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Golden Snitch link in intro
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In politics, this trope is called DecidedByOneVote; contrast with LandslideElection. See also UnderdogsNeverLose and MisfitMobilizationMoment.
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In politics, this trope is called DecidedByOneVote; contrast with LandslideElection. See also UnderdogsNeverLose and MisfitMobilizationMoment. When a game itself is structured so that almost ''every'' match comes DownToTheLastPlat, the system enabling this is a GoldenSnitch.
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* Another example in which the Buffalo Bills were a victim came near the end of the 1999 AFC wild-card game against the Tennessee Titans in what vecame known as the Music City Miracle. With seconds left, Steve Christie hit a 41-yard field goal to put Buffalo up 16-15. Then came the kickoff, which was a aquib kick first fielded by fullback Lorenzo Neal, who handed the ball to tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck then threw a controversial lateral to receiver Kevin Dyson, who took the ball 75 yards for a touchdown (which was confirmed after instant replay ruled that Wycheck had not thrown an illegal forward pass), resulting in a 22-15 win that led to the Titans march to SuperBowl XXXIV (as well as providing a measure of revenge for several older players who were members of the team when they were known as the Houston Oilers and lost the 1992 wild-card 41-38 to Buffalo after leading 35-3). The Bills have not appeared in the postseason since then.
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* Another example in which the Buffalo Bills were a victim came near the end of the 1999 AFC wild-card game against the Tennessee Titans in what vecame known as the Music City Miracle. With seconds left, Steve Christie hit a 41-yard field goal to put Buffalo up 16-15. Then came the kickoff, which was a aquib squib kick first fielded by fullback Lorenzo Neal, who handed the ball to tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck then threw a controversial lateral to receiver Kevin Dyson, who took the ball 75 yards for a touchdown (which was confirmed after instant replay ruled that Wycheck had not thrown an illegal forward pass), resulting in a 22-15 22-16 win that led to the Titans march to SuperBowl XXXIV (as well as providing a measure of revenge for several older players who were members of the team when they were known as the Houston Oilers and lost the 1992 wild-card 41-38 to Buffalo after leading 35-3). The Bills have not appeared in the postseason since then.then.
* In 1999, the New York Giants had taken a 13-10 lead over the Dallas Cowboys with only time for the kickoff remaining - but Dallas' Deion Sanders was a noted dangerous return man. He eluded several defenders by reversing field on the return, then pulled a lateral at the last second to a teammate who ran all the way to the 15 before himself lateralling to a 3rd teammate, who sprinted untouched into the endzone. Amazing comeback victory? Nope - the first lateral by Dallas was actually an illegal forward pass, so the Giants won 13-10. Unfortunately for New York, their kicker Brad Deluiso tore his ACL trying to make a tackle that in hindsight was unnecessary because of the penalty.
* In 1999, the New York Giants had taken a 13-10 lead over the Dallas Cowboys with only time for the kickoff remaining - but Dallas' Deion Sanders was a noted dangerous return man. He eluded several defenders by reversing field on the return, then pulled a lateral at the last second to a teammate who ran all the way to the 15 before himself lateralling to a 3rd teammate, who sprinted untouched into the endzone. Amazing comeback victory? Nope - the first lateral by Dallas was actually an illegal forward pass, so the Giants won 13-10. Unfortunately for New York, their kicker Brad Deluiso tore his ACL trying to make a tackle that in hindsight was unnecessary because of the penalty.
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* Butler tried it against Duke in the 2010 NCAA men's championship game with a half-court shot, but missed and Duke won. Both teams' CrowningMomentofAwesome.
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* Butler tried it against Duke in the 2010 NCAA men's championship game with a half-court shot, but missed and Duke won. Both teams' CrowningMomentofAwesome.CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
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* Real life is stranger than fiction example. Boise State University, a huge underdog to the perennial-powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners, won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl by scoring on three trick plays on the last play of the game and in overtime. The touchdown scoring one (a hook and ladder/lateral) and the final 2-point conversion to win in overtime (a statue of liberty) were both well-known trick plays that practically never work. To add to the theatrical quality, the player who made the winning score popped the question to his cheerleader girlfriend after the game (on national TV).
* In 1982, college football teams representing arch-rivals California and Stanford played their season-ending game. After a spectacular drive led by John Elway, Stanford took a 20-19 lead on a field goal with five seconds left, meaning "Cal" had to return the ensuing kickoff all the way or they'd lose (theoretically, they could down it promptly and try for a Hail Mary, but that's much more difficult). In the equivalent of a rugby play, Cal used five backwards passes to keep the play alive until they scored the touchdown. Bonus points because the Stanford band thought they had ''already won'', were filing into the end zone for their victory tune -- and got clobbered in the process. [[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3123608847915125083&q=California+vs.+Stanford+1982&total=39&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 It's worth watching, really.]]
* In 1982, college football teams representing arch-rivals California and Stanford played their season-ending game. After a spectacular drive led by John Elway, Stanford took a 20-19 lead on a field goal with five seconds left, meaning "Cal" had to return the ensuing kickoff all the way or they'd lose (theoretically, they could down it promptly and try for a Hail Mary, but that's much more difficult). In the equivalent of a rugby play, Cal used five backwards passes to keep the play alive until they scored the touchdown. Bonus points because the Stanford band thought they had ''already won'', were filing into the end zone for their victory tune -- and got clobbered in the process. [[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3123608847915125083&q=California+vs.+Stanford+1982&total=39&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 It's worth watching, really.]]
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* Real life is stranger than fiction example. Boise State University, a huge underdog to the perennial-powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners, won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl by scoring on three trick plays on the last play of the game and in overtime. The touchdown scoring one ones (a hook and ladder/lateral) ladder, and a halfpack pass) and the final 2-point conversion to win in overtime (a statue of liberty) were both are well-known trick plays that practically never work.fail more often than they succeed. To add to the theatrical quality, the player who made the winning score popped the question to his cheerleader girlfriend after the game (on national TV). She said yes.
* In 1982, college football teams representing arch-rivals California and Stanford played their season-ending game. After a spectacular drive led by John Elway, Stanford took a 20-19 lead on a field goal with five seconds left, meaning "Cal" had to return the ensuing kickoff all the way or they'd lose (theoretically, they could down it promptly and try for a Hail Mary, but that's much more difficult). In the equivalent of a rugby play, Cal used five backwards passes - one of them may have been throw after the player was already down by contact, and so Stanford to this day refuses to acknowledge the game as a Cal win - to keep the play alive until they scored the touchdown. Bonus points because the Stanford band thought they had ''already won'', were filing into the end zone for their victory tune -- and got clobbered in the process. [[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3123608847915125083&q=California+vs.+Stanford+1982&total=39&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 It's worth watching, really.]]
* In 1982, college football teams representing arch-rivals California and Stanford played their season-ending game. After a spectacular drive led by John Elway, Stanford took a 20-19 lead on a field goal with five seconds left, meaning "Cal" had to return the ensuing kickoff all the way or they'd lose (theoretically, they could down it promptly and try for a Hail Mary, but that's much more difficult). In the equivalent of a rugby play, Cal used five backwards passes - one of them may have been throw after the player was already down by contact, and so Stanford to this day refuses to acknowledge the game as a Cal win - to keep the play alive until they scored the touchdown. Bonus points because the Stanford band thought they had ''already won'', were filing into the end zone for their victory tune -- and got clobbered in the process. [[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3123608847915125083&q=California+vs.+Stanford+1982&total=39&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 It's worth watching, really.]]
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** Blake Hoffarber, the player who shot and scored from his keyster in the above clip, won an ESPY that year for Best Play, but he was far from done. In 2008, Hoffharber, now playing for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, did it again in the Big Ten Tournament with a jump-shot 3-pointer at the buzzer that many compare to the aforementioned Hill-Laettner play, guiding the Gophers to a win over Indiana.
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* Every basketball game ends with a three-pointer made in desperation. Often from across the court.
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* Every basketball game ends with free throws with no time left or a three-pointer made in desperation. Often from across the court.
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There's no such thing as a semi-aversion, and this example is not an aversion at all.
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* Semi-averted in ''CoolRunnings'', [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory based on the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team]]. The team has a chance for a medal, but crashes in their final run. The inspiration is there when they carry their bobsled across the finish line to finish the race.
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* Semi-averted in ''CoolRunnings'', [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory based on the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team]].team]], uses the trope, though not in the way the viewer expects. The team has a chance for a medal, but crashes in their final run. The inspiration is there when they carry their bobsled across the finish line to finish the race.
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* Making this OlderThanRadio and [[TropeNamer giving it its name]] is the 1888 Ernest Thayer poem ''CaseyAtTheBat'', wherein the great Casey, after deliberately getting two strikes to build even more dramatic tension, strikes out to end the game.
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* Making this OlderThanRadio and [[TropeNamer giving it its former name]] is the 1888 Ernest Thayer poem ''CaseyAtTheBat'', wherein the great Casey, after deliberately getting two strikes to build even more dramatic tension, strikes out to end the game.
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* Parodied in ''TheSimpsons,'' "Homer at the Bat." Homer comes up to the plate with the bases loaded, and is hit by the pitch while he's distracted by Mr. Burns's needlessly complicated hand signals, forcing in the winning run.
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* Parodied in ''TheSimpsons,'' "Homer at the Bat." In the final inning of the softball game, Homer comes up to the plate with the bases loaded, and is hit by the pitch while he's distracted by Mr. Burns's needlessly complicated hand signals, {{hand signals}}, forcing in the winning run.
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The sentence was too broad and covered in fact many RL baseball games
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* Every baseball game ends with a strikeout, a dramatic walk-off home run, or an incredible defensive play. Full counts are terribly common.
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* Every baseball game ends either with a strikeout, a dramatic walk-off home run, or an with a clutch strikeout or incredible defensive play.play while the tying and/or winning runs are on base. Full counts are terribly common.
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** Though while ''MajorLeague'' partially averts the trope, [[spoiler:it does nod to it, in that Jake Taylor "calls his shot" as part of a bluff before springing the surprise bunt.]]
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** Though while ''MajorLeague'' partially averts the trope, [[spoiler:it does nod to it, in that Jake Taylor "calls his shot" as part of a bluff before springing the surprise bunt.bunt in order to get the infield to play farther out.]]
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* Butler tried it against Duke in the 2010 NCAA men's championship game with a half-court shot, but missed and Duke won. Both teams' CrowningMomentofAwesome.
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''PHDComics'' - Justified - It's a college staff game so it's nerds v. nerds. The game can be won on the final swing because no one else has scored once in the entire game.
[[/folder]]
* ''PHDComics'' - Justified - It's a college staff game so it's nerds v. nerds. The game can be won on the final swing because no one else has scored once in the entire game.
[[/folder]]
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* Hayato from ''FutureGPXCyberFormula'' does this a lot by using Asurada's boost/what-have-it during the races' last minutes of the final lap.
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* Several individual legs of ''The Amazing Race'' have been decided by footrace, with the eliminated team in sight of the mat when the second-to-last team checks in. Season 7 had three legs decided this way. However, the only finale to be decided this way was in Season 2, with a footrace from the cabs to the Finish Line.
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** Arsenal vs Liverpool at Anfield in 1989 is considered the most iconic example of this in football. The match had been postponed due to the Hillsborough Disaster, Arsenal had chucked away a big lead and had to win by two clear goals to win the title. They went 1-0 up early in the second half thanks to an Alan Smith header. Then with 25 seconds left [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYeIlI3gutk this happened.]]
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** Arsenal vs Liverpool at Anfield in 1989 is considered the most iconic example of this in football. The match had been postponed due to the Hillsborough Disaster, Arsenal had chucked away a big lead and had to win by two clear goals to win the title. They went 1-0 up early in the second half thanks to an Alan Smith header. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Then with 25 seconds left left]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYeIlI3gutk this happened.]]
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* In Super Bowl X, the Cowboys had pulled within 4 points of the defending champion Steelers following a Roger Staubach touchdown to [[PutMeInCoach little-used receiver]] Percy Howard in the only catch of Howard's career. Following a turnover on downs where Pittsburgh was attempting to run out the clock (the Steelers called a running play on 4th and 9 due to the poor play of the Pittsburgh special teams); Staubach attempted to lead a rally for the winning points, but the last two plays were a Hail Mary that was knocked one, and another one that was intercepted by Steelers safety Glen Edwards as time expired.
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Most of that was conjecture or factually wrong.
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*** The 1986 World Series, coming immediately after the aforementioned 1986 ALCS, where Boston scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning of Game 6, leading three games to two, and then got the first two Mets to come up in the bottom of the inning out. The Shea Stadium scoreboard operator prematurely flashed the message "Congratulations World Champion Boston Red Sox". Then everything fell apart. Three straight singles cut it to a one-run game and put the tying run at third. A new reliever was brought in, and a [[strike:passed ball]] wild pitch allowed the tying run to score and the winning run to advance to second. Then, an infamous error, as veteran Boston first baseman Bill Buckner allowed the ball to get past him, allowing the winning run to score. Forget the fact that leaving him in the game instead of putting in a defensive replacement was going against the way the manager had done things all year; forget about the fact that with the speed of the runner, the lack of speed of Buckner, and the pitcher inexplicably failing to cover first base, it was probably an infield single anyway, and the only difference that fielding it cleanly would've made would've been stopping the lead runner at third; forget the fact that the game had ''already been tied up again'': initially, Buckner got blamed. Cooler heads have since prevailed.
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*** The 1986 World Series, coming immediately after the aforementioned 1986 ALCS, where Boston scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning of Game 6, leading three games to two, and then got the first two Mets to come up in the bottom of the inning out. The Shea Stadium scoreboard operator prematurely flashed the message "Congratulations World Champion Boston Red Sox". Then everything fell apart. Three straight singles cut it to a one-run game and put the tying run at third. A new reliever was brought in, and a [[strike:passed ball]] wild pitch allowed the tying run to score and the winning run to advance to second. Then, an infamous error, as veteran Boston first baseman Bill Buckner allowed the ball to get past him, allowing the winning run to score. Forget the fact that leaving him in the game instead of putting in a defensive replacement was going against the way the manager had done things all year; forget about the fact that with the speed of the runner, the lack of speed of Buckner, and the pitcher inexplicably failing to cover first base, it was probably an infield single anyway, and the only difference that fielding it cleanly would've made would've been stopping the lead runner at third; forget the fact that the game had ''already been tied up again'': initially, Buckner got blamed. Cooler heads have since prevailed.
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It was offically ruled a double. It's just called a single by those who want it to sound better.
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*** 1946, lost in seven games on Enos Slaughter's "Mad Dash", scoring from first on a single to centerfield. The starting centerfielder left the game with an injury earlier on. You figure it out.
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*** 1946, lost in seven games on Enos Slaughter's "Mad Dash", scoring from first on a single [[strike: single]] double to centerfield. The starting centerfielder left the game with an injury earlier on. You figure it out.
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Well the Downer Ending depends on who you were rooting for doesn't it
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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' does this a number of times, such as with Sena's first game against Koigahama and most of the Devil Bats' games during the Fall Tournament. It often doesn't end up so fine and dandy though.
* Subverted in a wildly over-the-top fashion in SonicX - the speed-obsessed character Sam Speed had demanded a rematch against the titular hedgehog, who had humiliated him at the start of the series. Sam has procured an experimental rocket-jet-car-thing from somewhere, and the race is on! It comes down to a photo finish... until playback reveals that [[spoiler: Sonic had reached the finish line WELL ahead of his opponent, hopped over it so as not to break the tape, mugged for the camera briefly, then run back to resume the race for the 'photo finish'.]]
* Used at least ''twice'' in ''ThePrinceOfTennis'', with Ryoma having to play an extra match when one of the normal games is declared a draw or forfeited by both teams. [[spoiler: In the Hyotei arc, he plays Hiyoshi after Kawamura and Kabaji have to draw since they're * both* too injured to continue and both teams. In the anime-only American arc, Sengoku and Bobby Marx pull something similar and Akaya Kirihara is hurt during his game with Kevin Smith, so it's up to Ryoma to finish the last one * and* his feud with Kevin]]
* {{Anime}} example: in one episode of ''LuckyStar'', there's a relay race in which Miyuki is the final leg runner for her team (it wouldn't do to have a main character somewhere in the middle), and the race is of course decided by a photo finish: [[spoiler:her ''larger-than-average chest breaks the ribbon'' before the other runner crosses, granting her team the victory.]]
* {{Kinnikuman}} wins so many matches in this fashion that he's been nicknamed the "Miraculous Comeback Fighter."
* Parodied in {{Excel Saga}} with one of the sports show episodes. Excel's team loses by a ludicrously huge margin (several million runs if this troper remembers rightly) in the last inning. Apparently the DownerEnding version of this trope is popular in Japan.
* ''Every.Single.Lacrosse match'' in ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' is won by Nagisa scoring at the last second. '''Every. One.''' This is not an exaggeration. And there are about 6-7 across two seasons. Originality it's not the writers' friend when it comes to Lacrosse games, it seems.
* In Chapter 58 of the ''[[AhMyGoddess Oh My Goddess!]]'' manga, Megumi's four-member softball club forms a team with Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and Sora to play against N.I.T.'s baseball team, comprised entirely of {{Jerkass}}es. During the bottom of the ninth, Megumi's team is ahead by one run when [[spoiler: it looks like it's going to be a DownerEnding when the opposing team scores two runs in the ninth inning, but the first runner failed to actually touch home plate, meaning he's out, and Megumi's softball club wins by one run.]]
* Young [[FootyRules football]] star Aizawa Suguru ''starts off the opening chapter'' of the manga ''AreaNoKishi'' by making what the announcers describe as a "magical pass" in the final moments of an international youth football game against Brazil. His teammates shot is easily blocked by the Brazilian goal-keeper, however since the deflected ball ''just so happens'' to land at Suguru's feet, he is able to make the last second shot that ends the game in a tie between Japan and the reigning champions.
[[/folder]]
* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' does this a number of times, such as with Sena's first game against Koigahama and most of the Devil Bats' games during the Fall Tournament. It often doesn't end up so fine and dandy though.
* Subverted in a wildly over-the-top fashion in SonicX - the speed-obsessed character Sam Speed had demanded a rematch against the titular hedgehog, who had humiliated him at the start of the series. Sam has procured an experimental rocket-jet-car-thing from somewhere, and the race is on! It comes down to a photo finish... until playback reveals that [[spoiler: Sonic had reached the finish line WELL ahead of his opponent, hopped over it so as not to break the tape, mugged for the camera briefly, then run back to resume the race for the 'photo finish'.]]
* Used at least ''twice'' in ''ThePrinceOfTennis'', with Ryoma having to play an extra match when one of the normal games is declared a draw or forfeited by both teams. [[spoiler: In the Hyotei arc, he plays Hiyoshi after Kawamura and Kabaji have to draw since they're * both* too injured to continue and both teams. In the anime-only American arc, Sengoku and Bobby Marx pull something similar and Akaya Kirihara is hurt during his game with Kevin Smith, so it's up to Ryoma to finish the last one * and* his feud with Kevin]]
* {{Anime}} example: in one episode of ''LuckyStar'', there's a relay race in which Miyuki is the final leg runner for her team (it wouldn't do to have a main character somewhere in the middle), and the race is of course decided by a photo finish: [[spoiler:her ''larger-than-average chest breaks the ribbon'' before the other runner crosses, granting her team the victory.]]
* {{Kinnikuman}} wins so many matches in this fashion that he's been nicknamed the "Miraculous Comeback Fighter."
* Parodied in {{Excel Saga}} with one of the sports show episodes. Excel's team loses by a ludicrously huge margin (several million runs if this troper remembers rightly) in the last inning. Apparently the DownerEnding version of this trope is popular in Japan.
* ''Every.Single.Lacrosse match'' in ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' is won by Nagisa scoring at the last second. '''Every. One.''' This is not an exaggeration. And there are about 6-7 across two seasons. Originality it's not the writers' friend when it comes to Lacrosse games, it seems.
* In Chapter 58 of the ''[[AhMyGoddess Oh My Goddess!]]'' manga, Megumi's four-member softball club forms a team with Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and Sora to play against N.I.T.'s baseball team, comprised entirely of {{Jerkass}}es. During the bottom of the ninth, Megumi's team is ahead by one run when [[spoiler: it looks like it's going to be a DownerEnding when the opposing team scores two runs in the ninth inning, but the first runner failed to actually touch home plate, meaning he's out, and Megumi's softball club wins by one run.]]
* Young [[FootyRules football]] star Aizawa Suguru ''starts off the opening chapter'' of the manga ''AreaNoKishi'' by making what the announcers describe as a "magical pass" in the final moments of an international youth football game against Brazil. His teammates shot is easily blocked by the Brazilian goal-keeper, however since the deflected ball ''just so happens'' to land at Suguru's feet, he is able to make the last second shot that ends the game in a tie between Japan and the reigning champions.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Manga & Anime]]
* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' does this a number of times, such as with Sena's first game against Koigahama and most of the Devil Bats' games during the Fall Tournament. It often doesn't end up so fine and dandy though.
* Subverted in a wildly over-the-top fashion in SonicX - the speed-obsessed character Sam Speed had demanded a rematch against the titular hedgehog, who had humiliated him at the start of the series. Sam has procured an experimental rocket-jet-car-thing from somewhere, and the race is on! It comes down to a photo finish... until playback reveals that [[spoiler: Sonic had reached the finish line WELL ahead of his opponent, hopped over it so as not to break the tape, mugged for the camera briefly, then run back to resume the race for the 'photo finish'.]]
* Used at least ''twice'' in ''ThePrinceOfTennis'', with Ryoma having to play an extra match when one of the normal games is declared a draw or forfeited by both teams. [[spoiler: In the Hyotei arc, he plays Hiyoshi after Kawamura and Kabaji have to draw since they're * both* too injured to continue and both teams. In the anime-only American arc, Sengoku and Bobby Marx pull something similar and Akaya Kirihara is hurt during his game with Kevin Smith, so it's up to Ryoma to finish the last one * and* his feud with Kevin]]
* {{Anime}} example: in one episode of ''LuckyStar'', there's a relay race in which Miyuki is the final leg runner for her team (it wouldn't do to have a main character somewhere in the middle), and the race is of course decided by a photo finish: [[spoiler:her ''larger-than-average chest breaks the ribbon'' before the other runner crosses, granting her team the victory.]]
* {{Kinnikuman}} wins so many matches in this fashion that he's been nicknamed the "Miraculous Comeback Fighter."
* Parodied in {{Excel Saga}} with one of the sports show episodes. Excel's team loses by a ludicrously huge margin (several million runs if this troper remembers rightly) in the last inning. Apparently the DownerEnding version of this trope is popular in Japan.
* ''Every.Single.Lacrosse match'' in ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' is won by Nagisa scoring at the last second. '''Every. One.''' This is not an exaggeration. And there are about 6-7 across two seasons. Originality it's not the writers' friend when it comes to Lacrosse games, it seems.
* In Chapter 58 of the ''[[AhMyGoddess Oh My Goddess!]]'' manga, Megumi's four-member softball club forms a team with Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and Sora to play against N.I.T.'s baseball team, comprised entirely of {{Jerkass}}es. During the bottom of the ninth, Megumi's team is ahead by one run when [[spoiler: it looks like it's going to be a DownerEnding when the opposing team scores two runs in the ninth inning, but the first runner failed to actually touch home plate, meaning he's out, and Megumi's softball club wins by one run.]]
* Young [[FootyRules football]] star Aizawa Suguru ''starts off the opening chapter'' of the manga ''AreaNoKishi'' by making what the announcers describe as a "magical pass" in the final moments of an international youth football game against Brazil. His teammates shot is easily blocked by the Brazilian goal-keeper, however since the deflected ball ''just so happens'' to land at Suguru's feet, he is able to make the last second shot that ends the game in a tie between Japan and the reigning champions.
[[/folder]]
* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' does this a number of times, such as with Sena's first game against Koigahama and most of the Devil Bats' games during the Fall Tournament. It often doesn't end up so fine and dandy though.
* Subverted in a wildly over-the-top fashion in SonicX - the speed-obsessed character Sam Speed had demanded a rematch against the titular hedgehog, who had humiliated him at the start of the series. Sam has procured an experimental rocket-jet-car-thing from somewhere, and the race is on! It comes down to a photo finish... until playback reveals that [[spoiler: Sonic had reached the finish line WELL ahead of his opponent, hopped over it so as not to break the tape, mugged for the camera briefly, then run back to resume the race for the 'photo finish'.]]
* Used at least ''twice'' in ''ThePrinceOfTennis'', with Ryoma having to play an extra match when one of the normal games is declared a draw or forfeited by both teams. [[spoiler: In the Hyotei arc, he plays Hiyoshi after Kawamura and Kabaji have to draw since they're * both* too injured to continue and both teams. In the anime-only American arc, Sengoku and Bobby Marx pull something similar and Akaya Kirihara is hurt during his game with Kevin Smith, so it's up to Ryoma to finish the last one * and* his feud with Kevin]]
* {{Anime}} example: in one episode of ''LuckyStar'', there's a relay race in which Miyuki is the final leg runner for her team (it wouldn't do to have a main character somewhere in the middle), and the race is of course decided by a photo finish: [[spoiler:her ''larger-than-average chest breaks the ribbon'' before the other runner crosses, granting her team the victory.]]
* {{Kinnikuman}} wins so many matches in this fashion that he's been nicknamed the "Miraculous Comeback Fighter."
* Parodied in {{Excel Saga}} with one of the sports show episodes. Excel's team loses by a ludicrously huge margin (several million runs if this troper remembers rightly) in the last inning. Apparently the DownerEnding version of this trope is popular in Japan.
* ''Every.Single.Lacrosse match'' in ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' is won by Nagisa scoring at the last second. '''Every. One.''' This is not an exaggeration. And there are about 6-7 across two seasons. Originality it's not the writers' friend when it comes to Lacrosse games, it seems.
* In Chapter 58 of the ''[[AhMyGoddess Oh My Goddess!]]'' manga, Megumi's four-member softball club forms a team with Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and Sora to play against N.I.T.'s baseball team, comprised entirely of {{Jerkass}}es. During the bottom of the ninth, Megumi's team is ahead by one run when [[spoiler: it looks like it's going to be a DownerEnding when the opposing team scores two runs in the ninth inning, but the first runner failed to actually touch home plate, meaning he's out, and Megumi's softball club wins by one run.]]
* Young [[FootyRules football]] star Aizawa Suguru ''starts off the opening chapter'' of the manga ''AreaNoKishi'' by making what the announcers describe as a "magical pass" in the final moments of an international youth football game against Brazil. His teammates shot is easily blocked by the Brazilian goal-keeper, however since the deflected ball ''just so happens'' to land at Suguru's feet, he is able to make the last second shot that ends the game in a tie between Japan and the reigning champions.
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* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' does this a number of times, such as with Sena's first game against Koigahama and most of the Devil Bats' games during the Fall Tournament.
** Though is sometimes subverted such as in [[spoiler: the Seibu match where Monta lost the catching battle with Tetsuma and Deimon ended up losing]]
** Though is sometimes subverted such as in [[spoiler: the Seibu match where Monta lost the catching battle with Tetsuma and Deimon ended up losing]]
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* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' does this a number of times, such as with Sena's first game against Koigahama and most of the Devil Bats' games during the Fall Tournament.
** Though is sometimes subverted such as in [[spoiler: the Seibu match where Monta lost the catching battle with TetsumaTournament. It often doesn't end up so fine and Deimon ended up losing]]dandy though.
** Though is sometimes subverted such as in [[spoiler: the Seibu match where Monta lost the catching battle with Tetsuma
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* A Rugby Union example came in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final between Australia and England in Australia. After a half-time score of 5-14 to England, Elton Flately kicked penalty goals for Australia in the 47th, 61st and 80th minutes to tie the game at 14-14. English fly half Johnny Wilkinson kicked a penalty goal to put England ahead in the 2nd minute of overtime, which Flately responded to in the 97th minute with 3 minutes remaining. Johnny Wilkinson kicked a drop goal with 27 seconds left on the clock to win the game 20-17 and the World Cup for England.
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** In fact, probably the only time that Charlie Brown's team actually ''wins'' a game is when [[ButtMonkey Charlie]] is not playing.
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* Former UCONN standout and current Seattle Storm star Sue Bird has a long list of last minute, clutch shots, from the 2001 Big East tournament championship game after Notre Dame had tied the game with 5 seconds left and she drives down the length of the court for the winning shot, to the 2010 WNBA Playoffs, where successive game winning baskets in the Western Conference Finals Game 2 and the WNBA Finals Game 1 gave her the media nickname of "Big Shot Bird."
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** Conspiracy theorists at the time were ''certain'' the Yankees would win. Because the playoffs took place barely a few months after 9/11, the story went around that officiating would be biased in the Yankee's favor so that they would win the World Series and so have a New York triumph story to lessen the blow of the recent disaster. This held up in the divisional round when the Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners, who had a MLB record 116 regular season wins and were heavy favorites. Even the fact that the Yankees "let it" go to Game 7 was seen as a ploy to make their "inevitable" victory that much more dramatic.
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** Actually, it's even more clever. The Alouettes knew the Roughriders had one too many player, and they went in as fast as possible and rushed their kick before the other team realised they were in fault. It was a XanatosGambit: Either they had a lucky shot and scored, and won the game, or they missed, called the penalty, and got to try again much closer.
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* Justified in the ''HarryPotter'' series: Quidditch matches end only when the GoldenSnitch is caught; catching the Snitch is also worth 150 points, usually resulting in a win for the team whose Seeker catches it. Thus, most matches end with the Seekers in a mad race for the Snitch.
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* Justified in the ''HarryPotter'' series: Quidditch matches end only when the GoldenSnitch is caught; catching the Snitch is also worth 150 points, usually resulting in a win for the team whose Seeker catches it. Thus, most matches end with the Seekers in a mad race for the Snitch. However, large portion of matches still end up by a winning team winning by 10 points.
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Music City Miracle
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* Another example in which the Buffalo Bills were a victim came near the end of the 1999 AFC wild-card game against the Tennessee Titans in what vecame known as the Music City Miracle. With seconds left, Steve Christie hit a 41-yard field goal to put Buffalo up 16-15. Then came the kickoff, which was a aquib kick first fielded by fullback Lorenzo Neal, who handed the ball to tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck then threw a controversial lateral to receiver Kevin Dyson, who took the ball 75 yards for a touchdown (which was confirmed after instant replay ruled that Wycheck had not thrown an illegal forward pass), resulting in a 22-15 win that led to the Titans march to SuperBowl XXXIV (as well as providing a measure of revenge for several older players who were members of the team when they were known as the Houston Oilers and lost the 1992 wild-card 41-38 to Buffalo after leading 35-3). The Bills have not appeared in the postseason since then.
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-- Frank Shackleford, ''ChillyBeach''
Almost invariably, sports games on TV and in the movies are extremely close, go down to the wire, and are decided by a crucial, unbelievable, MillionToOneChance play at the last second. Usually, the game in which this occurs is the [[BigGame grand finale]]; the championship or playoff game pitting the [[UnderdogsNeverLose ragtag underdogs]] against the seemingly unbeatable OpposingSportsTeam.
* Every baseball game ends with a strikeout, a dramatic walk-off home run, or an incredible defensive play. Full counts are terribly common.
* Every hockey game ends with TheHero getting a breakaway and going one-on-one against the goalie--or, of course, a shootout, which is a series of forced one-player-vs.-goalie breakaways.
* Every football game ends with a Hail Mary, or some bizarre, convoluted ace-in-the-hole offensive play that the team thought of in practice. Or, if the protagonist team is in the lead (which never happens because people like comeback stories), a goal line stand.
** Don't go forgetting about those last-second field goals.
* Every basketball game ends with a three-pointer made in desperation. Often from across the court.
** Alternately, having to dunk on TheRival / the nastiest player from the other team.
* Every race ends with a (sometimes literal) photo finish.
* Every golf tournament comes down to making a long putt, or to getting out from a trap or some other nasty place.
* Every soccer match ends with a spectacular last-minute goal, usually from a free kick. Or sometimes a last-minute penalty, or a penalty shootout.
* Every bowling game comes down to either striking out or converting an extremely tough split.
* [[TheMagicPokerEquation Every poker game comes down to a high-ranking hand being beaten by an even higher-ranking hand.]]
* And so on.
Of course, this is not to say that [[TheHero the hero team]] will necessarily be successful and win the game in this final play. It's become a trope itself, such as in the TropeNamer, to have the final shot miss, the closing field goal go wide right, or that last deep fly ball to die at the warning track in order to present a DownerEnding and teach an {{Aesop}} that you can't always win and that it's okay to lose sometimes. (And also note that it ''doesn't'' make the example an aversion or subversion of this trope.)
This happens, because there are very few circumstances in which it is interesting to see a routine pop fly with a four run lead or a second string quarterback sit on the ball for three downs.
Often preceded by the MiracleRally, and the one player who is involved in the dramatic final play is often the one [[PutMeInCoach underdog player]] who finally gets the chance to prove himself.
In politics, this trope is called DecidedByOneVote; contrast with LandslideElection. See also UnderdogsNeverLose and MisfitMobilizationMoment.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Film]]
* Just about every sports movie where the competition is a significant part of the plot will at least go down to the wire:
** ''TheNatural''
** ''TheLongestYard''
** ''AngelsInTheOutfield''
** ''RookieOfTheYear''
** ''LittleGiants''
** ''TheBigGreen''
** ''AirBud''
** ''LittleBigLeague''
** ''CoachCarter''
** ''HappyGilmore''
** ''{{Kingpin}}''
** ''TheBadNewsBears'' was the first film to have the protagonist team NOT win.
** The ''{{Rocky}}'' series often has the boxing matches go down to the final round -- and possibly by decision. Averted in ''Rocky III'', when the final fight ends in only three rounds.
** ''{{Dodgeball}}''
** ''{{Film/The Replacements}}''
* Movie Twist: In ''MajorLeague'', [[spoiler:with two outs, the game-winning run scores from second base on a bunt base hit. In itself, this is a remarkable play, but it's not the walk-off home run the trope usually delivers, and if either the runner at the plate or the batter-runner had been put out, the game would have continued into extra innings.]]
** Though while ''MajorLeague'' partially averts the trope, [[spoiler:it does nod to it, in that Jake Taylor "calls his shot" as part of a bluff before springing the surprise bunt.]]
** ''MajorLeague 2'', however, plays the trope straight. With his team clinging to a one-run lead, in a move that would be unheard of in real baseball, [[spoiler:Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn intentionally walks the guy he's pitted against, which results in the bases being loaded, in order to set up a confrontation with Parkman, the opposing team's big power hitter and the movie's central antagonist. Vaughn, of course, strikes Parkman out and wins the game.]]
*** RealLife example: This may be a nod to [[spoiler:Satchel Paige, who was said to have done the same thing to get to Josh Gibson.]]
** And ''MajorLeague Back to the Minors'' [[spoiler:ends on a home run by the big-hitting prospect, despite the fact that there were no outs in the game and it was an exhibition.]]
* More movie exceptions: ''Mr. 3000'' and ''Mr. Baseball'' not only both have "Mr." in their title, but both also [[spoiler:end on a game-winning run scored by a bunt. Both bunts also prevent the titular character from making it into the record books (it leaves Bernie Mac stranded on 2,999 hits in the former, and it breaks Tom Selleck's home-run streak in the latter).]]
* DownerEnding example: In the Pete Maravich biopic ''ThePistol'', Maravich makes an apparent buzzer beating shot and starts celebrating...before realizing that the shot came a split second too late.
* Averted in ''{{Rudy}}'': Rudy gets to play at the end of the climactic game only ''because'' Notre Dame already has a huge lead over their opponent.
* The movie ''{{Hoosiers}}'' is based off the real story of tiny Milan's victory over giant Muncie Central. The game was won by a shot at the last second.
* ''Film/TheMightyDucks'' series of movies always ended in some dramatic fashion, though never in overtime. The first movie ended on a penalty shot, the second in shootouts; the third movie subverted the trope slightly, by having a scoreless tie all the way to the last seconds of the third period, and the Ducks being content with a tie against the varsity team. Then, a brilliant defensive play allows the Ducks a goal-scoring opportunity--from Goldberg, who had been the goalie in the previous two movies and was still a mostly defensive player.
* Semi-averted in ''CoolRunnings'', [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory based on the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team]]. The team has a chance for a medal, but crashes in their final run. The inspiration is there when they carry their bobsled across the finish line to finish the race.
* This trope is both played straight and averted with ''RememberTheTitans''. In the movie, the Titans overcame a 7-3 deficit by using a trick play (ironic in that, before the season began, Coach Boon looked down his nose at trick plays, as it were) for a 75-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the game to win the state championship. Averted by the real-life 1971 T.C. Williams Titans; in the championship game, the opposing team was not only shut out, but ended up with negative rushing yardage.
* In ''EscapeFromLA'', Cuervo Jones forces Snake Plissken to play a deadly game of solitaire basketball for the amusement of him and the crowd.
--> '''Cuervo Jones:''' "Two hoops, full court, ten-second shot clock. Miss a shot, you get shot. Shot clock buzzer goes off before you shoot, you get shot. Two points for a basket, no three-point bullshit. All you gotta do is get ten points. That's it." ''*dramatic pause*'' "By the way, nobody's ever walked off that court alive. Nobody."
** Snake does indeed win, by way of making a lay-up, a jump shot from free throw distance, a jump shot from three-point distance, a half-court shot, and a full-court shot. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Cuervo prepares to [[ILied kill Snake anyway]], but Snake is saved when an earthquake happens, giving him the opportunity to escape the caged basketball court, and then the stadium itself. For bonus points, KurtRussell actually ''made'' all those shots (including the full-court shot) during filming, although the number of takes it required is unknown.
* Happens in the opening game of ''HighSchoolMusical 3'', where with 16 minutes to go the Wildcats are losing horribly, but with upbeat inspirational music in their ears manages to even the score, and through a supposedly clever subversion manages to score a basket just as the clock ticks from 1 to 0.
* Spectacularly averted in the Kevin Costner movie ''Tin Cup'', where the has-been pro (played by Costner) makes an impressive comeback in the U.S. Open Golf Tournament. It's down to the final hole, and he needs a par to tie and a birdie to win. The hole was a par 5 with a green guarded in front by a lake and he would have to murder his 3 wood to get it onto the green. Any sane golfer would lay up, he doesn't. [[spoiler: He hits it into the lake, refuses to drop near the green, hits from where he hit his second shot, going for it again, hits it into the lake again, rinse and repeat until he holes the shot for a 12.]]
* In the final moments of the last game of ShaolinSoccer, the score is tied at 0 - 0 (because the enemy team decided they would rather win by injuring enough players on the good team to force them to forfeit). Naturally, the LoveInterest shows up when they reach the point where they are one player short, and she and the main character combine their Kung Fu to make the ultimate shot and win the game.
* In ''NorthDallasForty'', the professional (US) football team of the main characters was predicted to win their championship game and move on to the SuperBowl, but were down by a touchdown near the end of the game. They scored the touchdown, and only needed the extra point to tie and move into overtime. Unfortunately, they fumbled the snap and didn't make the extra point, and so lost the game to the underdog.
* In the movie ''AceVentura: Pet Detective,'' the backstory of Ray Finkle, the primary villain, involves the disastrous loss of that year's Super Bowl by one point due to Finkle missing the 26-yard field goal that would have won the game for the Miami Dolphins. Finkle lost his mind as a result and was committed to a mental hospital, and blames the whole thing on Dan Marino, who according to Finkle didn't hold the ball "laces out" like he was supposed to. His vendetta against Marino and the Dolphins would lead to the plot of the movie.
* ''ALeagueOfTheirOwn'' ultimately inverts the trope, where the comeback comes from the OpposingSportsTeam, with [[spoiler:Kit Keller getting the big hit and then plowing over her sister to score the winning run.]]
* ''When Saturday Comes'' in which Sean Bean plays a football player named Jimmy Muir. He spends all the movie trying to become a member of Sheffield United. Of course, his very first match with them ends with him shooting a penalty at the 89th minute.
* In ''Didier'', the team needs one more point to win against the PSG. Of course, Didier marks. After turning back into a dog.
* In ''{{Caddyshack}}'', Danny's final putt decides both a substantial bet and his own prospects for the future.
* Beautifully averted in ''Blood of Heroes'' when [[spoiler:the climactic three-period game is decided in the middle of the second inning]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Making this OlderThanRadio and [[TropeNamer giving it its name]] is the 1888 Ernest Thayer poem ''CaseyAtTheBat'', wherein the great Casey, after deliberately getting two strikes to build even more dramatic tension, strikes out to end the game.
* Justified in the ''HarryPotter'' series: Quidditch matches end only when the GoldenSnitch is caught; catching the Snitch is also worth 150 points, usually resulting in a win for the team whose Seeker catches it. Thus, most matches end with the Seekers in a mad race for the Snitch.
** The number of Harry Potter parodies that have pointed out how senseless this rule is are too numerous to list. ("This game is very complicated, but none of the rules actually matter, because once you catch this little golden thing everything else becomes irrelevant and your team automatically wins.") Fans have pointed out that this may be because Hogwarts-level Quidditch isn't really very "good" Quidditch -- the Quidditch World Cup scene shows scoring happening at a much faster rate, thus making the 150 points from the Snitch less impressive and increasing the probability that grabbing the Snitch too early might lose you the game (as was done deliberately in the Quidditch World Cup). Further, in the Hogwarts Quidditch tournaments, the exact score can matter for a team's placing, meaning even a team that would win when the Snitch is caught will wait if getting it too soon would win the game but lose the championship. (As happened with Gryffindor in ''Prisoner of Azkaban'', ''Order of the Phoenix'', and ''Half-Blood Prince''.)
*** It also bears noting that J.K. Rowling's "Quidditch Through the Ages" book characterizes Quidditch's rules as primarily being a senseless, thrown-together mess of traditions kept for tradition's sake. (A lot like some real sports, come to think of it.) The Snitch itself only exists because of a riot that once broke up a Quidditch game when the players stopped playing to catch a bird intentionally released by [[{{Jerkass}} the chief of the Wizard's Council]] so that the players would hunt the bird for his own amusement rather than play Quidditch for his own amusement. The 150 number is how many gold coins he offered as an incentive, and we're told that it would be worth [[RidiculousFutureInflation quite a bit more today]], so it's probably lucky that it's only 150.
* The JohnGrisham novel ''Playing for Pizza'' opens with the main character, a journeyman 3rd string quarterback, blowing a colossal lead and being knocked unconscious-costing his team a chance at the Super Bowl. He's so disgraced he has to play in Italy.
* Deliberately invoked in ''[[MythAdventures Little Myth Marker]]'', where Skeeve bets a huge fortune on a ''single hand'' of Dragon Poker, [[spoiler: because he doesn't have a clue how to play and figures a 50% chance is better than any odds he could get if he tried]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''FullHouse'' did this thrice, with hockey in "Nice Guys Finish First," boxcar racing in "Michelle a la Cart," and with baseball and a twist in "Stephanie Plays the Field."
* ''{{Monk}}'', episode "Mr. Monk and the Big Game."
* Averted in the ''[[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine DS9]]'' baseball episode, "Take Me Out To The Holosuite". The main characters lose the game 10-1 (with their single run being scored on an accidental bunt).
* Just about every episode of ''Series/FridayNightLights'' that actually has a football game in it works like this.
* In one episode of The ''FreshPrinceOfBelAir'', Will is shown to be a very good basketball player, making all sorts of trick shots throughout the game. With his team down at the end, however, he's about to take a shot... when his cousin Carlton, wanting some glory himself, starts grappling with him for the ball, takes it, shoots, [[spoiler:and misses horribly.]]
* Happens ''way'' too often in challenges on ''HellsKitchen'' to be a coincidence.
** Ditto challenges on ''TopGear''. The presenters sometimes lampshade the ridiculousness of this, and sometimes insist it really ''was'' that close.
* Many of the challenges on ''TopShot'' ended this way, with sometimes as little as a few hundredths of a second separating who stayed from who went home.
** The show also subverts this as often as not, with one particular contestant dominating a given challenge. Kelly's first elimination challenge and J.J.'s performance shooting steel in the finale are standout examples of almost comically one-sided matches.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Manga & Anime]]
* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' does this a number of times, such as with Sena's first game against Koigahama and most of the Devil Bats' games during the Fall Tournament.
** Though is sometimes subverted such as in [[spoiler: the Seibu match where Monta lost the catching battle with Tetsuma and Deimon ended up losing]]
* Subverted in a wildly over-the-top fashion in SonicX - the speed-obsessed character Sam Speed had demanded a rematch against the titular hedgehog, who had humiliated him at the start of the series. Sam has procured an experimental rocket-jet-car-thing from somewhere, and the race is on! It comes down to a photo finish... until playback reveals that [[spoiler: Sonic had reached the finish line WELL ahead of his opponent, hopped over it so as not to break the tape, mugged for the camera briefly, then run back to resume the race for the 'photo finish'.]]
* Used at least ''twice'' in ''ThePrinceOfTennis'', with Ryoma having to play an extra match when one of the normal games is declared a draw or forfeited by both teams. [[spoiler: In the Hyotei arc, he plays Hiyoshi after Kawamura and Kabaji have to draw since they're * both* too injured to continue and both teams. In the anime-only American arc, Sengoku and Bobby Marx pull something similar and Akaya Kirihara is hurt during his game with Kevin Smith, so it's up to Ryoma to finish the last one * and* his feud with Kevin]]
* {{Anime}} example: in one episode of ''LuckyStar'', there's a relay race in which Miyuki is the final leg runner for her team (it wouldn't do to have a main character somewhere in the middle), and the race is of course decided by a photo finish: [[spoiler:her ''larger-than-average chest breaks the ribbon'' before the other runner crosses, granting her team the victory.]]
* {{Kinnikuman}} wins so many matches in this fashion that he's been nicknamed the "Miraculous Comeback Fighter."
* Parodied in {{Excel Saga}} with one of the sports show episodes. Excel's team loses by a ludicrously huge margin (several million runs if this troper remembers rightly) in the last inning. Apparently the DownerEnding version of this trope is popular in Japan.
* ''Every.Single.Lacrosse match'' in ''FutariWaPrettyCure'' is won by Nagisa scoring at the last second. '''Every. One.''' This is not an exaggeration. And there are about 6-7 across two seasons. Originality it's not the writers' friend when it comes to Lacrosse games, it seems.
* In Chapter 58 of the ''[[AhMyGoddess Oh My Goddess!]]'' manga, Megumi's four-member softball club forms a team with Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and Sora to play against N.I.T.'s baseball team, comprised entirely of {{Jerkass}}es. During the bottom of the ninth, Megumi's team is ahead by one run when [[spoiler: it looks like it's going to be a DownerEnding when the opposing team scores two runs in the ninth inning, but the first runner failed to actually touch home plate, meaning he's out, and Megumi's softball club wins by one run.]]
* Young [[FootyRules football]] star Aizawa Suguru ''starts off the opening chapter'' of the manga ''AreaNoKishi'' by making what the announcers describe as a "magical pass" in the final moments of an international youth football game against Brazil. His teammates shot is easily blocked by the Brazilian goal-keeper, however since the deflected ball ''just so happens'' to land at Suguru's feet, he is able to make the last second shot that ends the game in a tie between Japan and the reigning champions.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* [[TVTropesWikiDrinkingGame Brutally]] averted most of the time in ''{{Peanuts}}'', where Charlie Brown's team losing a baseball game 216-0 is a regular occurrence. One 1959 episode had his team losing '''[[BeyondTheImpossible 600-0!!!]]''' Another series had him substituting for Peppermint Patty; her team was winning 50-0, but then when Chuck pitched, she got knocked out and later learned (while in bed receiving therapy from Marcie) that the opponents made a 51-run comeback. This angered Patty to PMS'ing bitchy StrawFeminist proportions...she went really batshit!
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* BloodBowl, the UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball meets {{Warhammer}} miniatures game, tends to have this when a [[FragileSpeedster fast team]] like Wood Elves plays against a [[MightyGlacier tough one]] like Dwarves, with the fast team often scoring a few goals while the tough one is busy whittling them down (and by "whittling them down" this troper means "curbstomp them until they leave the field on a stretcher"). Many games thus end with the tough team frantically trying to get the goals they previously lacked while the fast ones mount a LastStand with the few remaining players not in the K.O. or Injured & Dead box.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* Video game example: One stage of "TinyToonAdventures: Buster Busts Loose" is the last few minutes of a football game, in which the player must score a touchdown to win.
* Quick show of hands: How many Tropers have had this happen to them playing [=~Pokémon~=]? (Or does that go in Troper Tales? =P) Any decisive battle in those games will almost always go down to both fighters' last Pokémon, including but not limited to:
** Battles against the Champion and maybe the last Elite Four member (even though they use five Pokémon against what should be your team of six) in the main games.
** The last two fights of any cup, in both Stadiums and Colosseum.
** The last few leaders in Gym Leader Castle, the E4 and Champ in the same castle, and all of Round 2 mode in Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2.
** Mewtwo in Stadium 1.
** The last guy in Mt. Battle in Colosseum's Story Mode (seriously, the first 99 trainers are incredibly easy!) as well as Kruger the first time you meet him in Pokémon Battle Revolution: both Trainers rely on Double Battles in which a majority of the team knows Earthquake and is paired with a Flying type or a Pokémon with the Levitate ability. Oh, and there's [[LethalJokeWeapon that Swalot with Ice Beam...]]
** The Colosseum Masters in PBR, as well as all of Level 50 All mode, Stargazer Colosseum, and even the LOWER levels of Courtyard Colosseum the second time around (when it's in Survival Battle mode). If you don't have Taunt or a Grass/Poison type in L50 All, then the Carnivines, which are all @Leftovers and have Stockpile, Protect, Toxic, and Leech Seed will MESS. YOU. UP.
*** And Stargazer Colosseum the second time around is EXTREMELY brutal: the Trainers all have near-{{Smogon}} levels of proficiency, relying on incredibly obscure, yet effective, combos such as Lopunny using Switcheroo to put a Toxic Orb on a Normal Pokémon with Guts and the Façade move [[hottip:* :the poisoning from the orb triggers an Attack boost from Guts and a power doubling from Façade, whose power is ALREADY raised due to STAB, and the Lopunny has Klutz, which makes all held items useless on it]], a Pachirisu using Flatter on a Drifblim@Lum Berry with Unburden [[hottip:* :this raises Drifblim's Special Attack, its primary attacking stat, by two and confuses it; [[OhCrap the confusion triggers Lum Berry, and its use triggers Unburden, which doubles its Speed]]]], having Berries on all Pokémon that reduce the damage of types it's weak to, and those types just happening to be the types you were going to use on them [[hottip:* :Example: Your opponent is Luxray, an Electric type. You have a Ground type. You take the obvious first step of using Earthquake, only to find out that it's holding a Shuca Berry, which halves the damage of super-effective Ground moves. Not only do you not kill it, but it then one-shots you back with fucking Ice Fang! Or, you fucking survive fucking Ice Fang and it lands a [[ClusterFBomb goddamn motherfucking freeze]] (10% chance which [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard somehow feels more like it's 20%!]])!!!]], Pokémon with Explosion and a partner who's Ghost type [[hottip:* :Ghosts are immune to Normal moves and will take no damage]], putting a Toxic Orb on a Pokémon with Poison Heal [[hottip:* :This ability causes poisoned Pokémon to gain HP instead of losing it]], Pokémon with Pressure and Spite [[hottip:* :this runs you out of Power Points quickly]], Pokémon with heavy defensive stats and HP healing [[hottip:* :and confusion inducing moves]]...[[WallOfText can I stop now!?!]] ''(pout pout pout)''
* Will be a familiar experiance to many players with regards to tough challenges. Any challenge tough enough to beat you on your first few attempts is likely to result in you finally making it with seconds to spare / a sliver of health / your last round of ammo. (Unless you make a large improvement between your last failure and your first success.)
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* In a ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'' flashback scene, David Jackson (a baseballer, the pitcher for Barry Coleson's team) remembers a triple play the team made at the eleventh hour to seal the championship - perfectly exhibiting this trope, though whether David got lucky with the first part of the play and rolled from there or he was just that good is left ambiguous.
* Related to the Pokémon example above, users of {{Smogon}} typically write "war stories" which are glorified logs of their battles. The logs are often extremely close matches where both fighters get down to their last Pokémon. You can find the best ones in a "Warstory Archive" [[http://www.smogon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=57 here]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Parodied in ''TheSimpsons,'' "Homer at the Bat." Homer comes up to the plate with the bases loaded, and is hit by the pitch while he's distracted by Mr. Burns's needlessly complicated hand signals, forcing in the winning run.
* Averted in ''TinyToonAdventures''; one episode had a baseball game that didn't come down to the final play... but only because there ''was'' no climactic final play to speak of, as the other team, Perfecto Prep, was forced to forfeit (with a big lead) over illegal equipment. (They did also do a football game which does come down to the final play, however. Again, against Perfecto Prep.)
** They also did a direct parody of "Casey at the Bat"; Buster, however, hits a home run, to the surprise of the narrator.
* Subverted in ''{{Cars}}'': The race at the start of the film results in a three-way tie. However, in the tiebreaker race, [[spoiler:Lightning [=McQueen=] is well ahead of the competition as he approaches the finish line, but [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming stops short of the finish line to go help the King after he crashes, forfeiting the win.]]]]
* Lampshaded so much in the {{South Park}} episode "Stanleys Cup", the subversion at the end could be seen a mile away.
** This was actually inverted in "The Losing Edge", when the team was ''this close'' to winning the state championships, which they did not want, since they only played Little League because their parents wanted them to. They got out of it [[TakeAThirdOption instead by getting Stan's dad to continue a fight against another parent and get them disqualified]].
** Played Straight and subverted in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride." Stan, elementary star quarterback [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse (for an episode)]] shows up just in time to make a [[MiracleRally last second touchdown]]... and lose the game. Played straight again in that the score came out slightly less than the expected point spread, so the townfolks bets with the bookie paid off.
* A [[HorseOfADifferentColor horse]] race in ''{{Futurama}}'' takes the photo finish concept one step further and ends with a ''quantum finish''. "[[GeniusBonus No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!]]"
* In ''TheRealGhostbusters'' episode, "Night Game," Winston hits the winning home run in a baseball game between teams of good and evil ghosts. This trope is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] because [[spoiler:there was a SecretTestOfCharacter to see if the Ghostbusters would cheat, and, presumably, the temptation was greatest with this situation.]] Also, the teams were so evenly matched that they were still tied zero-to-zero for the first eight innings.
* Disney Studios adapted ''Casey at the Bat'' in 1946, as part of ''MakeMineMusic'', and did a sequel in 1954 ("Casey Bats Again") where he ends up having enough daughters to field a very good baseball team.
* ''{{King of the Hill}}'' originally subverted this with Hank Hill's team getting blown out in the state championship. However, this was later retconned to have been a close game that Hank lost for his team.
** They played it straight when Hank and Bobby entered a father and son target shooting competition. It all came down to Hank's last shot, where he needed a bullseye to win-- and he missed the whole target. This didn't lead to the expected DownerEnding, though, because Bobby was more than happy with second place.
* XMenEvolution - season 2's first episode opens with this trope, as the only goal we're shown in the soccer match is the winning one, scored by Jean, of course.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* Real life is stranger than fiction example. Boise State University, a huge underdog to the perennial-powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners, won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl by scoring on three trick plays on the last play of the game and in overtime. The touchdown scoring one (a hook and ladder/lateral) and the final 2-point conversion to win in overtime (a statue of liberty) were both well-known trick plays that practically never work. To add to the theatrical quality, the player who made the winning score popped the question to his cheerleader girlfriend after the game (on national TV).
* In 1982, college football teams representing arch-rivals California and Stanford played their season-ending game. After a spectacular drive led by John Elway, Stanford took a 20-19 lead on a field goal with five seconds left, meaning "Cal" had to return the ensuing kickoff all the way or they'd lose (theoretically, they could down it promptly and try for a Hail Mary, but that's much more difficult). In the equivalent of a rugby play, Cal used five backwards passes to keep the play alive until they scored the touchdown. Bonus points because the Stanford band thought they had ''already won'', were filing into the end zone for their victory tune -- and got clobbered in the process. [[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3123608847915125083&q=California+vs.+Stanford+1982&total=39&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 It's worth watching, really.]]
** Elway is the king of this trope. See: The Drive.
* Also older, and a rare example of both sides of the trope showing up: 1994 Texas HS football: Plano East pulls off a near-impossible 24-point comeback with three minutes to go in the fourth quarter. With only seconds on the clock and only the final kickoff to perform, John Tyler High takes the kickoff right back up the field, pulling off the Miracle Win / DownerEnding combo. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHkABO0VwCg The play-by-play is almost as entertaining, for different reasons.]]
* In October 2007, the Trinity University football team recovered from a two-point deficit with two seconds remaining in one play, to win the game 28-24. They moved the ball sixty yards to reach the endzone, and they only needed ''fifteen'' laterals to pull it off.
* New Orleans Saints in 2003. After the Saints scored a 75-yard TD with three laterals in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, kicker John Carney missed the extra point, causing the Saints to lose by a point.
** The win would have kept them alive for a playoff spot. It's worth seeing just for the complete disbelief of the Saints' radio call, where the announcer just keeps yelling, "How could he do that?!"
* Hail Flutie, the 1984 BC-Miami game that ended with a Hail Mary pass from Doug Flutie to Gerard Phelan, giving Boston College a 47-45 win.
* NC State won all 3 of its games in the 1983 ACC tournament by 2 points or less or in overtime, then went of to win 6 more close games to win the NCAA Championship. This is one of the reasons 'March Madness' became so popular in the 1980s.
* The 1999 WNBA Finals. Best-of-three, big bad Houston had won the first game in New York and had a two-point lead on New York with 2.4 seconds remaining and New York having to go the full length of the floor. Houston's fans were ready to start celebrating. The trophy was on the sidelines. The confetti was starting to drift down. And then New York's Teresa Weatherspoon, the worst offensive player ''ever'', launched a shot from beyond the halfcourt line… and hit it for the three points to win the game. On the other hand, this was only the second game of a three-game set, Houston came back and bitch-slapped New York the next day to win their title, and Houston had a few tropes on their side as well (Dead Little Point Guard comes to mind immediately).
* 2007 Arena Football playoff game between the Chicago Rush and the Colorado Crush. (Apparently the Arena League had never heard of the [[OneSteveLimit One Steve Limit]], as these two teams were even in the same division.) Colorado (the home team) had a three-point lead, but was forced to make a goal-line stand against Chicago on the final play. Colorado made an apparent game-winning interception, the confetti was dropped from the rafters...only to discover that a penalty had been called on the play (for holding the intended receiver of the pass), forcing a do-over. Chicago then went for a game-tying field goal, made it, and forced overtime...the start of which was delayed by ''over fifteen minutes'' to clear all of the confetti from the field. Fortunately for the Crush, they won the game in overtime anyway.
* Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS. In MiracleRally fashion, the Houston Astros scored four times in the eighth to get within one run but were still trailing by one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The neutral broadcasters question the manager's failure to use a pinch-hitter. The ball just barely clears the wall for a game-tying home run. A player who enters the game as a pinch-runner in the 10th inning hits a walkoff homer in the ''eighteenth''. Furthermore, the LivingLegend had to come into the game in relief, picking up the win.
* Seems to happen a lot in football (soccer). [[BritishFootyTeams Liverpool and Manchester United]] have an infamous reputation for pulling it off.:
** Arsenal vs Liverpool at Anfield in 1989 is considered the most iconic example of this in football. The match had been postponed due to the Hillsborough Disaster, Arsenal had chucked away a big lead and had to win by two clear goals to win the title. They went 1-0 up early in the second half thanks to an Alan Smith header. Then with 25 seconds left [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYeIlI3gutk this happened.]]
*** This goal was [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/29/arsenal-liverpool-1989-football credited not so long back]] (along with Hillsborough and the launch of Sky TV) with saving the institution of British football, which, at the time, had a (admittedly not undeserved) reputation as filled with FootballHooligans, ''especially'' Liverpool. The Liverpool fans, who by rights should've been livid with having the title snatched from under their noses in the last ten seconds of the league (the celebratory champagne was even on its way to the Liverpool dressing room), instead chose to applaud Arsenal's well-deserved victory.
** In the recent Euro 2008 tournament, wherein Turkey held off the much stronger Croatia for some 119 minutes (it was a quarter final, so when the score was 0-0 at full time, it went into extra time), until, ''one minute before the end of extra time'', Croatia scored. Since it's virtually impossible to score a goal with only a few minutes on the clock in football, Croatia's fans and management were already celebrating. Guess what happened next? Turkey went on to score out of nowhere in the last minute and then win easily on penalties, having totally crushed Croatia's spirit with that incredibly unlikely comeback.
** The 2007 MLS Cup. The New England Revolution scored 8 minutes into the second overtime to go up 1-0, but since it was not sudden death like many sports, the Houston Dynamo had time to score the tying goal - and did, just over a minute later. The Dynamo eventually won on penalty kicks.
** Likely the most famous example is the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich. With Bayern leading 1-0 going into stoppage time, United tied it up on an absolutely wild goal and then scored the winning goal two minutes later on virtually the final kick of the game. The ending was so unexpected that they had to take the Bayern Munich ribbons off the Cup before presenting it. Not only did United win in the most dramatic fashion but the victory made them the only English team to win The Treble, being the Champions League Cup, FA Cup and top in the Premier League in the same year.
*** And everybody forgets that this wasn't exactly novel for them - they did basically the same thing to overhaul Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup earlier that season.
** Also, there was the famous 2004 Copa America Final between Brazil and Argentina. The score was 2-1, but Brazil managed to score a goal at the ''last second''. This is made even more dramatic, because Brazil and Argentina are the biggest rivals in the history of soccer. Brazil then won at the penalty shoot out. They not only managed to defeat their rivals at the final of the Copa America in the most dramatic way possible, they did it with ''team B''.
** Liverpool were 3-0 down against AC Milan at half-time in the 2005 Champions' League final. 15 minutes into the second half, it was 3-3, and Liverpool won on penalties.
** FC Barcelona needed to either win 0-1 or tie 1-1 to advance to the final round of the 2009 Champions' League final. After Chelsea scored first 10 minutes in, the result didn't change until minute 92, when the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIrg7CFy2T4&feature=related "Iniestazo"]] happened.
** Jimmy Glass. The fate of Carlisle's attempts to avoid relegation out of the Football League (and probable folding due to the subsequent finances) has come down to the fourth minute of injury time in the last game of the season, when Glass, [[DesperationAttack their (on loan) goalkeeper, comes up for a corner]]. Via a couple of rebounds and deflections, it comes to him in the six-yard box, who duly pokes home. The result is the world's fastest pitch invasion, as 7000 Carlisle fans immediately mob him in celebration.
** Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with Bahrain advancing on a draw, 1-1 as they head to stoppage time. Saudi Arabia scores one minute into stoppage time, breaking Bahrain's hearts [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1nMBPPum-M until they score with seconds to play]]. As the commentator says, "Bahrain were down and out and dead and buried and now they're back in."
** During the 2010 World Cup round-robin match between the United States and Algeria, the United States needed a win to advance. The score was tied at 0-0 going into stoppage time in the second half. Landon Donovan scored the winning goal for the United States during stoppage time, causing [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbn3rOPmR9w very emotional reactions all over the United States]].
** At the 2010 World Cup Final, Netherlands vs. Spain. After a very dirty match, which saw lots of yellow cards, the 90 minute mark passed. Extra time came, first period went goalless; but 4 minutes before the end, the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awrgy_rK1T0 "Iniestazo"]] happened. Again.
** A-League, 2006-07 Major Semi-Final. The first leg had ended goalless, and the second saw away team Adelaide United take an early lead, and even though home team Melbourne Victory equalised, Adelaide looked set to go through to, and host, the Grand Final on away goals. Two minutes into second half injury time, a substitute, who had never scored for Melbourne, and never did again, loops a header over the keeper and sends Melbourne into the Grand Final. Melbourne ended up crushing Adelaide 6-0 in the decider.
** The final day of the 04/05 Premier League season. The four bottom teams (Southampton, Norwich, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion) were fighting to be the one team that would avoid relegation. All four clubs played simultaneously and at some point during the aftenoon each team looked like they would stay up. In the end, the team who stayed up were West Brom, who had been bottom of the table that morning, and even bottom at Christmas (which was considered an unlucky omen). The result was only decided in the 82nd minute.
** Happened not once, [[BeyondTheImpossible but arguably twice]] in the 1970 WorldCup semi-final between Germany and Italy. Italy led 1-0 for all of regular time, until Germany equalized on the 90th minute (!?), leading to extra time and a total of 5 goals (!?!), the last and clinching goal happening close to the end of the second half of extra time, at the 111th minute (!?!?). CMoA doesn't begin to describe this match.
* It's extremely rare for a 2-out-of-3 falls match in ProfessionalWrestling to end at 2 falls. Similarly, an [[GimmickMatches Iron Man match]] is usually tied, or the score is one fall apart, up until the closing moments.
* Another real life example occurred in the 2005 Ashes, specifically in the second Test. Australia were just two runs away from victory when Harmison took the wicket of Mike Kasprowicz to level the series. It was almost universally hailed as the best Test match ever.
** Arguably just as exciting was the third Test a week later where Brett Lee and Glenn [=McGrath=] (at that time the worst Test batsman in the world) managed to cling on for a draw to keep the series level. The real hero was Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who defied the England bowlers for seven hours before getting out with only four overs to go.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-iq58_oz4 Hill to Laettner, turn, swish]].
* The Patriots/Giants game in the last Super Bowl exemplified this trope perfectly. After a fairly close game that even managed to interest this troper (normally completely averse to football), the winning touchdown was scored by the Giants with bare seconds left on the clock.
* Real Life DownerEnding example: In Super Bowl XXXIV, the favored St. Louis Rams took a 23-16 lead just after the two minute warning in the fourth quarter. The underdog Tennessee Titans started their final drive of regulation at their own 10 yard line in an attempt to tie the game and force the first ever Super Bowl overtime. The Titans manage to pull off a MiracleRally, moving the ball 80 yards in 1:48. On the Rams' 10 yard line with time for one last play, Titans QB Steve McNair completed a pass to wide receiver Kevin Dyson, who was wide open and set to make the game-tying touchdown. At the last moment, Rams linebacker Mike Jones ran towards Dyson, grabbed him by the legs and dragged Dyson to the ground. Dyson stretched the ball out in an attempt to reach the goal line (the rule states that only the ball has to cross the plane of the goal line for a touchdown), but the ball stopped only a few inches shy of the goal line and time expired. So, after an 80 yard, 1:48 MiracleRally, the Titans fell inches shy of tying the game and the Rams won the Super Bowl 23-16.
Well the Downer Ending depends on who you were rooting for doesn't it
* This trope seems to follow the Boston Red Sox around. Since the League Championship Series has gone to a best-of-seven format (in 1985), the ALCS has gone the full seven games a total of six times, and the Red Sox were involved in five of those six. Included in this:
** The 1986 ALCS, where they trailed three games to one and were down 5-2 in the top of the ninth inning of Game 5 and rallied back to take a 6-5 lead and won 7-6 in extra innings (yes, the home team tied it up in the ninth) and won the series in 7 games;
** The 2003 ALCS, where they blew a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning of Game 7 and lost on an 11th-inning home run
** The 2004 ALCS, which they won after trailing ''three games to none'' and trailing 4-3 in the ninth inning of Game 4, and also nearly losing Game 5 on no less than three different occasions...and using a Game 6 starter who left Game 1 with what was ''thought'' to be a season-ending injury, thanks to some experimental surgery that had never been performed before...you know what, let's just move on.
** The 2007 ALCS, where they were down to Cleveland three games to one and had to rely on some spectacular pitching to get out of it.
** The 2008 ALCS, where they ''again'' trailed three games to one and trailed ''7-0'' at the seventh-inning stretch of Game 5, and still took it to seven games before losing a close one.
** And their World Series often end up this way, also. Take a look:
*** 1912, they won the World Series, with Game ''8'' going ten innings. Yes, it was a best-of-seven format at the time. This was 1912. Games could get called on account of darkness back then, so Game 2 was a tie.
*** 1946, lost in seven games on Enos Slaughter's "Mad Dash", scoring from first on a single to centerfield. The starting centerfielder left the game with an injury earlier on. You figure it out.
*** 1975, Game 3 went to extra innings, and was decided on what most Boston fans call a major umpiring blunder, failing to call interference when Cincinnati pinch-hitter Ed Armbrister failed to start towards first after a bunt attempt, getting in the way of Boston catcher Carlton Fisk's throw to second base, giving Cincy a 2-1 lead in the series. With Cincy leading 3 games to 2 as the series shifted back to Boston, rain delayed Game 6 a number of days, allowing the teams to bring back their best pitchers, who had last pitched in Game 4. Boston got off to an early 3-0 lead, but trailed 6-3 in the eighth inning, when pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo hit a three-run homer to tie it up. Cincinnati nearly won it in the eleventh inning, but Boston right fielder Dwight Evans made a phenomenal throw to nail the runner at the plate. Then, in the bottom of the twelfth, Carlton Fisk hit what remains one of the most iconic home runs in World Series history, as the cameras caught Fisk "waving it fair", as it just barely stayed fair in left field. (The cameras catching this was an accident; the left-field camera operator had been startled by a rat in Fenway Park's famed wall-- seriously.) With the series tied at three games apiece and four of the games being decided by just one run (and one of the other two being decided by two runs), is it any wonder Game 7 was tied after eight innings? Cincinnati won it.
*** The 1986 World Series, coming immediately after the aforementioned 1986 ALCS, where Boston scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning of Game 6, leading three games to two, and then got the first two Mets to come up in the bottom of the inning out. The Shea Stadium scoreboard operator prematurely flashed the message "Congratulations World Champion Boston Red Sox". Then everything fell apart. Three straight singles cut it to a one-run game and put the tying run at third. A new
**** For many Sox fans, all one has to do is say "Buckner '86" to cause agonizing pain.
** And just for good measure, the regular season:
*** 1904, Boston and New York are separated by just half a game going into a five-game season-ending series against each other. They split the first four games. Boston wins the fifth to take the pennant.
*** 1948, Boston and New York both trail Cleveland by just one game as they face each other in the final two. Boston wins both, and Cleveland drops their last game, but the mere threat of the Yanks' Joe [=DiMaggio=] has Boston's manager (a former Yankee manager himself) warming up a right-handed reliever for about half of the final game, who he then inexplicably starts in the one-game playoff with Cleveland.
*** 1949, Boston ''again'' faces New York at the end of the year, leading them by one game with two left to play. Naturally, the Yankees win both of them.
*** 1967, final day of the season. Boston and Minnesota are tied for the lead in the AL, with Detroit just a half game behind them and playing a doubleheader. Detroit wins the first game, but loses the second, and Boston beats Minnesota to take the pennant, before losing yet another seven-game World Series.
*** 1978, Boston squandered a large midseason lead in the AL East, and trailed New York by one game with eight left to play. The Yankees won their next seven before dropping their season finale. The Red Sox won all eight. Time for a one-game playoff. As so often happens in playoffs, it was an unlikely hero that made the difference, as light-hitting Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, forever granting him a rather profane middle name in Boston. Of course, it wasn't over that early. The Red Sox cut the deficit to one run in the ninth and had the tying run at third and veteran star Carl Yastrzemski at bat with two outs--at third, and not having already scored, due to New York right fielder Lou Piniella, blinded by the setting sun, guessing at where the ball would bounce and getting it right, stopping Rick Burleson (the runner on third by this time) at second. Yaz flew out to left field.
** And then there was the 2003 ALDS...and the 1999 ALDS...yeah, there's never a dull moment when you're a Red Sox fan. Need more proof? Here's [[http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270513102 Mother's Day Miracle.]]
* The rules of fencing (in epee, saber, and foil) state that when the score is tied with one touch remaining, the fencers must salute each other (in other words, when this trope comes into play). When bouts go to five touches, it happens all the time, but it's considerably more epic when it happens in a bout to fifteen.
* This troper vaguely recalls an important game for Maccabi Tel-Aviv (The European semi-finals?) which ended with a literal last-second desperate shot that earned the necessary 3 points to win the game...
* A ''high school'' basketball example that made [[http://www.kpho.com/sports/4307457/detail.html national news]] for its sheer improbability: 2005 Minnesota state championship game, Eastview vs. Hopkins. In overtime, the game was tied. Eastview scored with 2.5 seconds left to go. Hopkins threw the ball the length of the court. One of their players fell on the floor, the ball bounced his way, and he grabbed the ball and threw it at the basket, ''while lying down on the floor''. It went in to become the game-winning shot. It simply [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJoxGpEswOI has to be seen to be believed]].
* In April 2009, Boston University's hockey team played against Miami (the Miami team was actually from Ohio...) and were down 1-3 in the last period. Boston had won every game so far that season and was doing flawlessly until that game. They scored ''two goals in the last minute of the game'' and won in overtime. This troper and her parents were watching the game and going ''insane'' over how [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] it was.
* Not sure what this is, but there is an instance of a high school basketball team who was down the the last five minutes and winning by a great way. Since victory was assured, they figured what the hell, let's let our autistic waterboy "Jmac" play. Turn out... he was really, really good.
** It's an aversion, much like the ''Rudy'' example.
* The Findlay Oilers won the 2009 Division II National College Basketball championship on a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ro7no6ecaI buzzer-beater]].
* In the 1960 World Series, the underdog Pittsburgh Pirates had tied the mighty New York Yankees three games to three. Game Seven see-sawed back and forth, with the Yankees tying it up in the top half of the ninth inning. The first batter up in the bottom half of the ninth was the Pirates' number-eight hitter, good-fielding but weak-batting second baseman Bill Mazeroski -- who knocked the second pitch over the fence for a game- and Series-winning home run. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome This made him the first man to win the World Series with a homer, as it happens.]]
** And for the series, Pittsburg was outscored 59-27.
* Australian Rules Football has had the Adelaide Crows failing to make it to the semi-finals by the opposing team scoring a goal in the last ten seconds of the last quarter. Twice.
* The 1999 US Open Golf Championship's final day was almost perfectly set up for this trope, especially in the final groupings, which contained three of the most popular golfers of the year.. The young prodigy Tiger Woods was hitting his stride as one of the best golfers of the decade, and fan favorite Payne Stewart was paired with another young gun, Phil Mickelson, who was attempting to gain his first major victory in his career. The fun part? All three were within a shot or two of each other, and the tournament was settled with Payne Stewart's 15-foot putt for par, ''barely'' breaking free of the tie between him and Mickelson.
* An infamous example is the basketball final at the 1972 Olympics. When the time expired, the USA had an 50-49 against the Soviets. However, the referees added three seconds back to the clock due to error in re-starting the clock. In this three seconds, a Soviet player scored, winning the team the gold medal. The Americans refused to accept the silver, and filed a protest, but it was denied.
** And to make it even worse, it was the first loss ''ever'' for the US Olympic basketball team.
*** Moreover, to this day, the players from that game still refuse to accept the silver medals. One of them has even stated in his will that his next of kin will not accept a 1972 Olympic silver medal for basketball. A DownerEnding indeed.
** It wasn't a clock error. The head of FIBA, who had no authority to force the referees to change the clock, forced the referees to reset the clock. His comments after the game sure as hell made it sound like he wanted the US to lose.
** There was even more of a screw job than that, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_at_the_1972_Summer_Olympics#Gold_Medal_Match_controversy read the full story.]]
* Seen in a 2004 Houston Rockets game. Down by 10 points in the last 45 seconds of the game, Tracy [=McGrady=] scores [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfurCV1FDpM 13 points in 35 seconds]] with four consecutive three-pointers, allowing the Rockets to win 81-80.
* While most poker games are decided by marginal decisions, high-ranking hands tend to provoke all-ins, often eliminating a player outright. A lot less contrived than sport examples, which require a close score and a well-timed window of opportunity.
* In the 2009 Grey Cup (final of the Canadian Football League) game, the Montreal Alouettes were down 27-25, 43 yards from the Saskatchewan Roughriders' goal when time ran out (and this was, indeed, after a comeback from 27-11 early in the fourth quarter). Their attempt at the field goal actually ''missed''. There was a moment where most everyone was actually convinced the game was over and Saskatchewan had just won the Grey Cup. Then it began to filter to people that a 10-yard penalty had just been called against Saskatchewan (for having one too many player on the field), and Montreal got to try again. They won 28-27.
* In 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals only won 83 games, finishing 5 games over .500, yet still won their division. Most thought they would not win a single game in the postseason, yet they managed to breeze past the San Diego Padres in the division series and then take the 97 win New York Mets to game 7 of the NLCS. After a home run from light hitting catcher Yadier Molina gave them a 2 run lead in the top of the 9th, the Cardinals put in their rookie closer, Adam Wainwright, who had recorded all of five saves in his career, including that postseason. The Mets managed to load the bases, and with two outs, up comes notorious Cardinal killer Carlos Beltran, who, with the entire New York crowd behind him, strikes out looking on three pitches, sending the Cardinals to the World Series (which they would win in 5 games).
** Looking back on it, though, the Cardinals were clearly better than their 83-win record. They finished with such a low win total because they were horribly plagued by injuries in the final month of the season. By the time the playoffs started, though, all those players were healthy again and the Cardinals were back to their previous level of play. And as for Wainwright, he may have been a rookie then, but today he is one of the best pitchers in the National League, so clearly the kid had talent.
* The tendency to seemingly always ''lose'' in these types of situations tends to mark whole franchises as being cursed. The aforementioned Red Sox were the poster children here, but between things like Scott Norwood missing the potential game-winning field goal in Super XXV for the Buffalo Bills to lose by 1, losing by way of the infamous "Music City Miracle", the Cleveland Browns' Ernest Byner fumbling at the 1-yard line on a potential game-tying score late in the 4th quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers being victimized by Michael Jordan with his buzzer beater over Craig Ehlo, and the Bulls blocking Charles Smith's possible game-tying layup no less than 5 times at the very end of the game in the '93 playoffs. Especially with Norwood, who had been clutch all year, and Byner, who was having the game of his life, the moments are even more gut-wrenching because they were two guys expected to come up big when it counts. Just like Casey at the Bat.
* Subverted in the 2010 Winter Olympics Men's hockey final. Canada leads 2-1 agains the USA. The Americans manage to tie 2-2 in last period, with only 20 or so seconds left for the period. But Canada scores the winning goal during overtime.
* Subverted at the 2009 Womens Field Hockey Champions Trophy in Sydney, Australia. The Hockeyroos, the Australian women's team, was the only team to have attended the annual tournament since it's inception in 1987. The competition pits six of the best countries against each other in a week long tournament. Due to the format of rules following an Olympic year, the Hockeyroos had to win to qualify for the tournament in 2010. They won all round games, except against Argentina, who they then faced in the finals. In the finals full time ended on a draw, and golden goal extra time ended with no goals, so the event went to penalty flicks to decide a winner. At the end of five flicks each, both teams had scored three goals. It then went to sudden death flicks, Australia missed and Argentina scored. The Hockeyroos now miss the Champions Trophy for 2010, even though they came second!
* The 1985 World Snooker Final, between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor fits the Trope ludicrously well. Davis (aged 27) has already won the title 3 times, is the best player in the world, and is hot favourite to win again. Taylor (aged 36) is a lovable Irishman, always joking with the crowd, in the world's top ten or so but apparently outclassed, despite having had a good season (coming back bravely after the death of his mother). In the first-to-18 final, Davis races to an 8-0 lead. Taylor fights back to 11-11, but can't get ahead. Davis takes a 17-15 lead, only for Taylor to pull back again to 17-17. The edgy final frame takes over an hour, and eventually Taylor pulls out a brilliant pot to take it to the final black. He then gets the first chance, but misses badly. Davis looks sure to be left a sitter, but it goes slightly awkward - still, he's left with a pot he'd get 9 times out of 10 to win. He misses too, leaving an easy chance. Taylor steadies himself, and pots it to win 18-17 after nearly 15 hours of play.
* In the 2001 Major League Baseball season, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the youngest expansion team to ever win the World Series, having only become part of the league in 1998. That in and of itself is pretty impressive, but doesn't necessarily embody this trope. What * does* , however, is the World Series itself. They were playing against the New York Yankees, the single most successful Major League team of all time. The Diamondbacks curb-stomped the Yankees in Game 1, won a close one in Game 2, then proceeded to lose all three games in New York, the latter two in heartbreaking fashion in which they'd held the lead in the bottom of the ninth, only to lose it in the same fashion (game-tying homers) each time. Returning to Arizona, they [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] the Yankees 15-2 to win Game 6 and tie the series. Naturally, it came down to Game 7. The Diamondbacks scored first, but the Yankees rallied for two more. The game came down to the bottom of the ninth, which saw the upstart Diamondbacks against Mariano Rivera, the most dominant postseason closer of all time. A series of walks and hits tied the game and loaded the bases, and a weak base hit to center field by Diamondbacks slugger Luis Gonzalez gave them the win. Yes, a team that was * four years old* managed to beat [[TheEmpire "the Empire"]]. This would seem unrealistic if it was the plot of a movie.... but it [[RealityIsUnrealistic really happened]].
* Cycling: Tour de France 1989. After winning the Tour de France for the first time in 1986, in 1987, Greg Lemond was seriously injured in an hunting incident; his recovery took two years. The last stage of the 1989 Tour de France was a time-trail; Laurent Fignon was leading Greg Lemond by 50 seconds, by many considered to be a decisive lead, considering the final time trail was a mere 25 km. Using (for the time) unorthodox equipment (flat aerobars; teardrop shaped helmet), Greg Lemond beat Laurent Fignot by 58 seconds, winning the Tour de France by the smallest margin ever: 8 seconds. That's 8 seconds after 22 days, 3,285 km and 87h 38m 35s of cycling (a difference of 0.0025%). Lemond would win the Tour de France for a third and last time in 1990.
** FormulaOne. Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 championship on the last corner of the last lap of the last race. To put this in perspective, Felipe Massa was champion when HE crossed the line (first). Hamilton finished fifth and won the championship.
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