Ahh...working on about 3 hours of sleep (4 month old baby that's not quite ready to sleep through the night) and hadn't had any coffee yet. Carry on.
Sorry didn't read the section at the bottom about not adding Pujol's shot. Replacing Pujol's HR with NLCS Game 6 in 04 because we had that game in our sights are rallying vs Izzy in the bottom of the ninth and to see Edmond's go deep against, gulp, Dan Mecili when we all knew he shouldn't be out there really sucked especially being one clutch hit away from the Series.
I can't believe nobody mentioned the 1962 AFL Championship game when the Oilers lost in double OT even though Abner Haynes (the Dallas Texans' captain) screwed up the call on the coin toss. Broke my 5 year old heart.
I was 7 at the time and barely getting into sports, especially MLB, but remember watching it but not understanding the impact at that moment. Today, I watch that and it gets to me understanding how hard it was to reach that point back in the 80's but in a way I kinda see it as folklore in Houston. Something I can tell my kids about because it was so histroic and Houston was involved, it kinda seems like it was bigger then H-town itself.
check out a book called The Greatest Game Ever Played. it's a book about the game and the series, in general. very good.
I will never forget this. Sure, I was an unfertilized egg at the time, but that takes nothing away from my heartbreak.
Sorry guys, I should have mentioned Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS. I am 34 years old and that was the game that introduced me to sports heartache. That 1986 Astros team was the first team I ever fell in love with. I remember my parents getting HSE so that I could watch Rockets and Astros games as a kid. I remember so many games from that season. MadMax, you are spot on, that was a glaring omission in the OP.
You and I are the same age and had exactly the same experience with that game, then. Exactly how I'd describe it. I've never forget the look on Doran's face in the dugout as the Mets celebrated that victory. I was absolutely heartbroken by that.
I'm also 34. That was the first time I cried for a sporting event. I still remember the camera on Jose Cruz being the last still sitting in the dugout. I was crushed.
my other recollection was running home from the bus stop as fast as I could to watch the rest of it...we got to listen to part of it at school in language arts class.
Tuck Rule. That's pretty much the main one. Gruden has Zack Crockett, the best short-yardage runner in the NFL at the time sitting there and he decides to just run Wheatley on 3rd and 1. Wheatley gets stuffed. If Crockett picks up that first down, we're likely never talking about the events that went on to transpire.
I have to echo everyone's 1986 Game 6 sentiments. I cried when Bass struck out. Also, the Walt Weiss gem. Crap. Also, 1998 was just so freaking frustrating. That simply the greatest team the Astros had ever assembled, and they went down with a whimper. *Still* hate Kevin freaking Brown... Walt Weiss... Fred Brocklander... Jesse Orosco... Kevin Brown... Mike Renfro... Frank Reich... Jim Edmunds... public enemy #1 list for Houston sports. simply awesome.
Walt Weiss Kevin Brown / Sterling Hitchcock (11 K's in 6 IP for Hitchcock? really? ugh) the playoff game (1997 astros/braves gm1) when DK gave up 2 hits and still took the loss b/c we couldn't score more than 1 run.. DK also went 2-2 and drove in the only run of that game. -that was the first game for the Astros in the playoffs after '86. It started the whole Astros/Braves thing on the wrong foot...and it started Biggio and Bagwell on their playoff struggles for years to come. stupid Maddux
This thread makes me want to punch babies, and kick puppies. Basically, every game mentioned after the 1986 Astros Mets game (I was only 3 at the time, but I've heard ALL about it from my brother) is a gut-wrencher for me. Those Oilers losses against the Broncos, Bills, and Chiefs will never be healed. I remember being on a flight to India when the Broncos-Oilers game was on, and seeing the score flashed on the in-flight news broadcast. No highlights, no commentary.....just the score, along with the other scores. I started crying, and my dad and mom looked at me and asked what was wrong, and then they looked at the screen and understood. Sad times indeed.
Man; forgot those two. Here's another, with an unfortunate connection to history-- 1999. Hampton started the 9th with a lead, and Brian Jordan hit that bomb. Damn you, Brian Jordan. 1986. Knepper started the 9th with a lead (iirc). Dammit.
