The Goats of Sports

Most of us with any ounce of heart feel for the athletes deemed "goats." How can you not? They're subject to much more hate than deserved in most cases, and usually own up to their mistake(s) gracefully.

But when a Super Bowl berth is on the line, it's rather hard to forgive the guys who make the blunder when the stakes are high. And for Kyle Williams and Billy Cundiff (yesterday's goats, search them on Google if you didn't watch the games), life will go on, but the pain of their mistakes will likely stick with them for the rest of their lives. Both owned up as best they could, but the two will be condemned by their respective cities.

Of course, these aren't the only two guys who have made the unlucky play at the wrong time. It seems as if almost every down-to-the-wire game ever played in sports has someone to place the blame upon. Some plays, though, are worse than others. Here's some of the greatest (or worst) screw-ups sports has to offer:

Jason Richardson has won a dunk contest in the past. But this attempt didn't go quite the same way, as he whiffed the dunk that would have tied the game. His Suns went on to fall to the Spurs, 113-110.

U.S. snowboarder Lindsay Jacobellis simply had to not fall on her way to a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics. In possession of a comfortable lead, she showboated with a grab off of the last jump. Worst decision of her life, unless she prefers silver.

You probably know this one:

 

Living in Philly, I'll take any chance to jump on DeSean Jackson. This one didn't cost the Eagles, but still. You'd think he would have learned from the first time. Knowing him, though, I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again next year.

The Mets' Francisco Rodriguez was an out away from converting his eighteenth save in eighteen chances. A-Rod was the Yankees' last hope, and he hit a routine pop-up to second base. The Mets' Luis Castillo would take it from there. And yes, it cost his team the game. First thing you learn in Little League: catch the popup with two hands. (Fast forward to 2:10 in the video to see the play.)

You've probably seen poor Steve Bartman, Billy Buckner and various others many times through. Buckner, by all accounts, was a tremendous ballplayer. But no one seems to remember that, do they?