Top 10 Most Disappointing Games Played By My Favorite Teams

10. 2003 NCAA Men's Tournament 2nd Round-7 seed Michigan State down 2 seed Florida 68-46.
This is was the worst loss in a string of first weekend exists for the Gators. The team reached the number one ranking in the country only a month earlier, and recently locked up a two seed in the tournament. To top it, the Gators had their first two games in Tampa. After trouncing Sam Houston State in the first round, the Gators did not show up at all. Michigan State shot 56 percent from the field, and held Florida to 37 percent.

9. 2007-Florida vs. Auburn/LSU/Georgia
Take your pick to which game was more disappointing. With a 2-loss LSU team winning the championship. You'd think the Gators would've had a chance to advance with just one win. Of all the losses, the home loss to unranked Auburn hurt the most. Had Florida beaten Auburn, Florida would've had a three way tie for the SEC East. Perhaps, the Gators advance to face LSU in a rematch in the SEC Championship. If they won, they might've had a rematch with Ohio State in the 2008 BCS Championship.

8. 2003-Florida at Miami
Despite finishing 8-5 in 2003, the Gators played for their pride. Miami had won 4 straight meetings, including a 41-16 drubbing at the Swamp in 2002. The Gators hopes for their first win in the rivalry since 1985 had to wait as Miami rallied to score four unanswered touchdowns in 38-33 win at the Orange Bowl. Blowing a 33-10 lead did very little to silence then head coach Ron Zook's critics. However, this game did thrust Chris Leak into the national limelight for the first time in his career.

7. 2005-Florida at South Carolina
With all of the hoopla that went into the game, the Gators fell flat on their faces. This was the first matchup between Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, and one that cost the Gators dearly. Had Florida won this game, the Gators would've won the tiebreaker over Georgia, who lost to Auburn that night.

6. 2001-Florida at Tennessee
This rivalry, normally played in September, was pushed back to the season finale in December due to the tragic events of 9/11. The Gators defense was awful as running back Travis Stephens rushed for 228 yards, the second most given up by a Gator defense to an individual player. Had Florida won, they would've faced the Bayou Bengals in the SEC Championship. The Gators trounced LSU by 29 in Death Valley earlier in the season. Florida earned a small amount of revenge as the Orange Bowl committee selected Florida over Tennessee as an at-large bid in the 2002 FedEx Orange Bowl.

5. 2009 SEC Championship Game: Florida vs. Alabama
The only reason this game doesn't rank higher is quite simple...they were the defending national champions. The arrest of defensive end Carlos Dunlap earlier in the week was an omen of bad things to come. The most disappointing thing about it is not the fact they lost, but it's how they lost. Alabama beat them 32-13.The offense had failed to show up the entire season. The defense was completely overwhelmed. On one play, Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy tip-toed the sideline while defensive tackle Omar Hunter watched.

4. 1994-Florida at Florida State (The Choke at Doak)
Florida technically was still in the hunt for a national championship. That is...until the Gators blew a four touchdown lead to not lose, but tie 31-31. Florida was looking for its first win since 1986 in Doak-Campbell Stadium. Leading 31-3 in the fourth quarter, everyone knew the fat lady was singing. In the process, Florida State amassed over 500 years of offense in the game. After the game, Florida players threw their helmets in disguist and dropped their heads. The team already had an embarrassing defeat a few weeks earlier as Auburn became the first SEC team to beat Florida in the Swamp. These two teams battled once more in the 1995 Nokia Sugar Bowl in a game dubbed "The Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter". Florida State prevailed 23-17.

3. 1996-Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Florida vs. Nebraska
This game served as the national championship for the 1995 season. In his sixth season at the helm, Steve Spurrier had finally taken his team to the promised land. The Gators were on cloud-nine after beating Florida State by 11 and Arkansas by 31. Unfortunately, the trip to the promised land was short lived as Nebraska steam-rolled the Gators 62-24. To this day, I can't eat corn without wincing and thinking back to this massacre. Tommie Frazier, who was named MVP of the game, totaled 304 yards (199 rushing yards) and 3 TDs. The one moment that makes me nauseous was the 75-yard TD run by Frazier in which it seems like he broke 10 tackles on the play. This game is similar to the 2009 SEC Championship. It could've been higher, but the Gators redeemed themselves the following season in a 52-20 rout of Florida State in the 1997 Nokia Sugar Bowl to capture the school's first national champion.

2. 2007-ALCS-Cleveland vs. Boston ("The Collapse" and "The Stop Sign")
During the 2007 season, the Indians and Red Sox tied for the best record in baseball (96-66). Boston received the home field advantage in the series because they beat the Indians 5 games to 2 in the regular season. The Indians rocked the Red Sox in the first four games of the series as they took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Cleveland had a chance to close out Boston in five as the eventual 2007 Cy Young award winner, C.C. Sabathia took the mound in game five. Sabathia, who bombed in game one, flopped in a 7-1 loss in game 5. Boston outscored Cleveland 30-5 in the final games of the series and eventually win the 2007 Fall Classic. What might have been for Cleveland? Not only "the Collapase" (a.k.a. choke), but "The Stop Sign". Cleveland trailed 3-2 in the seventh inning. As Kenny Lofton rounded third, third base coach Joel Skinner held Lofton at third despite the fact Lofton would have scored given his speed. The next at-bat Casey Blake hits into an inning-ending double-play. We all know how this movie turns out. Boston opens up the floodgates and scores eight unanswered runs to seal Cleveland's fate in an 11-2 loss. Well, if this is number two, then number one is...

1. 1997-World Series, Game 7-Cleveland at Florida
Picture this. Bottom of the ninth. 2-1 lead. The Indians are three outs away from their first World Series title since 1948. Cleveland has the best closer in the game on the mound in Jose Mesa. Guess what happens? This isn't the film Major League. Mesa blows the save, and the Indians lose in 11 innings. Shortstop Edgar Renteria provides the game winning hit and second baseman Craig Counsell scores the winning run. To this day, when a clip of the World Series is shown, I wince when I see Counsell clinching his fists in the air and crossing home plate. After all these years, this one moment in particular is too painful to watch. As an 11-year old, I had the same feeling watching the Indians blow this game and the 2007 ALCS. Sick and furious.