My two biggest upsets in sports history

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Doc1001

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Of course the 1980 US olympic victory over Russia has to be in there. The other was the Buster Douglas /Tyson boxing match. I was totally shocked when i heard later that Tyson lost. If anyone remembers those days Tyson was a total beast. I had never heard of Buster Douglas. Tysons record coming in was 37 and 0 with 33 of them knockouts--many in the first round and most within four rounds. What an upset. I just couldnt believe it.
Now this may sound ridiculous but I told my wife before the purdue game yesterday that if the gophers won it would be right up there with those. The reason i say this is because I have followed gopher basketball since the mid 50s. Teams in the big ten just dont go on the road and beat a team close to the top ten. Yes it happens but oh how rare it is. Have the gophers EVER done it? I suppose they have but no game pops out at me. I remember them in 98 beating Indiana on the road. Cant remember where Indiana was rated. Bobby Jackson just took the team on his shoulders and willed them to win. But it was the gophers best team in maybe the last thirty years and therefore not quite the upset it could have been but nevertheless shocking. I gave the gophers about zero chance in beating a team like purdue yesterday because i have been thru the wars too often and it just doesnt happen. Why its so rare is a little odd. Have the gophers beaten a top ten team on the road in the last 30 years. I suppose so but wow why does it have to be so tough on the road in the big ten. Wonder if anyone agrees with me on the Douglas/Tyson fight. Of course an upset of Purdue wouldnt mean that much nationally but locally and a gopher fan it would be quite a deal considering our history.
 

I remember the Douglas / Tyson fight. My first thought was that it was fixed or that Tyson's other fights were fixed and this was the first fighter they did not buy off. I do not trust boxing.
 

Two More Possibilities

Rulon Gardner over the Russian in the 2000 Olympics.

And Chaminade (HI) over Virginia in early 1980's.
 

Frances Quimet U.S. Open win almost 100 years ago.

Most shocking upset I've witnessed live: Kennedy Boys Basketball upsetting Ethan Wragge and Eden Prairie in 2008 playoffs. Kennedy had lost both of the regular season games with EP, one by 32, the other by 43.
 



Maybe not the biggest ever, but I witnessed one in high school basketball many years ago that sticks with me.
In '83, Barnum went undefeated and won the Minnesota Class A (when there were only two classes) title with a starting lineup of five juniors.
The next season, they were unbeaten again (I think it was 56 in a row) heading into the section final against Orr. In a game played at the Duluth Arena, Barnum got into foul trouble, gave up a 4th quarter lead and lost by about six. Barnum's demise was that the coach played five guys almost exclusively, and suddenly had to depend on several JV players in the closing minutes after three of his studs fouled out. Orr had these 6-6 identical twins who dominated the post, and it was one of the more entertaining games I've ever watched. It was a remarkable upset, as Barnum had beaten several AA schools during the year and was heavily favored to win state.
 

I still can't believe Tyson lost in Japan. Just amazing. I thought the only time he would ever lose is when I beat him in Punch Out.
 






In college basketball you had two in three years. NC State over Houston, and Villanova over Georgetown.
 

For me, it's gotta be Rocky Balboa over Apollo Creed.
 





For me, one of them has to be Jacksonville beating Denver in the AFC Divisional play-offs after the 1996 season. Denver was invincible all season long. Jacksonville was a 2nd-year expansion team that had been 4-7 at one point. I don't remember what the line was, but it had to have been two touchdowns. Denver fans had booked their trips to New Orleans for the Super Bowl already. This was supposed to be Elway's last, best chance at the ring. I've never seen a crowd more stunned. They didn't just lose, they got whooped. That Denver went on to win the next two Super Bowls makes this easier to forget, but at the time this was devastating if you were a Broncos fan even more then the prior Super Bowl losses.
 



Friend Of Tubby said:
And Chaminade (HI) over Virginia in early 1980's.
Click to expand...

There are still a lot of folks over 40 around Charlottesville who are not over that. I'd say the Gopher hockey loss to Holy Cross belongs on the list too. I'm already over 2.
 

At the risk of reviving another anti-Devo thread, I was thinking the same thing watching the game, how huge of an upset it would be and then contemplating before they pulled away that it was not plausible thanks to the selfishness and immaturity of Joseph.
 

Easy answer: Edgerton in the 1960 MN BB Tourney

Back when the state basketball tournament was only one class (boys only) and played in Williams Arena, the Flying Dutchmen from a town of about 1,000 people beat Chisholm (then a basketball power), #1 ranked Richfield and Austin to win the tournament. It was a phenomenal experience to be a high school sophomore in the legendary barn for the semi-final and seeing the upset of the century 63-60 in overtime. Note to current Gophers: They won it by shooting over 80 percent on their free throws, scoring only on free throws in the overtime..
 

1954 Indiana HS Basketball Championship game Milan defeats Muncie Central. Real life inspiration for the movie "Hoosiers"
 

#1 has to be 1980 US vs USSR hockey, and I'm not a hockey fan.

#2 1960 Edgerton basketball..
.http://www.edgertonabblegend.net/story.htm
"And in the case of Edgerton, the championship season was more than special - it was a legendary event, worthy of a book, even a movie. The 1952 Milan team that won the Indiana state title and inspired the hit movie, "Hoosiers," had nothing on the 1960 Flying Dutchmen."

Others:
Houston over UCLA 1968(snaps UCLA's 47 game win streak.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_the_Century_(college_basketball)

Cassius Clay(M Ali) over Sonny Liston 1964
 

All good examples. I prefer Nova over Georgetown in 85. The Hoyas held opponents to 39.9 percent field goal shooting -- tops in the country -- and outrebounded foes by nearly 10 boards per game. Nova shot 78.6 percent (22 of 28)!!
 

1984: Indiana beat a seemingly invincible North Carolina team (Jordan, Perkins) in a regional semi-final.
 

kindofgreen said:
At the risk of reviving another anti-Devo thread, I was thinking the same thing watching the game, how huge of an upset it would be and then contemplating before they pulled away that it was not plausible thanks to the selfishness and immaturity of Joseph.
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it, the kid deserves any anti-Devo threads.
 

1969 Jets over Colts and Amazin' Mets over Baltimore.

Runners-up: U.S. Olympic hockey 1980.

Basketball's biggest: I guess I'd say 'Nova over Georgetown in '85.

The Gophers did win 1 big one on the road at Iowa in '82 in 3OT. Made the cover of SI. Ended up winning the Big 10, the only conference title since 1937 not tainted in some way.
 

I am still trying to process through that the Chiefs beat the Vikes in the Superbowl. We didn't expect that game would be a contest but rather a coronation of our team as champions. I still despise Hank Stram.
 

David kicking the crap out of Goliath in the first round
 

While a conference or national title wasn't on the line, I think one of the biggest CFB upsets - at least within the past 20 to 30 years - was Stanford beating USC in 2007. Stanford came into the game with a record of 1-3, which included a 41-3 loss to ASU the week prior. Plus, they were on the road and I believe they were playing their back-up QB.

USC was undefeated, ranked No. 2 in the country, and 41-point favorites. Stanford was out-yarded 2-to-1 but forced 5 turnovers and won, 24-23.

And the strange part is that for the rest of the season, Stanford went back to sucking. They finished 2-5 in their final 7 games. USC went back to dominating, and they only lost 1 other game and beat up on Illinois in the Rose Bowl.
 

Since this is a Gopher basketball board I'll give my favorite upset. 1989 when the Gophers upset then #1 Illinois. Maybe the most fun I've ever had watching a Gopher game.
 

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