Self-awareness and awareness in general are valuable skills to have in life, and must-haves as a professional athlete. At all times, you need to understand your surroundings.
Imagine a golfer using a putter 200 yards away from the green, a soccer player preferring a corner kick over a penalty shot, or a basketball player deciding to take his free throw shot at half-court. These would all be terrible decisions that would put into question an athlete's placement among the best in their sport. This brings me to my choice for the most upsetting mistake in sports.
The Season
To understand the impact of this single upsetting mistake, you first need to have a grasp on how bad the 2008 NFL season was for the Detroit Lions. Bad, in this instance, is an understatement. The 2008 NFL season was disastrous -- a colossal failure.
As a die-hard Detroit Lions fan and season ticket holder, I had high hopes going into the 2008 season (yes, I paid thousands of dollars to watch this team play in-person). We had the best wide receiver in the league in Calvin Johnson and several talented pieces on both offense and defense. In the preseason, the Lions dominated their opponents going 4-0. In the history of the NFL, no team had ever gone undefeated in the preseason and failed to make the playoffs. The Lions broke that record, and they weren't done making history.
As a hopeful and misguided fan and writer, I published a blog post declaring that the 2008 Detroit Lions would in fact make the playoffs. That year's team not only missed the playoffs, but they became the first team in NFL history to lose 16 consecutive games, going an imperfect 0-16. The losses hurt, but it was the way they lost these games that stung the most, including a play so bad that it defined their season, a quarterback's career, and is now known as one of the worst plays in NFL history.
The Play
On October 12, 2008, the Detroit Lions traveled to play the Minnesota Vikings. Due to injuries, the Lions were playing backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who they were confident in to lead the team past the Vikings, or at least keep the game close.
The game was scoreless and nearing the end of the first quarter. The Lions had the ball at their own one-yard-line, which is a tricky position to be in that requires the quarterback to make careful decisions to avoid turnovers or a safety, which gives the opponent two points and the ball.
Orlovsky took the snap. As he began to step back, he saw star defensive lineman Jared Allen headed his way. Like a lost child, Orlovsky began to run...backwards, out of his own end zone. Despite being out of bounds, the Lions quarterback continued to run as if he was completely oblivious to the fact that he had already cost his team two points and the ball. The play was over, but Orlovsky kept running. The Lions lost 12-10, meaning this play was the difference in the game.
I have a vivid memory of yelling through the television at Orlovsky during this boneheaded play. It wasn't until years later that I began to feel sorry for Orlovsky who is now an NFL analyst. The day he retired from the NFL, the ESPN headline read, "Dan Orlovsky, known for taking safety while chased by Jared Allen, retires." Despite playing 12 seasons in the NFL, he was never able to make fans and analysts forget about his blunder.
Dan, it's okay. We all make mistakes, and while I still don't know what you were thinking on that play, I'm glad you gave me this memory. After all, mistakes are part of the games we love just as much as the last second touchdowns and game-winning field goals.
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