Biggest Upset in Sports History?

[HOF Yankees]

1980 Team USA Hockey VS Soviet Union, USA goes on to win gold

[39special]

'69 Jets beat the Colts in Super Bowl III

[nameless]

Nice posts.

[sycks22]

"Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!" Al Michaels said it best.

[bfrench00]

07 giants beating undefeated pats in super bowl 42

[CW]

I would give it to team USA in hockey.

Being a Michigan football fan, it pains me to post something that stirs up nightmares, but this would be in the top 10: Appalachian State defeats Michigan - 2007

[EvilKing00]

1980 Team USA

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by CW

I would give it to team USA in hockey.

Being a Michigan football fan, it pains me to post something that stirs up nightmares, but this would be in the top 10: Appalachian State defeats Michigan - 2007

Chuck,

I am a Michigan fan also and it saddens me to have to consider the UMich vs. Appalachian State as one of the biggest upsets. It doesn't lessen the embarrasment that App State was a DII school (now apparently a DI school for football).

However, I have to say the Miracle on Ice - US Vs USSR - gets my vote.

Z Wheat

[Jlighter]

Originally Posted by 39special

'69 Jets beat the Colts in Super Bowl III

This!

[brian1961]

I almost agree with the 1980 Winter Olympics Team USA upset of the Soviet Union. I saw that on TV when it happened. I was on the edge of my seat the whole game!

However, the biggest upset involved a different Team USA versus Soviet Union---in Track & Field. Held at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1964, DEEP in the Cold War. Specifically, it was the mens' 10,000 meter race. USA runners had always gotten run into the ground. With 24 laps around the 400 meter track, confusion over how many laps a lapped runner had actually run inevitably occurred. A hapless American runner was ordered to run an extra lap, the official convinced he'd only run 23 laps. The Russians cleaned up every time; it was humiliating. THEY saw it as an example of how lazy, weak and blase we were as a nation.

So imagine their thoughts as Gerry Lindgren, 5'6", still in high school, walked to the starting line. He made quite a sight, compared to the much stronger, taller, mature-looking Russians. They chuckled. Shook their heads. Sending a boy against Olympic caliber Russian athletes. Was this a joke? SEND YOUR BEST AGAINST US, YOU HEATHEN AMERICAN WEAKLINGS, SO WE CAN RUN YOU OFF YOUR FEET AGAIN!

Lindgren stayed with the top two Russians for four miles, which unnerved and puzzled them. Two miles still to go. Then, without warning (though Gerry and his coach had planned this, for which Gerry trained especially hard to pull off this tactic), he blasted around them and ran the next lap in about sixty seconds, ten seconds faster than the race pace had been. The crowd was screaming with awe, delight, and a "this time we're gonna getcha!" Back then the Cold War was very real and very personal. We hated Russia, and they loathed us.

Now Gerry had a lead of perhaps 8 seconds. The screaming never stopped. The two Russians got a little closer to Gerry, but then the gap stayed about the same. They had nothing inside them to catch up to the kid. Up in the stands, Bobby Kennedy was so moved at this unprecedented spectacle, he was in tears. Gerry Lindgren just kept on forcing himself, to stay ahead.

All this time, he had refused to allow himself to look back, not an easy thing to do in a distance race. Finally, as he began his final sprint after the last turn, he looked back. The closest Russian was just entering the last turn, broken. Gerry Lindgren went on to break the tape and win the 10,000, against some top level Soviet Union runners who would not have given him one chance in a zillion to beat them.

The story made headlines across the country. The significance weighed on people. Americans were so proud of their Gerry Lindgren. One of the most remarkable sport stories ever, and the greatest of all upsets.

But you know, I guess I have to back off and say "one of the greatest upsets". Not to be wishy-washy, but there have been so many great upsets. I mean, later on that year in the '64 Olympic 10,000, Billy Mills pulled off what is considered to be one of the greatest Olympic upsets, defeating world-record holder Ron Clarke. Clarke tried his hardest, but Mills out-sprinted him and some other guy. Asked about Mills, Clarke said he'd never even heard of Billy. Whatever. Incidentally, Lindgren had defeated Mills in the Olympic qualifying race, then injured himself shortly before the Games. Gerry briefly led the 10K, but could not hold the pace with his injury and placed a very respectable ninth. Mills insists Gerry may have won had he not been injured, but that's the breaks in which all sports share. I know, leave it alone. I had my say. Another day.

Cheers. -------------Brian Powell

[sam majors]

2000 Olympics Rulan Gardner from the United States beat Alexander Karelin in the super heavyweight divison!!
Karelin had won gold in 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics. He won the worlds championship super heavyweight title 9 times. He had never lost a match in international competition. He was the "BABE RUTH" in the wrestling world and a big old farm boy beat him!

[MooseDog]

Originally Posted by sam majors

2000 Olympics Rulan Gardner from the United States beat Alexander Karelin in the super heavyweight divison!!

This. Maybe not big for those outside the wrestling world but this may have been the biggest upset in sports history. Karelin was literally in a class all by himself. Think Edwin Moses good. Secretariat good. Usain Bolt good. Karelin was even better than that in his sport.

In hindsight it doesn't look like such a big upset but Maria Sharapova beating Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final in straight sets was pretty shocking at the time.

Largely forgotten, Belarus knocked perennial hockey powerhouse Sweden out of the qualifying round of the 2002 Winter Olympics 4-3 after having been outscored 22-6 in its three previous games. Belarus had one NHL player on the team while Sweden had virtually an NHL All-Star team.

[brian1961]

These last few upsets mentioned are terrific. I loved that one about the big country boy that stuck it to the multiple-Olympic champion Russian.

Thought of another that maybe a few of you wrestling buffs might recall much better than I, since I cannot name the guy who upset-------Iowa's Dan Gable at the 1970 or 71 NCAA Wrestling Tournament match. If memory serves, Gable had been undefeated in college up to this point, and it would have been the final point, as Dan was a senior. Gable picked himself up, and proceeded to flog himself in training for the '72 Olympics. He cleaned the mats up with his opponents, winning the gold. Y'all probably know what he achieved as a college and Olympic wrestling coach. --Brian

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by brian1961

I almost agree with the 1980 Winter Olympics Team USA upset of the Soviet Union. I saw that on TV when it happened. I was on the edge of my seat the whole game!

However, the biggest upset involved a different Team USA versus Soviet Union---in Track & Field. Held at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1964, DEEP in the Cold War. Specifically, it was the mens' 10,000 meter race. USA runners had always gotten run into the ground. With 24 laps around the 400 meter track, confusion over how many laps a lapped runner had actually run inevitably occurred. A hapless American runner was ordered to run an extra lap, the official convinced he'd only run 23 laps. The Russians cleaned up every time; it was humiliating. THEY saw it as an example of how lazy, weak and blase we were as a nation.

So imagine their thoughts as Gerry Lindgren, 5'6", still in high school, walked to the starting line. He made quite a sight, compared to the much stronger, taller, mature-looking Russians. They chuckled. Shook their heads. Sending a boy against Olympic caliber Russian athletes. Was this a joke? SEND YOUR BEST AGAINST US, YOU HEATHEN AMERICAN WEAKLINGS, SO WE CAN RUN YOU OFF YOUR FEET AGAIN!

Lindgren stayed with the top two Russians for four miles, which unnerved and puzzled them. Two miles still to go. Then, without warning (though Gerry and his coach had planned this, for which Gerry trained especially hard to pull off this tactic), he blasted around them and ran the next lap in about sixty seconds, ten seconds faster than the race pace had been. The crowd was screaming with awe, delight, and a "this time we're gonna getcha!" Back then the Cold War was very real and very personal. We hated Russia, and they loathed us.

Now Gerry had a lead of perhaps 8 seconds. The screaming never stopped. The two Russians got a little closer to Gerry, but then the gap stayed about the same. They had nothing inside them to catch up to the kid. Up in the stands, Bobby Kennedy was so moved at this unprecedented spectacle, he was in tears. Gerry Lindgren just kept on forcing himself, to stay ahead.

All this time, he had refused to allow himself to look back, not an easy thing to do in a distance race. Finally, as he began his final sprint after the last turn, he looked back. The closest Russian was just entering the last turn, broken. Gerry Lindgren went on to break the tape and win the 10,000, against some top level Soviet Union runners who would not have given him one chance in a zillion to beat them.

The story made headlines across the country. The significance weighed on people. Americans were so proud of their Gerry Lindgren. One of the most remarkable sport stories ever, and the greatest of all upsets.

But you know, I guess I have to back off and say "one of the greatest upsets". Not to be wishy-washy, but there have been so many great upsets. I mean, later on that year in the '64 Olympic 10,000, Billy Mills pulled off what is considered to be one of the greatest Olympic upsets, defeating world-record holder Ron Clarke. Clarke tried his hardest, but Mills out-sprinted him and some other guy. Asked about Mills, Clarke said he'd never even heard of Billy. Whatever. Incidentally, Lindgren had defeated Mills in the Olympic qualifying race, then injured himself shortly before the Games. Gerry briefly led the 10K, but could not hold the pace with his injury and placed a very respectable ninth. Mills insists Gerry may have won had he not been injured, but that's the breaks in which all sports share. I know, leave it alone. I had my say. Another day.

Cheers. -------------Brian Powell

Wow good stuff guys.

Z Wheat

[RTK]

Originally Posted by HOF Yankees

1980 Team USA Hockey VS Soviet Union, USA goes on to win gold

Absolutely, a group of college kids cobbled together versus a veteran team of seasoned pro's with arguably, the greatest goalie in hockey history.

[Bored5000]

WRT to the Tyson-Douglas fight, I just finished reading Tyson's amazing autobiography. He obviously talks extensively about that fight in the book. He wrote that he was so into partying and his crazy private life at the time that he had no idea Douglas' mother died shortly before the fight or that Douglas was motivated for the fight.

Tyson's training team told him repeatedly in Japan that they saw Douglas out running in his combat boots and seemingly working like a dog every day to get in shape for the fight. But Tyson was dismissive of the stories because past history had shown that Douglas was a slob who would quit as soon as things got tough in the fight.

Tyson wrote that he was such an "arrogant prick" during his prime that if he had heard the story about Douglas' mom dying, Tyson probably would have said that Douglas was going to join her after the fight. Tyson also wrote that Douglas fought a hell of a fight, but Tyson knew it was a one-time occurence. As soon as Tyson saw how fat Douglas was for his title defense against Evander Holyfield, Tyson knew that Holyfield would knock out Douglas in short order.

Compared to some of the fighters Tyson extensively praises in the book, he doesn't seems have to have much respect for Douglas because Douglas got the one giant payday against Holyfield and couldn't be bothered to get into even semi-decent shape for that fight.

[Runscott]

Hard to pick upsets for MLB, but the Twins and Braves just playing each other in the 1991 World Series was an amazing 'upset' of sorts.

I will go with the 1980 U.S. Hockey team, and Villanova over Georgetown.

All of the Dallas Cowboys Superbowl losses were hugely upsetting to me.

[RichardSimon]

How about NY Jets +19