5. Appalachian State beat Michigan!
Like college hoops, NCAA football has given us many upsets over the years, from Center College’s 1921 win over Harvard to Notre Dame’s upset of Oklahoma to the Sooners’ 1957 and subsequent upsets. Ended a 47-game winning streak. However, while many of these upsets are impressive, the simple fact is that there is one that stands out above them all, and that is Appalachian State’s 34-32 loss to the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines in 2007. By blocking Michigan’s last second field goal attempt. , the Mountaineers became the first Division I-AA (FCS) team to defeat a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. Adding to the enormity of the victory is the fact that the victory was achieved in Ann Arbor, in the Big House. In front of more than 100,000 U of M fans and the victims of this historic upset, he said only the winningest program in college football history. The only reason this amazing feat isn’t even higher on our list is because the Mountaineers are pretty good for themselves despite being an FCS team. They came into the Michigan game having won 1-AA titles in 2005 and 2006 and would go on to win their third consecutive FCS national championship in 2007.
4. Mike Tyson from Buster Douglas K.O
Forget Cinderella Man. As impressive as James J. Braddock’s 1935 victory over Max Baer was, Braddock was outscored a mere 10-to-1 in that bout, which pales in comparison to his 42-1 odds against James “Buster” Douglas. what is not 1990 heavyweight title fight against Mike Tyson. Tyson had been the heavyweight champion of the world for over two years and seemed unstoppable. The Douglas fight was supposed to be a setup to set up “Iron Mike” for his final showdown with Evander Holyfield. Douglas had other plans, taking the fight to Tyson early and dominating the early rounds unlike any opponent the champion had faced. Tyson fired back, knocking Douglas down (but not) in the eighth. The two continued to fight in the tenth round, with Douglas striking Tyson and putting him down, becoming the undisputed world champion in the process.
3. 1969 Miracle Mets
Since entering the National League in 1962, the New York Mets had never finished above .500 in a season. They lost 100 games in five of their first seven seasons and entered the 1969 season as a 1-for-100 shot to win the World Series. True, they started at 18-23. Then something amazing happened. They won the NL East, then swept the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS before beating the Baltimore Orioles in four games to one to win the 1969 World Series. It was one of the most dramatic turnarounds in sports history, and the miraculous nature of the excitement not only earned the team its famous nickname, but also prompted New York pitcher Tom Seaver to quip, “God lives in New York and He’s a Mets fan.” Impact as the 1969 Mets While impressive, they aren’t the highest-rated “wonder” on our list.
2. To be upset.
There are many sports titans who have fallen victim to this list. But unlike all that, only one upset is believed to have given us the term “upset” to describe a team or athlete overcoming incredible odds to claim victory over a seemingly more talented opponent. Of course it was Man of War losing his horse at the 1919 Sanford Memorial, what else, Upset. This would be the only loss of Man o’ War’s career, as he would win Horse of the Year in 1920 and later be named the Best Racehorse of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine. However, it was Üzüldü who won the day as a 100-to-1 outsider that day.
1. Miracle on ice
What else tops the list of the top 10 failures in sports history: Miracle on Ice – the USA hockey team’s victory over the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics. The odds were against the Americans in many ways. They were an untested group of college and amateur players in a non-hockey-centric culture, and they entered the 1980 Games as the seventh seed out of 12 teams. The Soviets, meanwhile, were essentially full-time hockey players who had played together for years, and they represented a country that produced eight of the last nine gold medalists in the sport. The two countries were rivals in every sense of the word, and their political differences served to further the two teams’ meeting on the ice. Moreover, the USSR and the USA had already played each other in 1980, with the Americans losing 10-3 in an exhibition match in February. If played 100 times, the Soviet Union would probably win 99 times. But they only played once, and that day the USA was the better team, winning 4-3 in what Sports Illustrated called the greatest sports moment of the 20th century.
