Professional losers

[AndyRM]

Another corker! Walks free from a murder charge, only to instead get locked up for some silly aggravated burglary charge instead. Some folk need to learn how to give up when they're ahead!

I think he was nicking his own memorabilia as well? Or trying to.

 

[Gary E]

Jean van de Velde.

Yeah, those adverts he does for Coors Light are rubbish!

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Lance Armstrong. He might have won the TdF legitimately using just his athletic prowess, but instead drugged his way to the top, threatening anyone who crossed him.

 

[Drago]

Yeah, those adverts he does for Coors Light are rubbish!

Brilliant!

 

[Bollo]

A obscure one but I include it because I was there and it has parallels with the Maybot's current predicament.....

In the last game of the 1995-96 season, Manchester City needed to do better than Southampton and Coventry to stay up. City went 2-0 down (one a Steve Lomas og- watch out for him later in the story) but then brought it back to 2-2 through Uwe Rosler and Kit Symons. We needed another, but somehow the then manager Alan Ball got word that (depending on who's telling the story) either Southampton or Coventry had gone behind and a draw was enough for City to stay up. This was, in modern parlance, "fake news".

Ball sends out the word to the players - kill the game. It started to dawn on the crowd that something was very very wrong when Steve Lomas takes the ball into the corner and starts playing for time. I was in that corner. The city fans were raving like beasts. Niall Quinn had been watching the scores on the telly so comes rushing out of the tunnel screaming at Ball and the players to get the f@@@ing ball up the park. Didn't happen. Relegated.

 

[AndyRM]

Also in that season - Newcastle blowing a 12 point lead at the top!

 

[Cycleops]

Not a certain victory but you could include Wee Kranky here. Swaggering about trying to get another indy vote. All that's as dead as a Dodo now.

 

[Markymark]

Not a certain victory but you could include Wee Kranky here. Swaggering about trying to get another indy vote. All that's as dead as a Dodo now.

She needed the vote to mitigate against a hard brexit. Now that is dead in the water the indy vote is not quite so necessary.

 

[srw]

David Cameron. Wrecked not only his own career but the country.

 

[John the Monkey]

I think he was nicking his own memorabilia as well? Or trying to.

Yes - stuff that had either been taken in lieu of payments owed by him, or stolen, depending on who you believe. It's in part 5 of the Storyville documentary, iirc.

 

[TheDoctor]

Lindsay Jacobellis throwing away Olympic Gold in 2006
Protip - Celebration *after* winning. Not before.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iThQ1po1JLU

 

[JoshM]

Napoleon? Got to the Russian capital only to be forced to retreat in dire conditions losing much of his army.

The Jacobites? Got within spitting distance of a terrified and largely under ended London, then fought amongst themselves before giving up, getting beaten at Culodeon, ending the Stuart attempts to regain the throne

 

[Accy cyclist]

Lance Armstrong. He might have won the TdF legitimately using just his athletic prowess, but instead drugged his way to the top, threatening anyone who crossed him.

This is very true. He could've won the TdF 3, 4 or 5 times legitimately.

 

[Cycleops]

The Jacobites? Got within spitting distance of a terrified and largely under ended London, then fought amongst themselves before giving up, getting beaten at Culodeon, ending the Stuart attempts to regain the throne

Don't tell @Marmion . Glad to see he's still around. Was just about the give the Samaritans a call to check on him.

 

[John the Monkey]

Someone with a bit of youtube-fu can probably dig out a funny vid of a rider throwing his arms in the air as he approaches the line, wobbling, falling and being overtaken.

Not quite that, but Mark Cavendish's first win at the Scheldeprijs, where he ducked under Tom Boonen's outstretched arms as the latter celebrated too early is a good candidate.