History Main / HistoryRepeats

* ''History Never Repeats'' by Music/SplitEnz sounds like it will be an aversion. It's actually the singer trying to convince himself of the aversion.

* Music/{{Alabama}}'s "Pony Express" has three eras of mail carriers visiting a bar after dealing with outlaws on his trip – the Pony Express rider had to outrun bandits, the engineer's train was robbed by UsefulNotes/JesseJames, and the pilot's plane was hijacked to Cuba. The first two times, the bartender says that a new era (rail and planes) is coming where delivery will be easier; the last time, the bartender says [[GoodOldWays they had it figured out back in the Pony Express days]].

* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'', anyone? Just one example -- the skateboard chase in 1955 in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuture1 Part I]]'', the HoverBoard chase in 2015 in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII Part II]]'', and the horseback chase in 1885 in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII Part III]]''. All involving Marty [=McFly=] being chased by a Tannen.
** Notably, though, they all work out entirely differently. The first time, Marty easily beats them because he's the only one with a skateboard. The second time, they've all got hoverboards, in fact, they've got ''better'' hoverboards, and he narrowly escapes them. The third time, they're all on horseback, and he's on foot, and they catch him easily.

* When the [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballPower5Conferences Southeastern Conference]] was formed in 1932, three of its schools used the nickname of [[TheWildcats Tigers]]—Auburn, LSU, and Sewanee. The last of these, a tiny private school in Tennessee, left in 1940. More than 70 years later, Missouri joined in 2012, once again giving the SEC three sets of Tigers.

* This is the likely outcome in the ''VideoGame/KaiserreichLegacyOfTheWeltkrieg''. [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI The First Weltkrieg]] ended with the signing of the Peace With Honor in 1921 when the [[{{Kaiserreich}} German Empire]] managed to defeat all the Entente members in mainland Europe but was unable to successfully invade the British Isles. [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII The Second Weltkrieg]] could end in a similar way, at least on the Western Front, if the German Empire defeats the [[CommieLand Commune of France]] but again fails to land in Britain. In this case, the [[ChummyCommies Union of Britain]] and the German Empire will sign the Second Peace With Honor. The in-game message to this will directly refer to this trope: "Is history doomed to repeat itself?".

* The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic bears a scarily striking similarity with UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu. Not only did both spread around the world at an alarming rate, the government and the public's response to the pandemics were apathetic at best (pretended it didn't exist, continued going on with their daily routines, etc.) and grossly negligent at worst (large gatherings, protested the use of masks, etc.[[note]]Although there's increasing, though disputed, evidence that masks did absolutely nothing to prevent the spread of disease, and ''may'' have actually caused serious harm to children's verbal and social development.[[/note]]). Conspiracy theories on how the pandemics began and who was responsible for them were also common in both pandemics. There was also pressure from people to reopen businesses and cities in spite of the pandemics, which caused a second wave of outbreaks to occur and one that had hit much harder than the first wave. Both events also saw the rise of snake oil products being peddled as the cure to the disease.

* Another tragic example: on March 5, 1982, former ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' cast member Creator/JohnBelushi died at the age of 33 of a drug overdose of cocaine and heroin, and his death impacted production of certain movies, like ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}''. 15 years later, on December 18, 1997, another former ''SNL'' cast member, Creator/ChrisFarley, also died at the age of 33 from a drug overdose, this time of cocaine and morphine. Farley's death also impacted production of certain movies, like ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1''.

** The Maverick Wars in ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series ultimately started when Dr. Cain found [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Dr. Light]]'s final creation, X, studied robot to find that he's self-aware, and then mass-produced robots built based on X's designs, called Reploids, without preparing any contingency with regards to such self-aware robots unlike Dr. Light who subjected X to 30 years of morality tests before his activation. Then many reploids, including the series' overarching BigBad Sigma, became Mavericks who threaten the world, initially because of TheVirus that turn them hostile, but later we also have antagonists who oppose the heroes for their own reasons. ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' starts with the same problem: After that same X, who had been leading the humans for centuries, secretly retired, human government commissioned a replica of X, with ChildProdigy Ciel successfully creating Copy X. However, Copy X was soon thrown into authoritative position with practically no testing and preparation, ultimately turning him into a [[TautologicalTemplar Tautological]] KnightTemplar who ordered the deaths of many innocent Reploids, forcing Ciel to find Zero in hopes of overthrowing Copy X's tyranny.

* On October 27, 1986, a nationally-televised prime-time NFL game between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins ended up going against Game 7 of the World Series, with the host team and eventual World Series champion (the New York Mets) playing in the same city as the winner of the NFL game (the Giants), who would later go on to win the Super Bowl that season. Five years to the day later, a nationally-televised prime-time game between the Giants and Redskins ended up going against Game 7 of the World Series, with the host team and eventual World Series champion (the Minnesota Twins) having previously played in the same city as the winner of the NFL game (the Redskins)[[note]]The Twins had previously been the Washington Senators before moving to Minneapolis in 1960[[/note]], who would later go on to win the Super Bowl that season.

** Also it seems that a Tannen is fated to crash into horse manure at Marty's hand. In 1955, Marty tricks Biff into crashing his car into the back of a manure truck, causing him to get buried in horse manure. In 1885, Marty knocks out Buford Tannen in a fistfight, causing him to collapse into a cart of horse manure.
* Speaking of ''Film/JurassicPark'':

*** Another one for the same Super Bowl: Super Bowl XXXII featured a defending champion team (Green Bay Packers), led by a young superstar QB (Brett Favre), playing against -- and ultimately losing to -- a team led by a veteran quarterback supported by a stout defense (John Elway's Denver Broncos). Super Bowl LV featured a defending champion team (Kansas City Chiefs), led by a young superstar QB (Patrick Mahomes), playing against -- and ultimately losing to -- a team led by a veteran quarterback supported by a stout defense (Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers). The fact that Mahomes had been drawing comparisons to Favre ever since he announced for the 2017 draft only makes it more striking.

*** Another one for the same Super Bowl: Super Bowl XXXII featured a defending champion team (Green Bay Packers), led by a young superstar QB (Brett Favre), playing against -- and ultimately losing to -- a team led by a veteran quarterback supported by a stout defense (John Elway's Denver Broncos). Super Bowl LV featured a defending champion team (Kansas City Chiefs), led by a young superstar QB (Patrick Mahomes), playing against -- and ultimately losing to -- a team led by a veteran quarterback supported by a stout defense (Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers). The fact that Mahomes was being compared to Brett Favre long before this matchup (dating back to his draft profile in 2017) only adds to this.

* Meta-example: In the late 1990s, Nintendo's consoles were seeing diminishing success. Part of this was because of the company's reputation as being "family friendly" (not helped by them having very strict content guidelines prior to the [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications establishment of gaming rating boards]]) hurting it during a period where gaming audiences, especially in the West, wanted their games to be DarkerAndEdgier, HotterAndSexier, and BloodierAndGorier. In the late 2010s, Sony made a policy to tone down sexual themes in third-party games (which mostly affected Japanese titles), leading to Nintendo becoming the go-to console company for more uncensored sexual and violent content for the affected developers as Nintendo had completely stopped policing such material.
** Speaking of Nintendo; Nintendo was the ''biggest'' market share. Their follow up console was more of the same as the previous and didn't do as well. Then they introduced a new gimmick and became the biggest market share again. Now is this SNES > N64/GameCube > Wii, or Wii > [=WiiU=], Switch?

* The FMV game ''VideoGame/DraculaUnleashed'' is this to the famous novel ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' which it purports to be a sequel towards. In the book, Dracula claimed Lucy Westenra as his first victim and was on his way to claiming Mina Murray, Jonathan Harker's fiancée. In the game, Dracula claims Juliet Adams as his first victim and is on his way to claiming Annisette Bowen, Alexander Morris's fiancée. Once Alexander meets Professor Van Helsing and they begin to take the situation seriously, the characters even note how closely events are resembling their previous encounter with the Count.

* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' being its [[DarkerAndEdgier darkly]] [[BlackComedy humorous]] self, its VideoGameCrueltyPotential is very, very high and usually combined with [[GoodBadBugs exploits]]. So [[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=91093.msg2532485#msg2532485 here's]] probably the best [[EpilepticTrees fan theory]] on the origin of the [[WalkingSpoiler Hidden Fun Stuff]]. The gist of the argument goes like this: if you start with a bunch of emotionally numb dwarves, burrow them underground, invoke BodyHorror, and cover the whole complex in lava... [[spoiler:wouldn't the logical end result count as PhysicalHell?]]
* At the end of ''VideoGame/FatalFury'', Geese Howard dies when he is defeated by Terry Bogard and falls from the top of his tower...or so it seems. In truth, Geese had a magic scroll, one of three that was said to grant immortality, that allowed him to survive the fall. He arranges another tournament later in ''Real Bout: Fatal Fury'' after finding and destroying the scrolls so that their power could never be used against him. Once more, Terry and Geese square off at the top of Geese's tower, and once again, Terry defeats Geese. This time, however, Terry tries to save Geese from falling, only for Geese to defiantly refuse and allow himself to fall.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has a variation with Eorzea's cycling Astral and Umbral eras: civilization enters into GoldenAge during the Astral eras, then enters decline into a dark age during the Umbral eras. While the timing and length of the eras can vary widely from over thousands of years to less than a decade, the cycles remain constant.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has a case. [[CanonName Corrin's]] [[spoiler:step-]]father Sumeragi first met and fell in LoveAtFirstSight with his/her mother Mikoto by a lake. Corrin him/herself meets his/her best friend Azura by a lake, and if male and romancing her, is also suggested to have fallen in LoveAtFirstSight with her.

--->'''Claude''': As big class reunions go...this one's gotta be the worst in history.\\
'''Edelgard''': Years ago, we fought here as classmates...but not today.

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' and ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2''. Night guard fends off killer robots, something happens to shut down the pizzeria, then management tries to revive the pizzeria, starting the cycle again. [[spoiler: However, FNAF 2 came ''first''.]]
** The third game deconstructs this, as by now everyone knows the horrible atrocities that happened at the pizzerias. But from a certain point of view, this trope is still in play, as they reopen it as a horror attraction, with ''another'' killer animatronic in it. There's also one more thing that also keeps happening: [[spoiler:The Murderer, or Purple Guy as he is depicted in cutscenes, ''always'' comes back to the pizzeria if only to kill more kids. And, true to form, he's come to Fazbear's Fright...as ''Springtrap", the aforementioned animatronic]].
** The fifth and sixth games invoke this to a degree: in ''Sister Location'' [[spoiler:Circus Baby is revealed to be a product of the Murderer's actions, and the animatronics themselves were going to use the place as a murder house]], while in ''Pizzeria Simulator'', [[spoiler:Cassette Man deliberately set the pizza place up to lure the killer animatronics in, including the aforementioned Springtrap, then starts his own "accident" to kill them all and free their souls (or in Springtrap's case, give him a taste of Hell)]].

* Massively in ''Gunstar Super Heroes'', which is a sequel that covers the events of [[VideoGame/GunstarHeroes the original game]] happening again in the distant future.

-->'''Pegasolta Eclair''': [[LampshadeHanging The satellites falling from the sky are like the Maverick Wars all over again...]] It really is Ragnarok, the end of the world! [[Characters/MegaManXZero You]] stand on the threshold of your annihilation!

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'': The ending turns out to be this for the [[spoiler:[[HeWhoFightsMonsters BSAA]]]] as they are starting to [[spoiler:deploy [[SuperSoldier tyrants]] garbed in BSAA gear]], slowly becoming a [[spoiler: rebirth of the deeply-reviled [[EvilInc Umbrella Corporation]]...]]
* ''VideoGame/TheNinjaWarriorsAgain'': [[spoiler:The game's [[DownerEnding ending]] explicitly says that because history repeats, the new government you were fighting for will eventually [[FullCircleRevolution become as bad as the one you overthrew]]]].

* John Marston [[spoiler: pulls a HeroicSacrifice]] at the end of ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' so [[spoiler: his wife and son can live a normal life all for his wife to die not too soon after and for his son to throw it away to avenge him]]. Its {{Prequel}} ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' ends with its protagonist Arthur Morgan [[spoiler: also sacrificing himself for the Marstons to live a normal life]]. This time it's [[spoiler: John who throws it away by avenging Arthur by killing TheMole in the gang. His doing this puts the proto-[=FBI=] on his tail]] which causes the events of the first game.
** In the final mission before the Epilogue of both games, Edgar Ross leads an army of government men to kill members of the Van der Linde gang at their respective home/hideout. In the first game, it's the U.S. Army attacking Beecher's Hope to kill John with Uncle being an added collateral casualty. In the second game, it's the Pinkerton Detective Agency attacking Beaver Hollow to kill any gang members that haven't already fled or haven't been executed already.

* On Day 5 on the third season of the ''LetsPlay/LifeSMP'', [[spoiler:Jimmy]] becomes the first to be KilledOffForReal on the server. Since his character was the first to permanently die during the prior two seasons as well, this is naturally lampshaded by everyone, including his content creator counterpart in the episode it happened. Six minutes into the ''fourth'' season, Grian [[DiscussedTrope makes a bet]] that the character in question will be the first to (permanently) die in ''this'' season as well. And sure enough, this eventually comes to pass on Day 7.

*** However, it doesn't end there: [[spoiler:For fifteen years, Edgeworth had believed that he was the one who killed his father, and so he confesses it to the court moments after his acquittal for Hammond's murder. Another trial is held, during which it is revealed that [[BigBad von Karma was the one who murdered Edgeworth's father]] - before his death, Gregory Edgeworth had been the defense attorney for a trial prosecuted by von Karma. [[ForegoneConclusion Though he lost the case]], he managed to blemish von Karma's perfect record by exposing his [[AmoralAttorney corrupt ways]]. After the trial and ensuing earthquake, von Karma found the elevator in which Edgeworth senior had passed out, and was shot in the shoulder by Miles, who had fired Yogi's gun in defense of his father. Understandably pissed off from being shot in the shoulder, he terminated Edgeworth and took a several-month-long holiday because he refused to have the bullet taken out.[[note]] (after all, having it removed would [[TheParanoiac create an evidence trail]]).]] Ironically, this led to his downfall, as Phoenix reasons that the bullet that hit von Karma is still in his shoulder, and [[ChekhovsBoomerang uses a metal detector he acquired earlier to confirm his theory]]. Thus, after 15 years, the DL-6 Incident finally concluded.

** In 1979, [[UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan]], propping up its own officially installed government against a host of Islamic guerillas. After years of fighting unsuccessfully in the countryside, the Soviets conducted a withdrawal that was attacked by the mujahideen. The Soviet aligned Afghan government crumbled without the support of its main backer and most of Afghanistan would become ruled by the Islamic fundamentalist group known as the Taliban. In 2001, [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror the United States invaded Afghanistan]], propping up its own government against a host of Islamic guerillas. After years of fighting unsuccessfully in the countryside, America conducted a withdrawal that was attacked by ISIS. The American-aligned Afghan government crumbled without the support of its main backer and most of Afghanistan would become ruled by the Taliban.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhZexal'': A more realistic scenario is Yuma's signature "Double Up Chance" combo with his Kibou'ou Hope[[note]]aka Utopia[[/note]] (or another form of Hope), where he negates his first attack of Hope to double Hope's ATK and then attack again. Yuma wins more than half a dozen times with this combo, even against the same opponents (Gauche, Shark/Nasch). Notably, when Yuma uses this combo in his final duel against Shark/[[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nasch]], Yuma stops his second attack, which actually secures his victory in this duel because Nasch was prepared of Yuma's combo, but it backfires on Nasch in the end. Normally, a ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' protagonist doesn't win with the same combo more than once.

** The [[WesternAnimation/Incredibles2 sequel]] has both Frozone and Elastigirl having to deal with a RunawayTrain like Mr. Incredible did in the first movie. It's a painful blow to Mr. Incredible's ego, since they were are able to safely stop the train without major damage or causing harm to the passengers, whereas Mr. Incredible's efforts resulted in injuries and lawsuits that led to the Super Relocation Act beign enacted.

** Another meta-example is the various incarnations of the Doctor in Classic and New Who. The most popular Doctor in their respective eras (Four and Ten) get replaced by the youngest actor to play the role at the time (Five and Eleven) and their replacement is a Doctor designed to hark back to the earlier, darker side of the Doctor; played by [[RecastAsARegular an actor who appeared on the show before being cast in the role]] (Six and Twelve). They are then succeeded by a Doctor who uses a British accent that the Doctor has never used before (Seven, Scottish; and Thirteen, Yorkshire).

* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'', anyone? Just one example -- the skateboard chase in 1955 in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuture Part I]]'', the HoverBoard chase in 2015 in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII Part II]]'', and the horseback chase in 1885 in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII Part III]]''. All involving Marty [=McFly=] being chased by a Tannen.

* A lot of American war movies and military educational movies of 1940-'50s follow this pattern: in the beginning the POV, a young soldier or officer, is on the receiving end of some situation or phrase, in the end, having gained the experience to back it, he is the source of the same situation to the next generation of military people.
** ''Flat Top'': in the beginning, the Carrier Group Commander of the USS Princeton asks his recently-arrived executive officer to tell the pilot who landed despite being ordered to do a go-around that he is grounded. In the last scene said executive officer, now CAG of a new USS Princeton named after the old one, asks his own deputy to tell the same thing to a pilot, for the same reason.
* Here's one on a multi-franchise level: A famous film series has a new trilogy greenlit. The first one is generally well received, a different director helms the second--to much more divisive results--and the director of the first movie returns to handle the third. Now, are we talking about the ''Franchise/StarWars'' sequel trilogy or the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' sequel trilogy?
** For reference, Creator/JJAbrams directed ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' (85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes), Creator/RianJohnson directed ''Film/TheLastJedi'' (42%), and Abrams returned for ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''. Creator/ColinTrevorrow directed ''Film/JurassicWorld'' (78%), J. A. Bayona directed ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' (48%), and Trevorrow returned to direct ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion''. Bonus points for Trevorrow originally being tapped to direct Star Wars' Episode IX.
* Speaking of ''Film/JurassicPark'':
** The original film and ''Film/JurassicWorld'' both have the dinosaur park built and then end in chaos when dinosaurs escape. Both also have the ''T. Rex'' taking out another dinosaur antagonist.
** In ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'', Dodgson was killed in the same way Nedry was 30 years earlier, by the exact same species of dinosaur no less.
** Ellie has to reboot a power grid with someone talking her through it in both films.

%%* In 2009, Japanese voice actress Noriko Sakai was busted for use of drugs, and a ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' [[Recap/PokemonPK7PikachuAndPichu short]] was banned. Ten years later, Pierre Taki also got busted for drug abuse, affecting two video games he was involved in, with ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' being edited in subsequent releases to remove his model and voice, and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' patching his role with a different voice actor.

* When Missouri joined the [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballPower5Conferences Southeastern Conference]] in 2012, it became the ''third'' SEC member nicknamed [[TheWildcats Tigers]], joining Auburn and LSU. This wasn't the first time that the SEC had three sets of Tigers—when the conference was founded in 1932, Auburn and LSU were joined by Sewanee, a tiny private school in Tennessee that left in 1940 and now competes in [[UsefulNotes/{{NCAA}} Division III]], the lowest level of NCAA competition and one in which athletic scholarships are prohibited.

** The career of Wrestling/RomanReigns parallels Wrestling/TheRock's career in the sense that they're both trying to get over as white meat babyfaces only to be completely rejected by fans. The fact that they're cousins is just icing on the cake. In fact, the parallels are so eerily strong that many are beginning to wonder if [[YouCantFightFate fate]] [[FaceHeelTurn is trying to tell Vince something]]. As it turns out, it ''was'': Roman finally turned heel in 2020 and [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap proceeded to spend the next year becoming as mega-over Rocky was]].

** Twice after losing UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup to opponents in the Finals (New York Rangers in 1994, Boston Bruins in 2011), Vancouver Canucks fans have tended to [[FootballHooligans riot downtown]].
** In the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, the Toronto Maple Leafs famously came back from being down 3-0 in the series to the Detroit Red Wings to win the Cup, the first team in professional sports to accomplish the feat. Three years later in 1945, the Maple Leafs and Red Wings once again met in the Cup Finals, this time the Leafs being the ones to jump out to a 3-0 series lead before the Red Wings came back to win the next three games to once again set up a winner-take-all Game 7. [[SubvertedTrope This time, however, the Leafs would stop the Red Wings' rally, winning the game and the Cup once again]].

** After being bought out by the Anaheim Ducks, Corey Perry spent three consecutive years joining a different team and making it to the Stanley Cup Finals only to lose: his Dallas Stars lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020, his Canadiens lost to the Lightning in 2021, and he decided to join the Lightning in 2022 [[YankTheDogsChain only for them to lose to the Colorado Avalanche]].

** On November 18, 1985, Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann broke both bones in his right leg while being sacked; the injury would end his NFL career. 33 years later ''to the day'' (November 18, 2018), Redskins quarterback Alex Smith was sacked and broke both bones in his right leg, an injury which nearly ended his NFL career. The similarities didn't end there, either: both quarterbacks were without their usual Pro Bowl left tackle at the time, both games ended with a final score of 23-21[[note]]albeit with Washington being on opposite sides of that score in the two respective games[[/note]], and both sacks involved a three-time Defensive Player of the Year (although this one is iffy because the defender in the earlier incident, Giants legend Lawrence Taylor, didn't have his third DPOY yet when the accident occurred).

** In Super Bowl XXXVI in the 2001-02 NFL season between the New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams, Rams wide receiver Ricky Proehl would catch the game-tying touchdown pass by Rams QB Kurt Warner with less than two minutes remaining, which left enough time on the clock for Patriots QB Tom Brady to lead a drive that brought the Patriots into field goal range before stopping the clock so that kicker Adam Vinatieri could take the field to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired, giving the Patriots their first-ever Super Bowl win. Two years later, in Super Bowl XXXVIII, between the Patriots and the Carolina Panthers, Ricky Proehl, who now played for the Panthers, caught the game-tying touchdown pass by Panthers QB Jake Delhomme with less than two minutes remaining, which left enough time on the clock for Patriots QB Tom Brady to lead a drive that brought the Patriots into field goal range before stopping the clock so that kicker Adam Vinatieri could take the field to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired, giving the Patriots their second Super Bowl win.

** At Super Bowl XVIII in Tampa Bay, the Native American-themed defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins made it back to the Super Bowl against the pirate-themed Los Angeles Raiders, whom they narrowly defeated in the regular season 37-35, only to get [[CurbStompBattle blown out]] in the Super Bowl by the Raiders 38-9. Thirty-seven years later in Super Bowl LV, also in Tampa Bay, the Native American-themed defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs make it back to the Super Bowl against the pirate-themed Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom they narrowly defeated in the regular season 27-24, only to get [[CurbStompBattle blown out]] in the Super Bowl by the Bucs 31-9.

* On December 2, 2006, the 2nd ranked 10-1 USC Trojans played their unranked nearby rival, the UCLA Bruins in the final game of the regular season. If USC were to win, they would play Ohio State in the national championship game. In a shocking upset, UCLA beat USC by a final score of 13-9, allowing the SEC champion, Florida to play in the national championship. In that game, Florida beat Ohio State convincingly. Just one day before the one year anniversary of UCLA’s upset of USC on December 1st, 2007, the 2nd ranked 10-1 West Virginia Mountaineers played their unranked nearby rival, the Pittsburgh Panthers in the final game of the regular season. If West Virginia were to win, they would play Ohio State in the national championship game. In a shocking upset, Pitt beat West Virginia. What was the final score? 13-9. This would allow the SEC champion, LSU to play in the national championship. In that game, LSU beat Ohio State convincingly.
* In the 1997 MLB season, the Florida Marlins, a young expansion franchise that was only playing their fifth season in their history would go on a hot streak in the postseason, upsetting the "Team of the 90s'" Atlanta Braves team in the NLCS. In Game 7 of the World Series, a Latino player for the Marlins (Edgar Renteria) would hit a base hit with the bases loaded into shallow center to give the Marlins their first World Series. Four years later, the Arizona Diamondbacks, an even younger team, playing only their fourth season, would go on a hot streak in the postseason, defeating the Braves in the NLCS. In Game 7 of the World Series, a part-Latino player for the Diamondbacks (Luis Gonzalez), would hit a base it with the bases loaded into shallow center to give the Diamondbacks their first World Series.
* The erstwhile soccer powerhouse 1. FC Nürnberg won the German championship 9 times. The ninth (and to date final) time occured in 1968. Instrumental in their championship run was head coach Max Merkel, a figure still known for eminently quotable lines and much beloved by fans. After the championship season, Nürnberg engaged in some questionable roster moves (among others trading Franz Brungs, a top scorer who had been instrumental to the 1968 championship team, ''against his express wishes'') ostensibly to "build a team ready to take on European competition". The team struggled throughout the next season, fired their once much-beloved coach who had led them to the championship and were ultimately relegated in dramatic fashion - as statistically one of the best relegated teams in Bundesliga history. Fast forward to 2007 and Nürnberg wins the DFB Pokal (equivalent to the FA cup) again with a head coach widely beloved and admired for his unorthodox style and his propensity to utter quotable remarks. Again Nürnberg engages in questionable roster moves (such as trading the starting goalkeeper who had made many important saves throughout the 2007 season) and part of the reason is again to "build a team ready to take on European competition". Ultimately the team folds and the head coach is sacked, leading to perhaps the best (on paper) Nürnberg team to be relegated in decades. To add insult to injury, since the founding of the Bundesliga, ''no'' other team has ''ever'' been relegated as reigning cup champion ''or'' reigning champion and the FCN has not won any other trophy between 1969 and 2007 or (as of 2021) since 2007.
* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by the new [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_League_of_Football European League of Football]] which deliberately uses the traditions of the old [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Europe NFL Europe]] including team names and uniforms in cities that had a NFL Europe franchise and now have an ELF team (as of the 2021 those being Cologne, Barcelona, Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt). The last ever game of NFL Europe was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bowl_XV World Bowl XV]] with Frankfurt Galaxy losing to the Hamburg Sea Devils. The first game of the new league was... the Hamburg Sea Devils beating Frankfurt Galaxy (albeit at a different venue). At the end of the season Frankfurt would get their revenge and win the first ever ELF title - against Hamburg. In addition to the game came the announcement of an expansion franchise - Rhein Fire, the second most long-lived team of NFL Europe (after Frankfurt).
* NASCAR barely averted it in 2011 thanks to a Chase format they implemented after the original 2003 occurrence that nearly repeated: In 2003, despite only winning the third race in, Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing won the then-Winston Cup Series title using consistency all year and bad outings from the dangerous competitors (including Ryan Newman, who won eight races but crashed out a few times). Eight years later Carl Edwards, driving a different car for the same team (now known as Roush Fenway), wins only the third race in and, without the Chase format, would've won the title using consistency all year and bad outings from the dangerous competitors. Because of the Chase, however, a barely-qualifying Tony Stewart caught fire and won half of the ten races in the Chase to steal the title from Carl on a tiebreaker. And the last Cup Series champion before Jimmie Johnson fired off five straight? Tony Stewart, who in 2005 was still a Joe Gibbs Racing driver. On top of that, Stewart's teammate in 2011? Ryan Newman.

* Brazilian race drivers in FIA championships and potential tiebreaker scenarios in their favor only for the title rival to get the one point they needed to avert said potential tiebreaker scenario happened twice. First, in Usefulnotes/FormulaOne's 2008 finale, Felipe Massa of Ferrari won and needed title rival Lewis Hamilton to finish sixth or lower to win. Sixth, where Lewis was when Felipe crossed the finish line, was the position that would invoke the tiebreaker, Felipe ahead five wins to two. Lewis had fallen to sixth courtesy of a mistake that let Sebastian Vettel past. [[MemeticMutation Then they passed a struggling-in-the-rain-on-dry-tyres Timo Glock in the final corner, putting Lewis ahead of Felipe by one point.]] Almost eight years later Lucas Di Grassi entered the finale of Formula E's second season tied with Sebastian Buemi. Despite losing a win in Mexico because of an underweight car via tyre wear miscalculations, Di Grassi has the advantage in the tiebreaker. The two collide at turn 3 on lap 1, sending them to the back of the field and out of the points-paying positions. Then Buemi sets the fastest lap, earning the point he needed to beat Di Grassi without the tiebreaker.
** Eddie Irvine's bid at the 1999 Formula 1 title doesn't count in the equation under this trope because first, his rival Mika Hakkinen is actually Finnish, and second, the one point that would've helped Eddie had teammate Michael Schumacher let him by in Japan was claimed by Minardi's Marc Gene two rounds before the Japan finale.
*** Speaking of Eddie, he was part of the first of three recent cases where one team wins the Constructors' Championship but the Drivers' Champion drove for another team, and one of the two teams involved fielded a regular lineup of a Finn and a Briton. In 1999 Eddie's Ferrari team won the Constructors' title but the Drivers' title went to Finland's Mika Hakkinen of [=McLaren=], with David Coulthard of Britain as Mika's teammate. Nine years later, in the above Brazilian driver vs potential tiebreaker scenario, Lewis Hamilton claimed his first of seven Drivers' titles, teaming with Finland's Heikki Kovalainen at [=McLaren=], but Ferrari won the Constructors' title with Massa and defending Drivers' Champion Kimi Raikkonen. Thirteen years after that, in the reason this count of history repeating has the Finland-Great Britain equation between Drivers' and Constructors' Championships only applying to the team that had one of both nationalities, Lewis (now with Mercedes) loses his bid for an eighth to Red Bull's Max Verstappen but him and Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas help Mercedes win their eighth straight Constructors' title. Max, Dutch, was teamed with Sergio Perez of Mexico; the two [=McLaren=]-vs-Ferrari cases had Constructors' Champions Ferrari fielding a driver of the same nationality as the teammate of [=McLaren's=] Drivers' Champion.
*** Another connection with Lewis winning his first title, he was the first of two British drivers to win the World Drivers' Championship by finishing fifth at Brazil in a Mercedes-powered car numbered 22. The following season, in Brawn GP's one season in Formula 1, Jenson Button (who would take on number 22 full-time when Formula 1 opted for a [=MotoGP=]-inspired "career number" system, with Lewis doubling it for his own number 44) would win it with one race to spare.

** Before Napoleon, there was Charles XII of Sweden. Starting a land war in Russia is only a good idea if you can keep the supplies flowing, and every time the Russians defeated the invaders by doing the same thing: Salting the fields, torching the harvest, and retreating until the invading army outran their supply lines, which was invariably hastened by the coming of winter.

** Contrary to popular belief, the worst thing for logistics in Russia actually isn't winter (when most roads are frozen solid and passable for tracked vehicles or all-terrain trucks) but "Rasputitsya" or "mud season" during Spring and Autumn when all roads turn to, well, mud making them virtually impassable.
** Hitler also ''hoped'' for history to repeat itself when Berlin was besieged by the Red Army. In 1762, Frederick the Great was saved from total defeat when the Russian Empress Elizabeth suddenly died and the invading coalition collapsed, giving him the edge for victory. On April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt died and Hitler raised the hope that the invading Allies would soon collapse. Unfortunately for him, the Allied advance did not stop for one moment, and on April 30, he killed himself in his bunker.

* Roughly forty years prior to UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany waged a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herero_and_Namaqua_genocide genocide against the Herero and Namaqua people]] that carried some disturbing similarities to the Nazi era killings. Both genocides were framed as an explicitly racial struggle, featured the usage of concentration camps, and inflicted deadly medical experiments on the victims. There exists debate as to what degree the killings of the Herero and Namaqua influenced Nazi treatment of those it deemed racially inferior.
* In 1904, Japan started [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar a war with Russia]] by launching a surprise attack on Russia's naval facilities in Port Arthur, without issuing a declaration of war. Almost forty years later, [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Japan would attack the naval base at Pearl Harbor without issuing a declaration of war first]]. Notably, however, the second part of the story, in which Japan fought a world power to a standstill, would ''[[NukeEm not]]'' repeat.
* The UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar would also mirror the outcome of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne for Russia: in both cases Russia would go to war with a rising regional power on their home continents (Asia for Japan and Europe for Germany). The wars waged would feature harsh trench warfare and shocking military defeats for Russia, crippling its ability to continue. In both cases Russia would suffer violent revolutions (the second time around [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober deposing the government successfully]]) and would be handed humiliating peace treaties. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Both wars also started in a year that ended in the number four.]]

** In 1979, [[UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan]], propping up its own officially installed government against a host of Islamic guerillas. After years of fighting unsuccessfully in the countryside, the Soviets conducted a withdrawal that was attacked by the mujahadeen. The Soviet aligned Afghan government crumbled without the support of its main backer and most of Afghanistan would become ruled by the Islamic fundamentalist group known as the Taliban. In 2001, [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror the United States invaded Afghanistan]], propping up its own government against a host of Islamic guerillas. After years of fighting unsuccessfully in the countryside, America conducted a withdrawal that was attacked by ISIS. The American aligned Afghan government crumbled without the support of its main backer and most of Afghanistan would become ruled by the Taliban.
** Following the French defeat in Vietnam, America [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar would later intervene]] in the war torn nation. American involvement started out relatively small, but grew over time, becoming bogged down fighting a guerilla war, pockmarked by scandals, and faced increasing opposition to continued engagement back on the home front. America would largely withdraw from the conflict after fighting for nearly twenty years, leading to the South Vietnamese government to be routed by North Vietnam and the hasty evacuation of Saigon. Following the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan, America would later intervene in the war torn nation. [[HereWeGoAgain Second verse same as the first]] ensued, ending roughly the same way when the Taliban routed the Afgan government and Kabul was messily evacuated.
** The First Anglo-Afghan War would begin and end largely the same way as the American led war over a century and a half later; the standing government of Afghanistan would be deposed by the Western superpower of the era and the Western occupiers would face an insurgency that led to anti-war backlash and criticism at home. In both cases the occupying country would make a disorganized retreat from Kabul and [[ShootTheShaggyDog the original government of Afghanistan would be restored to power]].

** The most obvious and parallel to the US led war would be the war immediately prior to it led by the French in an effort to maintain its colonial empire. Like the later war by the US, the French were steadily worn down through guerilla warfare, poor morale, and inconsistent strategy made worse by unclear goals on their part, all of which would lead to a humiliating loss in both cases. The war was consumed by scandals sand controversies, and led to political turmoil at home due to a sizeable anti war movement. Specific incidents like the My Trach Massacre and the leak of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generals%27_affair Revers Report]] would also be mirrored by events like the My Lai Massacre and the leaking of the Pentagon Papers.
** The French would fall victim to the same pattern almost immediately after their war in Vietnam had concluded when they fought in UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}} against guerillas fighting for independence. Nearly the exact same controversies and problems that plagued their efforts in Vietnam would be repeated and as a result the outcome was nearly identical: a total defeat and hasty withdrawal.
* In 1971, Milton Obote, having been President of UsefulNotes/{{Uganda}} for five years, would be deposed in a coup led by military officer Idi Amin. Amin was overthrown ten years later, paving the way for [[FullCircleRevolution Obote to reclaim power]]. Obote would be overthrown ''again'', and similar to the first time it would occur after five years in office and would be led by a military officer.
* George W Bush would follow in his father George HW Bush's footsteps by building an international coalition and amassing a massive invasion force to attack Saddam ruled Iraq in the third year of his first term. This is where the similarities end however, as the UsefulNotes/GulfWar turned out the exact opposite way as the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Iraq War]] would.

** '''Divorced:''' Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves, the two wives that Henry divorced, were the only two wives who had titles of their own anyway, and both eventually died of cancer. Also, they lived to the oldest ages out of the six; Catherine was 50, and Anne was 41 when they died. Making the similarity even more bizarre, both spent the final years of their lives with Henry classifying them as sisters of a sort; Catherine had been married to Henry's brother Arthur before Arthur's death, so Henry classified her as his widowed sister-in-law, and Anne was treated as an honorary sister due to the agreement she had made with Henry when the marriage was dissolved (though the latter lived out her days in better conditions due to her acceptance of the separation).
** '''Beheaded:''' Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were cousins who both lost their lives on adultery and treason charges.
** '''Died/Survived:''' Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr, respectively. Jane was Queen for over a year before she died from puerperal fever, and Catherine only survived Henry for over a year before she too died from the same fever. It's even stranger when you realise that their children did not live to adulthood; Edward VI died in his teens, and it is generally agreed that Mary Seymour did not live past the age of two.

* When Music/JohnLennon saw for the first time a picture of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuda_Zenjirō Yasuda Zenjirō]], who was Music/YokoOno's great-grandfather, he supposedly said "[[{{Reincarnation}} that's me in a former life]]", to which she responded "don't say that. He was assassinated". Come 1980, and what would the tragic fate of John Lennon be?

* In 2001, the Pepsi 400, Daytona's summer night race, was the first race in the NBC half of the UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} season, in the first year of a five year broadcast deal that split coverage between Fox and NBC [[note]]under this deal, Fox covered the first half of the NASCAR season, and NBC covered the second half. When it came to the Daytona races, Fox hosted the Daytona 500 in odd-numbered years and NBC in even-numbered years, and the inverse for the Pepsi 400[[/note]]. The race was won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with his DEI teammate Michael Waltrip finishing second in what was considered an emotional victory for their team as it was the first race at Daytona since Dale Earnhardt's death in the Daytona 500 that February.[[note]]The 2001 Daytona 500 marked the start of a three year period where DEI dominated the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega, with Michael Waltrip getting his only four Cup wins (two Daytona 500s (one of which was the 2001 race with Junior finishing second), a Pepsi 400, and the fall 2003 Talladega race) while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the 2001 Pepsi 400 as well as five races at Talladega including four consecutive from fall 2001 to spring 2003).[[/note]] 14 years later, the 2015 season saw an almost repeat of this situation: the Coke Zero 400 was the first race on the NBC portion of the season in a new broadcast contract that divided coverage between Fox and NBC[[note]]this time, though, Fox exclusively gets the Daytona 500, and NBC exclusively gets the Coke Zero Sugar 400[[/note]]. Once again, NBC coverage of the season started with the Daytona night race, and once again, it was won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson finishing second [[note]]Jimmie was classified second because Denny Hamlin, who he was racing for the position, was sideways in sparking a Big One that notably sent Austin Dillon (using Dale Sr's old number 3) into the catchfence[[/note]].

** In 1991, Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court as a replacement for outgoing justice Thurgood Marshall. Thomas would be a controversial pick from the start due to his conservative political views and would become even more controversial after being accused of sexual misconduct by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Hill a coworker]]. However, the accusations would end up falling flat outside of liberal circles due to a perceived lack of sufficient evidence and Thomas became a Supreme Court justice anyway after a narrow 52-48 vote. Despite this, the fiasco surrounding Thomas would put a big dent in President Bush's reputation, with critics viewing him as apathetic at best towards women's rights and the GOP suffering a major defeat in the next election, with Bush himself losing his bid for re-election. In 2018, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court as a replacement for outgoing justice Anthony Kennedy. Kavanaugh would be a controversial pick from the start due to his conservative political views and would become even more controversial after being accused of sexual misconduct by a high school classmate. However, Kavanaugh would end up becoming a Supreme Court justice anyway after a narrow 50-48 vote[[note]]While public opinion was far less favorable toward Kavanaugh than it was for Thomas, the make-up of the Senate, which was Republican-controlled as opposed to the Democratic-controlled Senate Thomas faced, gave him a lifeline[[/note]]. Despite this, the fiasco surrounding Kavanaugh would put a big dent in President Trump's reputation, with critics viewing him as apathetic at best towards women's rights and the GOP suffering a major defeat in the next election, losing the House of Representatives and inadvertently aiding in his 2019 impeachment, though [[SubvertedTrope this was subverted somewhat]] in the Senate, with the Republicans getting a net gain of 2 seats due to the fact that Democrats were defending a large number of seats in red states that year. Trump himself would lose his bid for re-election. Furthering the similarity, Thomas' accuser openly compared her situation to that of Kavanaugh's accuser in a 2018 op-ed.
** During the last year of Bush's first term, civil unrest broke out when the [=LAPD=] assaulted an unarmed African-American man, Rodney King. While Bush condemned the police beating of King, he spent more time criticizing rioters and calling for law and order instead of trying to understand the underlying socioeconomic causes of the unrest, making him seem insensitive towards the racial injustice experienced by African-Americans. During the last year of Trump's first term, civil unrest broke out when the Minneapolis Police killed an unarmed African-American man, George Floyd. While Trump condemned the police killing of George Floyd, he spent more time criticizing protestors and calling for law and order instead of trying to understand the underlying socioeconomic causes of the unrest, making him seem insensitive towards the racial injustice experienced by African-Americans. Furthering the similarity, Bill Barr served as Attorney General for both presidents and was criticized for using the same hardline approach in both protests. Though somewhat subverted in that while two of the LAPD officers that assaulted Rodney King were acquitted, all Minneapolis officers involved in George Floyd's death were convicted and sentenced.

** A young upstart senator became the first president from his generation and the first from a large ethnic group, who is notable for his lofty rhetoric, boundless optimism and ability to inspire. He also selects a long-serving senator from the older generation as his running mate who would later become president himself albeit thankfully [[WhoShotJFK without involving an assassination]] (see John F Kennedy).

* The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic bears a scarily striking similarity with UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu. Not only did both spread around the world at an alarming rate, the government and the public's response to the pandemics were apathetic at best (pretended it didn't exist, continued going on with their daily routines, etc) and grossly negligent at worst (large gatherings, protested the use of masks, etc). Conspiracy theories on how the pandemics began and who was responsible for them were also common in both pandemics. There was also pressure from people to reopen businesses and cities in spite of the pandemics, which caused a second wave of outbreaks to occur and one that had hit much harder than the first wave. Both events also saw the rise of snake oil products being peddled as the cure to the disease.

* World War 2 had this happen during the same war. At the start of the Battle of France, British and French commanders were sure that the Germans would have to strike into France through the Maginot Line, a line of French defenses specifically intended to stop a German invasion cold. The only place on the French border they didn't guard was the Ardenne Forest, which they believed was impassible to tanks. The Germans would proceed to strike through the Ardennes, outflank the Allies, and conquer France in a matter of weeks. Years later, the Germans would do the same ''again'' in the winter of 1944, attacking the Allies through the Ardennes which had been believed to be impassable to tanks, sparking the Battle of the Bulge. Thankfully this time, the Allies were able to get their act together and Germany's shortages of resources and manpower ground the offensive to halt.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has this due to the CycleOfRevenge, primarily between the Uchiha and Senju/Uzumaki clans.