A day synonymous with bad luck and people who genuinely believe walking under a ladder might ruin their entire existence.
Over the centuries, have proven a twisted sense of humor. Bad luck runs rampant. You can practice your entire life to hone your skills, execute a play almost perfectly, and still end up on the wrong side of a moment so ridiculously unfortunate that it feels like someone upstairs is playing a practical joke.
And in honor of Friday the 13th, we’re counting down five of the most unlucky, bizarre and downright cruel plays in sports history.
DUKE’S BEATDOWN OF NC STATE INCLUDED A MUST-SEE MISSED FIELD GOAL RETURNED FOR A 109-YARD TOUCHDOWN
Imagine being the No. 1 team in college football, having national championship aspirations and watching your season take a devastating turn because of a missed field goal.
Welcome to Alabama’s nightmare.
With the 2013 Iron Bowl tied at 28 and just one second remaining, sent freshman kicker Adam Griffith onto the field to attempt a 57-yard field goal against Auburn.
What could possibly go wrong?
Griffith’s kick fell short, landing in the hands of Auburn’s Chris Davis, who was standing in the end zone specifically for this possibility.
Davis proceeded to sprint 109 yards for a touchdown as the Auburn crowd erupted into absolute pandemonium and stormed the field.
The Crimson Tide didn’t just lose a football game. They watched their hopes of a third consecutive national championship disappear as Davis sprinted down the sideline.
For 86 years, the Boston Red Sox couldn’t win a World Series.
And for a long time, their fans blamed a certain trade involving a certain baseball player with certain significance, named Babe Ruth.
The infamous “Curse of the Bambino” had become part of Boston sports folklore, and the 1986 World Series provided perhaps its cruelest chapter of that saga.
Leading the New York Mets 3-2 in the series, Boston was one out away from winning its first championship since 1918 during Game 6.
Then everything fell apart.
The Mets tied the game in the 10th inning, and with the winning run on second base, Mookie Wilson hit a slow ground ball toward Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner.
It should have been a routine play. Instead, the baseball rolled directly between Buckner’s legs, allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run.
Game over.
The fat lady had sung. The Mets won Game 7, and Buckner’s error became one of the most infamous moments in baseball history.
To be fair, Boston had already blown its lead before Buckner’s mistake, and the Red Sox still had another game to win the championship, but whether you want to call it poor concentration or bad luck, it’s one of the most brutal plays you’ll ever watch, unless you’re a Yankees or Mets fan.
YANKEES INFIELDERS COLLIDE, ALLOWING METS TO SCORE GAME-WINNING RUN IN DRAMATIC COMEBACK
There are missed field goals.
There are heartbreaking missed field goals.
And then there’s whatever supernatural, if you will, nonsense happened to Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey during the 2018 NFL playoffs.
On Jan. 6, 2019, the Bears trailed the Philadelphia Eagles 16-15 in the final seconds of their NFC Wild Card matchup.
Parkey lined up for a 43-yard field goal that would send Chicago into the divisional round.
The kick went up.
DOINK.
The football struck the left upright.
DOINK.
