Top 5 Worst Sports Moments of All Time

5. Zinedine Zidane

What will you remember from the 2006 World Cup? How about from the career of Zinedine Zidane? If you’re not a particularly devout fan of soccer, it is just one incident. In the 110th minute of play of the final game of the World Cup, France and Italy were tied 1-1. When Italian player Marco Materazzi made choice comments about Zidane’s sister, Zidane turned around and rammed his head into Materazzi’s chest. He received a red card and left the field of play, while Italy went on to win the game in penalties. Zidane retired from soccer, leaving himself with a disgraced legacy and his country without the World Cup title.

4. Dale Earnhardt Sr.

The most controversial NASCAR driver of all time, Dale Earnhardt, was a 7 time champion and “The Intimidator”. He would fight for every race and is remembered as one of the greatest ever. In 2001, he went into the final turn of the Daytona 500 in 3rd place. He fended off Sterling Marlin momentarily, until his car was tapped and careened head first into the outside wall at 150 mph. Earnhardt’s neck snapped when his entire body was jolted and the blow to his head on the steering wheel killed him on impact. It was a sad day and no one even considered celebrating Michael Waltrip’s long awaited victory. No fan will ever forget Kenny Schrader leaping out of his car, looking in the window, and immediately signaling for the paramedics.

3. Hillsborough

During a 1989 FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest ninety-six people were killed during a human crush. The tragedy began initially because of a car accident on the main road leading to the stadium. Thousands of fans were running late for the match because of the traffic. When they arrived a bottle-neck effect occurred because people were showing up quicker then the turnstiles would allow them to enter the stadium. Cops decided to open an exit in order to get the fans in quicker, but this caused overcrowding in one area of the stadium. Fans in the front of the stands were pushed against the fence separating them from the field. The referees stopped the game only 6 minutes in after their attention was called to fans climbing the fences to avoid being crushed. One gate was forced open and most of the fence eventually collapsed. The 700+ injured fans overwhelmed the police and medical personal. Forty-four ambulances arrived on site, but none were able to enter the stadium. Most of the blame was eventually placed on poor police control and a terrible stadium design.

2. Old Christians Rugby Team

In 1972, the Stella Maris College Rugby team left Uruguay for a match in Chile. Their plane was grounded for one day due to weather, and then ventured out to fly over the Andes. The plane crashed and 33 people survived. 5 died shortly after, and 8 more died after an avalanche. With meager supplies the survivors decided together that their only option for food was to eat the flesh of their fallen comrades. Two months after the crash three of the survivors set out to try and find rescue. Several days into their hike down to a valley, they followed a river down to the edge of the snow and finally found some Chilean huesos who helped guide them to safety. They got help and a helicopter crew was sent in to rescue the survivors. 16 people survived the ordeal.

1. Munich Massacre

In 1972, West Germany had an opportunity to host the Olympic Games. Israel decided to compete, despite some uneasiness since they were only 27 years removed from the atrocities of the Holocaust. Two weeks into the games terrorists from the organization Black September, which has connections to Yasser Arafat, broke into the apartments of the Israelis and took some of the athletes hostage. After contact with police, their demands were not met and they threw a body out the window. The Germans attempted to negotiate with the terrorists, even offering an “unlimited sum of money”, but the Palestinians would not cooperate. The German police did not have adequate training for this situation and set up an unsuccessful rescue attempt. The terrorists demanded a jet to Egypt, which was promised, as a bluff. They brought the hostages and terrorists into the airport via helicopter, where gunfire began. The terrorists, in fear of their plot failing, began shooting the hostages. In the end, eleven Israeli athletes and coaches had been killed, as well as one German police officer, and five of the eight terrorists. Millions will remember the coverage broadcast by Jim McKay of ABC News reported, “Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They’ve now said that there were eleven hostages. Two were killed in their rooms’ yesterday morning; nine were killed at the airport tonight. They’re all gone.”