and to start and win a major professional league championship and a Super Bowl. The 1968 Colts were touted as "the greatest football team in history". Former NFL star and coach Norm Van Brocklin ridiculed the AFL before the game, saying "This will be Namath's first Professional Football game." Writers from NFL cities insisted it would take the AFL several more years to be truly competitive with the NFL. Much of the hype surrounding the game was related to how it would either prove or disprove the proposition that the AFL teams were truly worthy of being allowed to merge with the NFL; the first two such games had resulted in blowout victories for the NFL champion in the two previous years, the Green Bay Packers, and the Colts were even more favored by media figures and handicappers than the Packers had been.

Three days before the game, Namath responded to a heckler in Miami with the now-famous line: "We’re going to win Sunday. I guarantee it." His prediction was initially ignored, but it became legendary after the Jets' upset of the Colts.

In the game, however, Namath backed up his boast and showed that his success against tough American Football League competition had more than prepared him to take on the NFL. The Colts' vaunted defense was unable to contain the Jets' running or passing game, while their ineffective offense gave up four interceptions to the Jets. Namath was the game's MVP, completing eight passes to George Sauer alone, for 133 yards. Namath acquired legendary status for American Football League fans as the symbol of their league's legitimacy. When he was asked by reporters after the game whether the Colts' defense was the "toughest he had ever faced", Namath responded "That would be the Buffalo Bills' defense." The AFL-worst Bills had intercepted Namath five times, three for touchdowns, in the their only win in 1968 in late September. They finished at 1–12–1 and were awarded the top pick in the 1969 Common Draft; they selected Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson.

Did Namath achieved Greatness exploit after !No But fame yes !

Namath is the definition of OVER-RATED!
Merlot

Salutation
BookerL

 

[BookerL]

Any great Underdogs in singles competitions ,that you have witness anyone ??
BookerL out

 

[EagerBeaver]

The only reason Joe Namath did not have a great career is he had bad knees and his career was cut short much like Bobby Orr's was in hockey. Namath was the first pro QB to ever pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season (in a 14 game season!). Due to the growing reputation he had, he was targeted for injury by the Oakland Raiders and Ben Davidson and they succeeded. In his prime he had one of, if not the best arm of any QB in the NFL, and threw the tightest spiral I have ever seen. However his knees were an ongoing problem after that Super Bowl season and he could not stay healthy. I believe he had to have both knees replaced, eventually. The harassment of Namath by Oakland discussed here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...fl-championship-game-raiders-article-1.150777

In the NFL at that time 52-53% passers were Pro Bowlers. The same stats in today's pass-happy NFL get you released. Look at the stats and the league averages of the QBs back then, they sucked, but that is because the defense was allowed to defend and hit and take liberties with the QB. And Namath passed for 4,000 yards in a season when he had one good WR and that was it.

It is not even debatable that in today's NFL there has been a complete sissification of the QB position designed to prevent injuries to QBs such that contact with the QB is barely permitted. In Namath's day there was no such thing as roughing the QB. You played as rough as you could, and Namath and the rest of the QBs paid for it. Johnny Unitas was essentially a cripple in his later years due to the numerous beatings he took. Jim McMahon has serious dementia and other physical ailments due to being roughly sacked and physically abused. Today's QBs are a bunch of prima donnas who stand behind the OL and play a non contact sport as compared to the Joe Namaths of the 1960s.

 

[BookerL]

The only reason Joe Namath did not have a great career is he had bad knees and his career was cut short much like Bobby Orr's was in hockey. Namath was the first pro QB to ever pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season (in a 14 game season!). Due to the growing reputation he had, he was targeted for injury by the Oakland Raiders and Ben Davidson and they succeeded. In his prime he had one of, if not the best arm of any QB in the NFL, and threw the tightest spiral I have ever seen. However his knees were an ongoing problem after that Super Bowl season and he could not stay healthy. I believe he had to have both knees replaced, eventually. The harassment of Namath by Oakland discussed here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...fl-championship-game-raiders-article-1.150777

In the NFL at that time 52-53% passers were Pro Bowlers. The same stats in today's pass-happy NFL get you released. Look at the stats and the league averages of the QBs back then, they sucked, but that is because the defense was allowed to defend and hit and take liberties with the QB. And Namath passed for 4,000 yards in a season when he had one good WR and that was it.

It is not even debatable that in today's NFL there has been a complete sissification of the QB position

Well thanks for the infos !
It is good to have different views on the same subject with links to show your point .
Warmest Regards
BookerL

 

[Merlot]

Hello all,

The only reason Joe Namath did not have a great career is he had bad knees and his career was cut short much like Bobby Orr's was in hockey.

Untrue. Orr played only 10 years through injuries and was the greatest ever. Namath played 12 years and his quality is questionable overall. A lot of players get injured but still have very positive stats when they do play. Most characteristics of Namath's play didn't change much in injured or healthy years. So that dog don't hunt. It's also a far too narrow and oversimplified statement under any measure.

Sorry, but it's a very poor comparison despite the common knee injury factor. Orr is still acknowledged by most hockey devotees as the greatest phenom of his sport who ever lived because of his range of unquestionably superb skills in any detail, including decision making...when to do what. Namath's quarterback rating, measuring effectiveness of choices and play through player's passing attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions, was never better than 74.3, and when he set the 4000 yard mark it was 73.8, which would have been an embarrassment to other HOF contemporaries who faced the same hard/dirty play conditions like Starr, Unitas, and Tarkenton. In fact he had only two seasons when his interceptions did not exceed his touchdowns. Unitas, Starr, and Tarkenton, certainly others too, who could each match Namath closely for yards per completion had markedly positive TD to INT ratios in their careers, while Namath threw 47 more INTs. No one would question the arms of any of these guys, but when it comes to real HOF skill and choices as measured by the same standards Namath had some marked talents but he doesn't cut it in the range of skills with the others.

Also, having watched how dirty the Raiders were I know they didn't only single out Namath for their filth as it seemed to be inferred, and it's totally illogical anyway since there were more effective quarterbacks at the same time and the motives of dirty players don't change. The fact that Ben dirty Davidson also took a deliberate cheap shot George Sauer's back in the same game he went after Namath shows no one was exempt from such dirty play.

As for UNDERACHIEVERS:

I feel the need to mention Joe.t Joe.t Joe.t. His sports predictions are legendary for their epic perfection of FAILURE!!! Hence the "Curse of Joe.t". I hear he's now paying off his bookies by taking money from fans NOT to predict on teams. I mean talk about efficiency. :lol: Or, maybe that's a reverse form of overachieving. :noidea:

Cheers,

Merlot