Ah, Wigan. A 9-1 loss to Tottenham and the embarrassed players have offered to refund the ticket price for any of the club’s fans who attended their side’s 9-1 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham at White Hart Lane on the weekend.
9-1! That’s a walloping in anyone’s language.
The obvious question then is, what other shellackings would Roarers wish they could have been offered a refund for, after the event?
Off the top of my head, I can suggest the Port Power fans who had to endure their 2007 Grand Final debacle against Geelong (The Cats defeated Port 163 to 44 – a 119-point margin).
Or the Melbourne Storm faithful who may have travelled north to have to sit through a 40-0 drubbing at the hands of Manly in the 2008 NRL Grand Final.
Then there’s Adelaide United fans who had to time their exit from Docklands as their side were flogged 6-0 in the second A-League Grand Final.
Those are pretty obvious candidates for sporting refunds. Completely one-sided Grand Finals. However, scratching deeper, there are also regular season home and away games and less obvious examples.
On what other occasions should a refund have been paid out?
mcxd
Guest
sorry can i also add the W v Scotland game on the weekend. Gits was right in front of me when he missed.
mcxd
Guest
Sorry to bring up the W word again but W v the boks 2006 telstra stadium..Worst rugby game ever....EVER.. a dour kickathon. no not rugby, it was tennis played badly. Absurdly a few weeks before the w's beat the boks 49 nil with open attractive running rugby.
tifosi
Guest
Not a shellacking but i have to put thjs in Adelaide Utd v Central Coast Mariners at Canberra Stadium this year. Quite possibly the worst game i have ever seen in sport. When players cant pass a ball a mere 5 metres apart you know something is seriously amiss.
Dan Wighton
Roar Guru
For me it would have to be the Storm's 70 - 10 win over the dragons in 2000 - especially as it happened in the wake of the Storms grand final win, and in the wake of Anthony Mundine's verbal attacks on the storm. Majority of my friends are storm fans, and the week or two after that was especially hard to take.
Michael C
Roar Guru
ooh, nothing like those rising expectations as your team wedges a toe in the door, only for reality to come thundering through the door the other way like a bull through the proverbial china shop. Or something like that. and thus, the calls often heard from the underdog supporters at the 5 minute mark of a gain....."Blow the siren". If only.
Chop
Guest
I want a refund for the Parramatta v Balmain match I jumped on a train to many many years ago, after my Eels jumped out to a 12-0 lead after 10 minutes we ended up losing 64-12. And my two days at the cricket when Tendulkar and Laxman batted for two days and scored 7000 runs, I wouldn't have coped without copious amounts of alcohol....
JiMMM
Guest
That is the best rant I have ever seen
Michael C
Roar Guru
Good one, an injury to one of 2 horses in a 2 horse race kinda kills the event entirely. .....almost as good a sporting passion killer as rain at the cricket. btw - a personal one around injuries, North Melb made the finals in '93 (first time since '87), up against the Eagles and Carey pings his hammy and after that we're just as much use as witches hats at training...... also, turned up to the '95 Prelim final North v Carlton....and it starts raining and keeps raining and we just knew that they had it all over us in the wet.....and McKernan wouldn't be able to expose 'Harry' Madden (something state liberals have been attempting for some time now!).
LK
Guest
Some of the Aussie Open women's finals spring to mind. There was a recent 6-0 6-1 victory, I think over Safina. Also the final where Henin played a set and a bit and conceded defeat.
Gibbo
Guest
brilliant!
Michael C
Roar Guru
The 9-1 and other shellackings obscures another sub category of 'give us our money back please' situations, that is the games that just didn't seem to finish the right way......and that may be more, as AndyRoo alludes to, more with respect to the 'punter' rather than just the paying customer. For me, the 4 * 200 was it girls swim team in 2001 with Petrea Thomas jumping into the water too soon....the subsequent disqualification (also of the yanks, so 3rd place GBtn won) official result just didn't quite sit right......give us a refund!!!! Greg Chappell's under arm just made the whole win over NZ at the 'G just reek. I guess the flipside is, that in Australia, we celebrate Stephen Bradbury's winter olympic triumph.....but, fans from the nations of the lads who hit the deck would probably want their money back on that event.
Midfielder
Guest
If anyone thinks that we are too mean to our players, this open letter was posted on the Grimsby Town fans website to the players talk about wanting your money back... I actually think this is a classic .. the best rant I have ever read ... I think in the mode of MC's thread .... or maybe it was Pip under another name after his unwashed Tareds get flogged. Please read and enjoy ... minor warning there is a bit if swearing in it so if that would offend then don't read. http://thefishy.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1257631840/s-new/
Tom
Guest
Fitzroy's last game in Melbourne against Richmond in 1996. 25 goal loss. Can't imagine a more hideous way for a football team to die. The braying Richmond fans didn't make it any easier. In recent times, the Victory's 4-0 loss to the Mariners. Particularly galling was the Mariner's gamesmanship after they went a goal up in the first half. At least Lawrie McKinna put a stop to that at half time. Sheffield Shield final at the Junction Oval this year. Only cost $5 to get in but that was a ripoff in terms of the excitement level of the game. Rain and a beautiful flat wicket allowed Victoria to plod their way to a comfortable draw on what should have been a great occasion.
AndyRoo
Guest
No money back in that regards, England were rubbish true but that just made it all the more enjoyable as their fans had gone overboard with their very lucky win at home. Contest was poor but entertainment was high so it was good value. I am sure the losing grand final team feels plenty of pain so I wouldn't ask for my money back on those occasions. When Australia played Uruguay in Montevideo in 2001 it was obvious that the odds for Uruguay for a win were shaped by Aussie punters emotions which completely ignored the fact Uruguay had the better team. Uruguay was paying $2.5 for a win and although I rarely bet I put some money on Uruguay as some insurance for an Australian loss. Collecting the money didn’t make me feel any better about the result though :( Wouldn't mind compensation for Mitchell Johnsons performance in the last Ashes series though.
Michael C
Roar Guru
Just thought of another.....the big build up, big anticipation....but, from that first over by Steve Harmison, Englands last Ashes assault on Australian soil was such an anti-climax.....5-0.....a 3 day MCG match and a 4 day SCG match...... ....however, it was redeemed as the travelling Warne-McGrath farewell circus. As a contest though.....it was a give us our money back!!
M1tch
Roar Guru
NSW Origin team over the last 3 years
Brett McKay
Guest
I watched India crawl to 7dec/700+ at the SCG in Stephen Waugh's last Test, and on the first day my wife foolishly decided that perhaps she should see if this whole "Day at the Test" experience that my mates and I rave about was all it was cracked up to be. It was not. She's been asking for a refund of her money and her time ever since.....
Michael C
Roar Guru
I remembered one I intended to put in the article......ever match the Scud played post US Open 1998.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Over the decades, Footscray has been the subject of so many humiiating drubbings, they all sort of merge into one giant humiliation - I'm unable to single one out off the top of my head.
GaryGnu
Guest
I watched the Adelaide Rams beat the Balmain Tigers 52-0 at Hindmarsh Stadium once in 1998. It broke my heart but I couldn't ask for my money back as I am pretty sure I didn't pay for it - which probably explains why the Rams aren't around any more.