Los Angeles Sports Teams’ Nightmares

Posted On January 21, 2023

The Chargers are now officially a professional sports team from Los Angeles. In their NFL playoff opener, the Chargers cruised to a 27-0 lead over the Jaguars in Jacksonville, Florida, and wound up losing 31-30. This monumental collapse inspired me to reminisce about how this is a pattern for other LA teams.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had four interceptions in the first half and four touchdown passes in the second half. The Chargers managed one field goal in the second half, and the Jaguars came back to win. Have we seen his before?

This was the latest anguish felt by Los Angeles fans. We keep rooting for these teams and continue getting our teeth kicked in. The Chargers’ heartbreaking g loss is the latest chapter of some of the worst moments in LA sports history. This piece will center on the Rams (with one St. Louis exception), Dodgers, and Lakers. I am not a Clippers fan, the Raiders treated LA like a pit stop, and I am not a hockey fan, so they are not included in this article.

The ‘Mud Bowl’

The Rams owned the NFC West during the 1970s, winning a record (at the time) of seven consecutive division titles. The problem during that span was the Rams continued to be labeled as Super Bowl favorites only to disappoint fans year after year, usually frustrating losses to the Vikings or Cowboys.

One of the most memorable nightmares came in the 1977 NFC playoffs at home against the Vikings. Earlier in the season, the Rams routed the Vikings at the Coliseum 35-3 and went on to post a 10-4 record. With the Vikings on the road, going with backup quarterback Bob Lee for injured Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, this looked too easy for the Rams. 

However, Mother Nature came into play. A big rainstorm roared into LA, turning the Coliseum into one giant mud pit. As the game progressed, players were covered in mud from head to toe, and you couldn’t tell who was who. The game was dubbed “The Mud Bowl.” Meanwhile, the Rams’ high-powered offense sputtered the entire game. Pat Haden threw three interceptions, and all the Rams could muster was one touchdown, and they fell to the Vikings 14-7. 

Got What We Asked For

Here we go again. Rams vs. Vikings, 1978 NFC playoffs first round. My friend and I got tickets for the game, and we didn’t know what to expect. At least it wasn’t raining.

The first half didn’t settle our nerves. The Rams pulled into a 10-10 tie with the Vikings, which had the smell of another upset. To our amazement, in the second half, the Rams looked good. I mean, good. Haden managed the game well, and the defense chased Tarkenton all over the field. The Rams ended with a 34-10 victory, and Tarkenton announced his retirement.

As foolish Rams fans, we joined the chorus chanting, “We want Dallas! we want Dallas!” Well, we got them. Dallas came to the Coliseum, and the Rams choked. The offense produced one great goose egg, Cowboys defensive back Charlie Waters had two interceptions, and Roger Staubach eventually got it together. He led two fourth-quarter scoring drives, and the Cowboys won 28-0.

Yes, the Cowboys made us eat our words. We know better now. 

The Following Year …

I have to make a quick mention of the 1979 Rams. Vince Ferragamo took over at quarterback, but the regular season was a struggle. The Rams were constantly booed at home, although they won the division with a 9-7 record. That meant the Rams were on the road for the playoffs.

Perhaps the Rams put together a great playoff run without the pressure of playing in front of the home fans. They beat Dallas and Tampa Bay, and this Cinderella story was heading to the Super Bowl. For the record, in the Super Bowl against the heavily favored Steelers, the Rams were actually leading Pittsburgh 19-17 going into the fourth quarter (thanks to a touchdown pass from running back Lawrence McCutcheon). Unfortunately, our prayers weren’t answered. The Steelers scored two big touchdowns in the fourth quarter and won 31-19. 

Still, it gave us a little hope until owner Georgia Frontiere decided to dismantle the team, and the Rams floundered for years.

St. Louis Stunner

I am a loyal Rams fan, and I stuck with them even when they moved to St. Louis in 1995. But there were some lean years until the “Greatest Show on Turf” era came along with the likes of Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk. They won the team’s first Super Bowl (by one yard) in 2000, and suddenly, the Rams were a championship contender again.

Two years later, the Rams were back in the Super Bowl. They were a 14-point favorite against a young up-and-coming quarterback in Tom Brady and the Patriots. Yes, the Rams were favored by two touchdowns!!! What the heck??? They went 14-2 and stormed through the playoffs, but the Rams never do things the easy way.

So, in true Rams fashion, they struggled in the season’s biggest game. The offense sputtered, and the Patriots managed to keep things close. Tied 17-17, Brady drove the Pats into field goal range, and kicker Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal to upset the Rams 20-17. That was the lowest point of history, full of low points.

Of note, the Patriots were accused of cheating, taping the Rams’ walk-through practice a day before the game, but none of these allegations were proven true (yeah, right).

Another Super Bowl Flop

Thankfully, owner Stan Kroenke brought the Rams back to LA, creating a sharp brain trust that included General Manager Les Snead and the youngest head coach in league history, Sean McVay. After floundering for years, McVay turned the worst team on offense into the best team on offense, which added up to McVay’s first Super Bowl appearance in 2018.

That happened to be a rematch against Brady and the Patriots. The Rams were coming off one of their best seasons on offense, but they couldn’t do anything against the Patriots defense. The Rams had one stinker of a drive after another. The Patriots didn’t fare much better, but just enough to win 13-3. 

This was one of my worst moments as a Rams fan because their offense was much better than what they showed, and all they could muster was just one field goal. But, from an optimist’s standpoint, while I felt frustrated, at least the Rams have come back to become a perennial contender. In 2021-22, the Rams were committed to winning the Super Bowl, including a blockbuster trade that sent quarterback Jared Goff to Detroit for Matthew Stafford. They came through with a world title. 

Frustrating Season

The Dodgers gave their fans more heartbreaks than I care to mention, but one of the biggest came during the 1971 campaign. The Dodgers and Giants were neck-and-neck during the regular season, but one game stood out for me. I was celebrating my birthday at Dodger Stadium on the night when the Dodgers had the Giants on the ropes.

It was July 9, 1971, when the Dodgers carried a 4-1 lead into the ninth inning. Then everything fell apart. Dodgers pitcher Claude Osteen gave up a single and then was pulled. Jim Brewer came out of the bullpen and gave up three hits, one a two-run double by Willie McCovey. Brewer was removed for Pete Mikkelsen, who gave up another three runs. When it was over, the Giants put up six runs in the ninth, and the Dodgers lost 7-4.

This loss was significant because the division race came down to the final day of the regular season, and the Giants beat the Padres to clinch the NL West. I always wondered what would’ve happened had the Dodgers not blown a three-run lead to the Giants in early July.

Double Choke

The 1985 NLCS was another teeth-grinder for Dodgers fans. Things got off to an excellent start, with the Dodgers winning the first two games in LA, but St. Louis eventually tied the series 2-2.  Now along comes stopper Tom Niedenfuer. 

With Game 5 tied 2-2 going to the bottom of the ninth inning, Niedenfuer was brought in, hoping to send the game into extra innings. One pitch later, Ozzie Smith, who only had 28 home runs for his ENTIRE career, smoked a home run into right field, and the series went back to LA with the Dodgers trailing 3-2.

Then, the moment everyone remembers. Again, the dreaded ninth inning and the Cards had two runners on with two outs, with the Dodgers leading 5-4 with Jack Clark coming up. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda decided to stay with Niedenfuer and not walk Clark despite what happened in Game 5. Niedenfuer’s first pitch to Clark sailed into the left-field seats, and the season ended for the Dodgers. 

Final comment. Begging and praying doesn’t work for the Dodgers. 

Reggie, Reggie, Reggie

The 1977 World Series against the “Evil Empire,” better known as the Yankees, didn’t have many highlights for the Dodgers. The Dodgers split the first two games at Yankee Stadium, but the Yankees showed their might the rest of the way.

I went to Game 5 with my friend (great seats, too) after the Yankees won two straight at Dodger Stadium to go up 3-1. We yelled, we screamed; we did everything to help squeeze out a victory. The Dodgers had the power;  the lineup featured four hitters with 30 or more home runs during the regular season. Finally, the bats showed up. The Dodgers won 10-4, and there was a glimmer of hope.

Send up Reggie Jackson. Jackson belted three home runs without going into much detail, and the Yankee Stadium crowd chanted, “Reggie, Reggie, Reggie.” I believe this is where Jackson earned the nickname “Mr. October.” The Yankees won 8-4, and that was that for the Dodgers.

Clayton Kershaw

From a significant upset by the Washington Nationals in the first round in 2019 to a slugfest defeat to the cheating Houston Astros, the one player getting the center of attention for all the wrong reasons was star pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw has had a dynamite career in the regular season, but Kershaw was a different pitcher in the playoffs. Kershaw carries a dismal playoff record of 13-12 with a 4.22 ERA. In contrast, he is lights out during the regular season with 197 victories and a 2.48 career ERA.

It’s hard to figure out why there is such a difference between the regular season and the postseason, but Kershaw has been the center of meltdowns for most of his career. It’s an awkward situation for Kershaw and the Dodgers. Kershaw has been the ace, and he’s one of the great pitchers of all time. But there’s that playoff thing. Here is just a sample of what Dodger fans have endured with Kershaw in the playoffs:

2009 NLCS vs. Phillies: Kershaw starts Game 1. The Dodgers held a 1-0 lead until Kershaw surrendered five runs in the fifth inning, and the Phils never looked back. Kershaw came out of the bullpen for Game 5, and the Dodgers trailed 6-3 in the fifth. Kershaw surrendered a two-run homer to Shane Victorino, which sealed things for the Dodgers.

2013 NLCS vs. Cardinals: Sparing Dodger fans the details here, Kershaw started Game 6 and promptly gave up four runs in the third, and the Cardinals extended the lead to 9-0 in the fifth—season over.

2014 NLDS vs. Cardinals: The Dodgers needed this game trailing 2-1 in the series and turned to Kershaw again. He struggled in Game 1, giving up five runs, and the Dodgers blew a four-run lead. Game 4 wasn’t much better. The Dodgers led 2-0 until Matt Halliday ripped a three-run homer off Kershaw in the seventh, and it was kaput from there.

2016 NLCS vs. Cubs: Once again, the Dodgers called on Kershaw in an elimination game, and we know this scenario. The Cubs opened with three runs in the first inning, setting the tone. Two more home runs put the lid on this one, although it wasn’t solely Kershaw’s fault. The offense sucked, too.

2018 World Series vs. Red Sox: I felt this was the best Red Sox team ever, so the Dodgers were in trouble from the start. Kershaw didn’t help matters. He put the Dodgers in an early hole by surrendering five earned runs in four innings, and Boston cruised. In Game 5, and the Dodgers facing elimination, Kershaw gave up a two-run homer to Steve Pearce in the first inning, and the Cards added two more homers in the sixth and seventh to put it out of reach.

And if that wasn’t enough for Dodger fans to swallow …

Slugfest Goes to the Cheaters

It was mired with a cheating scandal in an exhausting back-and-forth toe-to-toe battle in the 2017 World Series between the Dodgers and Astros. Before we get into that, the Series itself was a seven-game classic.

Both teams set a World Series record with a combined 25 home runs, but the offensive explosion came in Game 5. Sure enough, Kershaw started and looked good through three innings, with the Dodgers leading 4-0 in the fourth. LA lost the lead with Houston scoring four in the fourth, and the fight was on. The game went into extra innings tied 12-12 when Alex Bregman ripped a walk-off single to win it for the Astros. 

To their credit, the Dodgers didn’t roll over. They won Game 6 by a score of 3-1, setting up a Game 7 showdown that wasn’t much of a showdown. The Astros rocked Dodgers starter Yu Darvish for five runs in the first two innings, and the Dodgers lost 5-1. 

Regarding the cheating scandal, investigators revealed that the Astros used center-field cameras – used for challenges – to steal signs from the Dodgers. In the World Series, Astros players relayed signals to teammates in the dugout, and they would, in turn, forward the alerts to whoever was batting for the Astros. The punishment? A couple of suspensions and a fine, but nothing was done to the team. We wuz robbed. 

Big Favorites, Epic Defeats

The Dodgers won 106 games during the 2019 regular season and looked poised to make a deep playoff run. Their NLDS opponent was the Nationals, who barely made it into the postseason and topped the Brewers in the wild-card game. Instead of the blow-out series that we expected, the Nationals pushed the series to Game 5. 

Los Angeles led 3-0 after two innings, but the underdog Nationals managed to take it to extra innings. Howie Kendrick was the hero of the hour for the Nationals, blasting a 10th-inning grand slam off Joe Kelly, and we were stunned. It was the first time a team won at least 105 and did not advance in the playoffs.

If you thought that was bad, how about the 2022 playoffs? The Dodgers won a team-record 111 games and had a first-round bye under a new playoff format. Their opponent was the rival Padres, who finished 22 games behind the Dodgers. I guess we know where this is going, don’t we?

After losing Game 1 of the best-of-five, the Padres returned with three straight wins, capped by a come-from-behind 5-3 victory that saw San Diego score five times in the seventh. This one is going to take some soul-searching.

Kobe Bryant

This is a tough one to write about. Kobe Bryant was one of the great Los Angeles icons ever. He delivered five world championships, was an 18-time All-Star and was a gifted human being. Then the shocking news came over on Jan. 26, 2020. Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a plane crash. The report was devastating to Lakers faithful and fans all over the world.

Who could forget all of Kobe’s accomplishments? He won a record four NBA All-Star Game MVPs, was a two-time scoring champion, and the league’s MVP award in 2008. Kobe wasn’t about offense only; he was on the all-defensive team 12 times. His final game was a classic, with Kobe pouring in 60 points. Kobe’s two jerseys, numbers 8 and 24, hang on the Lakers’ home court, and we will always miss him.

Magic Johnson

Growing up in Southern California, we remembered when the Lakers drafted Magic Johnson, and our world changed. Suddenly, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers were now perennial contenders. Besides that, Magic was adored by fans for his flashy play on the court and his bright personality.

Then, in 1991, we couldn’t believe what we were hearing. A preseason physical revealed Magic had contracted HIV. We didn’t learn about it until his memorable press conference announced the devastating news. It was so stunning to hear this. Magic was retiring, but even more, he had a disease that was almost a death sentence at that time.

Fortunately, thanks to modern medicine, Magic survived the HIV disease, and he has gone on to lead a productive life while being an inspiration to those who have contracted the disease. 

Bill Russell and the Celtics

The 1969 NBA Finals looked like a golden opportunity for the Lakers to get some payback from the rival Celtics. The Lakers had Wilt, Elgin, and Jerry West, and this was supposed to be Bill Russell’s retirement party. What could go wrong? Plenty.

Somehow, Russell, the team’s coach when player-coaches were a thing, helped carry his team to the NBA Finals. The Lakers were clearly the favorites with their arsenal, but this had to be settled on the court, and that didn’t go well for the Lakers.

It came down to Game 7 in LA, and the Celtics had one last push in them. After three quarters, the Celtics led 91-76 as the Lakers struggled on offense. Chamberlain got into foul trouble, was injured with five minutes to play, and did not return. The final nail came with an assortment of Lakers turnovers, and the Celtics returned with a 108-106 win—another reason to hate the Celtics.

The Willis Reed Game

I hate it when the Lakers are on the wrong side of an epic contest. Before we went over Game 7 against the Knicks in 1970, it should be noted that this was quite a battle, although the Lakers never led in the series. They did tie it three times before the final game at Madison Square Garden. 

Meanwhile, the Knicks’ big man, Willis Reed, suffered a torn muscle in his thigh that kept him out of Game 6, and the Lakers cruised to a 135-113 victory. Wilt scored 45 points and pulled down 27 rebounds in that game, and it looked like the Lakers were poised to put this away.

However, before Game 7 began and to the amazement of Knicks fans, Reed came to the court for warmups and, somehow, he started the game that amounted to a historical effort. He scored the first four points, his only points, and he clamped down defensively on Wilt. Reed managed to play until 3:05 left before halftime. By then, the Knicks held a 61-37 advantage and went on to win the title with a 113-99 win. As I said, I hate being on the wrong side of history.

Shot Down by The Rockets

Maybe we were a little too cocky or just comfortable knowing that the Lakers would take that leap into the NBA Finals again in 1986. The Lakers had dominated the Western Conference four straight seasons, and it looked like their first-round foe, the Rockets, would be another victim against Magic, Kareem, and James Wurrrr-the. But they had to get by the Twin Towers of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson.

The Lakers won Game 1, 119-107 but fell through a trap door. The Rockets won four straight, finishing with Sampson hitting a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to pull out a 114-112. Lost in the mix was Olajuwon being ejected from the game in the fourth quarter for fighting with Lakers forward Mitch Kupchak. Yet, the Lakers failed to capitalize on that. 

My vision of this series came after the Lakers lost with a camera shot of Michael Cooper lying on his back in disbelief. That haunted me for many years.

Burned By The Suns

Let’s make it clear that the Lakers were going into the 2006 Western Conference playoffs as a seven-seed against the Suns, who were seeded second. That automatically tells you that the Lakers were the underdogs, and despite that, they were still on the wrong side of history again.

The Lakers got off to a fantastic start, going up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, and that followed Kobe Bryant’s outstanding performance in a Game 4 victory. But things began to crumble. The Suns routed the Lakers in Phoenix in Game 5, which was more or less expected. Returning to LA, the Lakers nearly closed out the series in regulation. However, Tim Thomas sent it to overtime with a three-pointer, and the Suns outscored the Lakers 21-13 overtime to force Game 7.

Well, that wasn’t pretty. The Suns beat the Lakers by 31 points. The Lakers were down by 15 in the first quarter alone. The Lakers performed admirably as an underdog, but this one still stung. At that point, the Lakers were only the eighth team in playoff history to blow a 3-1 lead. Sorry, but this was very frustrating to watch.

NBA Finals Meltdown

Many things went into the Lakers’ 2008 run to the NBA Finals. Phil Jackson had returned as coach in his second stint with the Lakers. Kobe, meanwhile, was upset because the Lakers had previously lost in the first round of the playoffs two straight years leading up to the 2007-08 season. The Lakers added Pau Gasol in midseason, and the Lakers got it together.

The Lakers won 57 games and cruised past Denver, Utah, and San Antonio to reach the NBA Finals. Once again, their opponent was the Celtics, who came ready to play. The Lakers dropped the first two games in Boston but won Game 3. 

Game 4 was pivotal, and it looked like the Lakers would even things up. They led 35-14 after the first quarter, the largest first-quarter lead in the history of the NBA Finals. They led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter. Then it slipped away. The Celtics ended the third quarter on a 21-3 run, and they were only down by two. Eddie House pushed Boston in front with a mid-range jumper, and the Celtics led for good and won 97-91.

The Lakers won Game 5 but got clobbered 131-92 in Game 6, the most significant margin of victory in an NBA championship-clinching victory. Did I mention how much I hate the Celtics?