I'm not derailing any thread Martin!
1 -
Favorite Athlete: Greg LeMond cracking at Val Loran in 1991, when it looked for certain just a few days earlier he would win the Tour going away. Of course we now know there are other reasons why he lost. But at the time it just seemed unreal, and was hugely disappointing.
1a. Ruffian's death had a very emotional impact on my as a boy. Though that is more along the lines of tragedy, of which I could mention many. Fabio Casartelli, Derrick Thomas, Salvador Sanchez, Pat Tillman.
Edit: Now that I've thought about it some more. The 1981 Oregon State University baskeball team was 30-1 in the regular season, and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament on a last second shot.
2.
Not personal favorite, but seemed a letdown anyway: That 2001 Mariners team. Or the 1986 Red Sox loss to the Mets. The 1992 SF 49ers losing in the playoffs when they kept Joe Montana on the bench. The 2002 Sacramento Kings being screwed by the referees in the playoffs. The 2007 Patriots may have beaten the Giants 9 out of 10 games, but that Superbowl they didn't, and I'm sure for many it was a huge letdown. I wasn't huge fans of these teams, but these were huge disappointments in sports. Surprised no one mentioned Zidane in the WC.
3.
Personal disappointment: Training for a local race near my home, knowing the course, everything. Then on race day going at the wrong time, and finishing something like 7th (out of maybe 30), in a measly cat 4 race. I eventually moved up to cat 3, and never raced that course again, and never got another point actually.
3a. Kind of sporting - A friend of mine and I traversed Mt. Rainier. We were the only ones on our side of the mountain going up, and saw few people going down. We got near the top and were lost in a maze of crevasses and a cloud cap. After several scary moments, we made our way through and around, and safely down. Yet after all this, we didn't touch the summit, coming about 50' from it. I can still close my eyes and see the actual summit poking through the clouds one time, and being tantalizingly close. Crazy.