The term "fan" obviously stems from "fanatic." At times, it feels like one must be crazy to want to be a sports fan in this state.
Arizona's teams have a history of falling apart in big moments. Nearly every pro and college team in Arizona, outside of the Phoenix Mercury, has left its fans and players perpetually playing back moment that things went awry. Below are some of the sourest memories to think back on, if you’re that type of masochist:
Here are my nominations for Arizona's most harsh and heartbreaking sports moments:
Paxson, Bulls knock off Suns
You live with it if Michael Jordan, or even Pippen, hits that shot, right? Horace Grant? Fine. But, to leave Paxson wide open from beyond the arc and lose the NBA Finals…because of John Paxson. John...Paxson. That hurts.
Beside just that shot, the Suns failed to capitalize on chances the whole fourth quarter of that game six. Until that point, the Bulls scored just nine points in the quarter, all poured in by Jordan. If Phoenix does even remotely well offensively in the final period, the Suns do not need to worry about 12 total points and win handily.
Alas, Sir Charles does not get his ring, and the Suns remain (lovable?) losers. Maybe next year?
Mario Elie kisses Suns goodbye
Two years removed from the 1993 debacle, with a blown 3-1 lead to the 1994 NBA champion Rockets in between, the Suns faced the Rockets again in 1995 with a chance for revenge. The two teams faced off in another game seven. With the score tied, Mario Elie hits a three-pointer in the dying seconds, and the Suns lose to the champions.
Again, it was not Hakeem Olajuwon or even the memorable Kenny Smith or future all-star Sam Cassell who hits the big shot. Granted, Elie was a serviceable NBA player, but Mario Elie ending your season is seriously tough.
This series was merely a conference semifinal, and the Suns would have had to dismantle the Spurs (though they had not yet become the dynasty we remember these days) and the Knicks in the NBA Finals to win the championship. But, if the Rockets did it, and the Suns almost beat them, they would have at least had a chance.
Holmes sends Cardinals home
A long Larry Fitzgerald touchdown - he had one of the best total playoff performances anybody has seen from a wide receiver - gave the Cardinals a late 23-20 lead in Super Bowl XLIII against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But, an improbably pass from Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the end zone all but sealed the win with :35 left on the clock.
Quarterback Kurt Warner's pass attempt was called a fumble on the ensuing desperation offensive drive. Back in those days, the Pro Bowl was played after the Super Bowl. Warner and Fitzgerald hooked up for a hail mary touchdown just a week later in the exhibition game, leaving fans to wonder what could have been.
While that moment was the game clincher for the Steelers, I'd actually argue that the most painful play for the Cardinals came earlier in that same game. We'll get to that.
Harrison takes it back 100 yards
Down 10-7 in the aforementioned Super Bowl, the Cardinals had a chance to either take the lead or at least tie going into halftime, with the ball just two yards away from the goal line and 18 seconds on the clock.
Linebacker James Harrison intercepted a pass and brought it back for a touchdown. With 0:00 on the clock, it took a Herculean effort for his defensive teammates to block downfield for him, and Larry Fitzgerald still nearly got him. A tackle anywhere short of a score would have been
To go from an opportunity to take a lead or tie, and instead enter the half down ten points was heartbreaking. The Cardinals had to play catch up nearly the rest of the game against a team that was more experienced and had several players already with a title under their belts. Watching Harrison lay on the ground winded after the rumbling score may never get easier.
Ohio State drive beats Sun Devils in Rose Bowl
Down 17-14, Ohio State’s Joe Germaine led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a victory in the Rose Bowl over Jake Plummer and the Sun Devils.
Just think where Plummer would rank among the college greats with this Rose Bowl victory under his belt. Think of ASU’s place in the pantheon of great teams, with a big-time win over a premiere program that they could hold over Ohio State fans forever, even though the Buckeyes have been good nearly every year in the 2010’s and the Sun Devils have not.
ASU blew three third-and-ten opportunities defensively, but the one that hurt the most was the third. At the 20, the announcers even said the Buckeyes were in field goal range. One stop on third down and Ohio State likely attempts a field goal, leading to overtime. Instead, ASU blows the lead, and 19 seconds is nowhere near enough time to mount a comeback.
To make matters worse, Germaine went to high school at Mesa Mountain View, eventually knocking off his home team. He had a short stint as a backup in the NFL, and was part of the Arizona Rattlers’ 69-62 loss in the 2004 league championship game. A related event comes next.
Well-executed drive, lack of defensive pressure/awareness leads Storm over Rattlers
The Arizona Rattlers’ chances to claim an undefeated season capped off by a win in the 2019 United Bowl fell just short in a 56-53 loss to the Sioux Fall Storm. While losing any championship game hurts, failing to capitalize on opportunities to swing the outcome late arguably makes it worse.
Down to third-and-12, and likely to kick a field goal if they came up short of a first down, the Storm lined up in a passing formation. The Rattlers gave Sioux Falls a full seven or eight seconds in a clean pocket to complete a pass for the conversion.
Then, when the Storm in an NFL game would have just been able to run out the clock, there still was a chance for Arizona. Even without any timeouts after they used one on a kneel on first down, the league rules stipulate that the clock stops if a team takes a loss of yards on the play. Knowing the rules, Arizona should have stacked the box almost completely and gambled on stopping the run. Even if the Storm got tricky and tried a pass or outside run, there is no guarantee it would have worked. Instead, Sioux Falls runs an obvious quarterback sneak for a yard, the clock runs out, and the Storm win a championship in enemy territory.
Side note: The next season was ostensibly cancelled due to COVID-19, which gives the Rattlers and their fans another year to think about the loss.
Go to 2:34:50 of this full-game broadcast to watch the long pass and the final moments of the game.
Honorable mention: LaQuinton Ross three downs Wildcats
There are several moments that have been tough on Arizona basketball fans, but one that I believe sticks out is Ohio State's 2013 73-70 victory in the NCAA Tournament coming from a LaQuinton Ross three-pointer with two seconds remaining.
The two reasons I don't believe this made the list: The other teams are Valley-specific, and Arizona exacted some revenge against the Buckeyes by dominating them two years later in the 2015 tournament.
Another honorable mention: Diamondbacks lose to Brewers in 2011
Yes, it had been a while since the Diamondbacks claimed their first MLB championship, and it has been even longer now. Milwaukee knocked this loveable surprise team out of the playoffs on a Nyjer Morgan RBI in extra innings. But, it is hard to put them in the same category because the Diamondbacks had won a championship already and fans were not still clamoring in the same way as they still are for the Suns or Cardinals.
But, I did put the Rattlers in, though they had won, just because of the catastrophic collapse in the final minutes of a championship game that was theirs to win. That’s different, right? I don’t know. I never said I had a formula to this.
Anyway…
There is a bittersweet feeling about the toughest moments for Arizona sports fans. The reason these plays are so painful is because they happened on big stages. But, the teams had to be successful to get to those points, and play in those games. I’d much rather see a team lose in the playoffs on a heartbreaker than watch whatever you want to call the campaigns the Suns and Cardinals have put out in recent seasons.
These moments are tough for Arizona sports fans. Many of the moments still leave a sour taste in the mouths of supporters. You can't truly understand sweet without experiencing sour, so maybe, just maybe, if and when the opposite happens and an Arizona team that has been known to choke late in games finally pulls through, it will be even more of a reason to celebrate.
#TeamAZV weighs in on their least favorite local sports memories
Greg Esposito
The biggest heartbreak as an Arizona sports fan? That’s like asking which contestant on Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle is the most desperate. (HINT: It’s all of them.)
If I had to pick one moment it has to be Santonio Holmes’ touchdown in the Super Bowl against the Cardinals. Sure, John Paxson’s shot hurts and probably has tortured me more over the years but Holmes 100% cost the Valley a title. Cards were leading after the second most iconic moment in AZ sports with Fitz touchdown. If they stop that drive, the cellar dwellers in the Cardinals would have been champs. Just when you finally let yourself believe it was possible it was cruelly ripped away. You don’t recover from that.
Ralph Amsden
People remember Antonio McDyess as Detroit Pistons sixth man, or a back-to-the-basket, 18-footer shooting San Antonio Spur, but there was a time when he was the most exciting player in basketball. He was like Shawn Kemp or prime Vince Carter, when he left his feet, the fans left their seats. He spent a year in Phoenix back in 1997-1998 because the Denver Nuggets didn't think they were going to be able to meet his financial demands, so they offloaded him for draft picks. McDyess never really wanted to leave Denver though, he just wanted to get paid by the Nuggets, so after a year with the Suns in which he was the most exciting player to wear purple and orange since the Suns parted ways with Charles Barkley, McDyess re-signed with Denver. I was 14 years old at the time, and had never really felt the sting of free agency before. The most torturous thing about it was that the Suns actually tried to get him to change his mind, with Jason Kidd, Rex Chapman, and George McCloud flying, in a blizzard, to Denver to try and bring McDyess back with them, but I think the story was that Nuggets GM Dan Issell had a security detail not let those players meet with McDyess, and they came home empty-handed. I was crushed. Every single time I saw him play after that, I was reminded of what could have been. Even worse, repeated knee injuries took away the athleticism that once made him so exciting, so there wasn't even an element of fun to my sadness.
Zach Alvira
There have been plenty of heartbreaking moments that have affected me in my life. But one that never I find myself thinking about the most is when the adult football team I played for a few years ago lost the championship game. We were up 14-0 entering the fourth quarter to the team that beat us the previous year in the title game. Sure, it was only adult pop warner, but I was on the verge of winning my first-ever championship. We lost 20-14. Two straight trips to the championship, two straight losses. Still makes me mad to this day.
Chris Eaton
As someone that has lived here long enough to remember when the Suns were the only pro franchise in town, there are many heartbreaking moments. I'm going to bypass 1993 here (even though the Suns managed to have home court against MJ and the Bulls only to go 0-3 at the Purple Palace) and jump 2 years to 1995. It was the Year 2 of No Jordan and after letting a 2-0 lead to the Houston Rockets slip away in 1994, the Suns were up 3-1 in the semis and had 2 of the next 3 at home. It went the distance - 7 games. And Mario Elie did what John Paxson had done 2 years earlier. End the Suns season. Down 1 point, Elie hit a shot in the corner in front of the Rockets bench and as he came down the court, put two fingers to his lips and blew what become known as the Kiss of Death to the Suns bench. All of us in our living rooms felt it. It would be the last game played for the Suns for Thunder Dan Majerle, who became the fall guy (he was 5-for-25 from 3-point range in the series) and was traded to Cleveland for Hot Rod Williams.
