Cry Week: The Most Recent Sports Moment That Made You Cry

It’s “Cry Week” at SBNation.

Hey, I’m a sensitive guy. My understanding is you can do that now. It’s allowed. My kids make fun of me for it, but they make fun of me for everything.

I cry more at movies than I do at sports. You watch the end of “Au Revoir les infants” or “Cinema Paradiso”, the most romantic film ever made, tell me you don’t feel, and I’ll tell you you’re a heartless bastard.

I sing Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Only wanna be with you” while I’m on the walkpaths and change the words to “those Huskers make me cry” because they do - especially in the past few years.

So, share with us, CN Community. Let it go.

Jon Johnston

I came from a generation of men who weren’t supposed to cry no matter the circumstance. Maybe a death in the family, a cherished love one would allow for a tear or two, but no flowing, red, puffy-eyed bullshit; that kind of stuff is for sissies. Then came Alan Alda in M*A*S*H and things started to loosen up a little.

I was very upset last month when Nebraska did not have the spring game. Very much upset. The spring game is a wonderful time at which we all gather together in Lincoln to worship our favorite team in a glorified scrimmage. I’ve shot the spring game the past few years as a photographer and I was looking forward to going again, seeing some friends and people from the CN Staff. It was NOT to be. I have come to love shooting sports, and the idea that I wouldn’t be doing that, the Big Ten Baseball tournament or the College World Series.

The spring game is a great get together. It didn’t happen. I was so upset that weekend I did the flowing, red, puffy-eyed bullshit, and did it in front of other people.

Dammit. It still bothers me.

Akelo Roberts

I shed angry tears at the Purdue game last year. We needed 2 more wins to become bowl-eligible, and our last 4 games were @Purdue, home vs. Wisconsin, @Maryland & home vs. Iowa. I knew Wisconsin & Iowa would be tough outs and Purdue and Maryland looked terrible at the time.

We went to West Lafayette and laid an absolute egg. Purdue looked like they didn't even want to be out there, but we looked like a complete mess on offense. Adrian played like a walk-on from Albion, and our linebackers looked like they had cinderblocks for feet. Somehow we gave Purdue the game.

I also cried at the Colorado game last year. I was actually at Folsom Field for this game. The first half we looked like Big Ten title contenders. The stadium was rocking, the GO BIG RED & HUSKER POWER chants were causing seismic activity! The defense looked like they were out for blood! Then the 2nd half happened. When Steven Montez connected with K.D. Nixon on the 96 yard flea flicker touchdown I got the feeling in my stomach I get every time I know a Nebraska Cornhusker implosion is impending. When Isaac Armstrong's field goal attempt hooked right in overtime my heart sank. Seeing the Puffs fans storm the field sickened me. On the highway from Boulder back to Denver while stuck in traffic, people were on the overhead pedestrian walkways hanging CU flags and singing the fight song and screaming "fuck Nebraska!" It was a debilitating loss that dejected the fanbase and hung a dark cloud over the rest of the season.

Nate M:

I don’t cry.

Nate M:

Okay, maybe it has happened. Truthfully don’t think it has ever happened with sports. I’ll cry during movies. I’m “man enough” to admit that.

Though the closest would have been when the Chicago Cubs came back to win game 7 of the 2016 World Series. When Rajai Davis tied it up with a homer off of Chapman I thought it was over. It just felt that way.

Then Zobrist hit the double and I just couldn’t believe it. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

My wife gave me a blu-ray of the entire world series. I might just have to watch it tonight.

BriannaC:

I’m not much of a crier.

Until I became a mom even movies didn’t really make me cry. Then these damn kids (just kidding, they’re great) came along and made me all semi-normal. In fact I was just watching A League of Their Own and teared up multiple times. What has happened to me?

Anyway, back to the sports moment. Jack Hoffman’s touchdown in the 2013 spring game had me in tears. I was so touched by the moment that was given to him and his family and in awe of a program willing to raise the spirits of a young boy and also give his cause a national stage. Going along with this, his ESPY win also had me bawling.

Mike

The 1994 Orange Bowl with the phantom clip and ignored Florida State fumbles was a gut punch that pretty much kept me in a foul mood until at least January 3rd, but it didn’t raise a tear. Anger, yes. Tears, no.

However, when Cory Schlesinger tumbled into that same end zone with 2:46 remaining one year later, there were tears of joy. And to this day, whenever I see a replay of that game, it always seems to get dusty wherever I happen to be.

The 1996 Fiesta Bowl and 1998 Orange Bowls were more dominating performances, but they don’t elicit the same emotional reaction. Perhaps it’s because Miami was the better of the three opponents, but I suspect it was the emotion of wiping away the horrors of past disappointments.

But that doesn’t compare to the tears that flowed the evening of April 18, 1996, when it came out that Brook Berringer had been killed in a plane crash.

Jonathan

Im going with the first time a husker game made me cry because i haven't cried over them recently. Im now used to us being mediocre and not making bowl games.

The first time i cried over a Husker football game was the 2009 big 12 championship game against Texas.

I was watching with buddy who is a die hard Texas fan. After we hit the field goal to go up 2 i had alot of confidence in our defense. After the kick out of bounds i had that uh oh feeling in my stomach. They drive down to field goal range and we all know about the 1 second that should have never happened. I literally fell to my knees and could not hold the tears back.

To this day ill get random messages from him giving me shit about this game and it still makes me want to cry.

Patrick

Not big on crying. I think I whimpered a little after Nebraska lost to Florida State in the 1994 Orange Bowl. I was in junior high back then so I am sure my hormones were playing into it. Crying is good. I just don’t have a history with it.

Andy K

I can’t remember crying over a loss since I turned 12. AT that age, I started taking the more mature approach - you know, raging like an utter jackass and punching and breaking things. When Roy Jones lost a gold medal decision at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, despite outlanding his home court opponent about 237-3 on Punchstat, I threw a freakout that ended with some broken slats on a closet door and hole in our ottoman from a beautifully delivered heel kick. Luckily my roommates were amused.

The Florida St. loss in the 1994 Orange Bowl almost caused tears of rage, but another of our angry friends headbutted the hood of our host’s car and then one of our other disappointed friends in anger who immediately vomited in the front yard. Suddenly I wasn’t that mad anymore and really, really glad I wasn’t on the receiving end of the headbutt.

These days the tears are always of joy where sports are concerned and sometimes it doesn’t take much. I’ve been watching a lot of videos, YouTube highlights etc. lately and came across this one about Michael Phelps:

I knew there was an incident of getting caught on film smoking weed and a rehab stint after some disappointment in London and not much else. He came back In Rio and starred again, winning five gold medals, happy ending, right?

I had never realized the depths to which he sunk emotionally in those four years between London and Rio. And in an interview he was asked, “At the age of 31, an advanced age for a swimmer, do you think you still have a personal best in you?”

I had to cancel a hike in early April due to Covid concerns and after getting over that disappointment, had begun planning another hike that would still be beyond anything I’ve attempted (I am much older than 31) and something about that line just hits home every time I hear it - and when he follows up shortly with, “I decided to come back,” - well...

The heart pounds, the eyes moisten and I make another appointment to hit the stairs or the trail for some training. Tears of joy, people, tears of joy. Thanks, Michael.

Patrick G.

I was getting home from basketball practice late on that night of December 1, 2012. Lucas Oil Stadium. The home of the B1G 10 Championship game. Wisconsin vs. Nebraska. I recorded the game so I could watch it from the beginning with my brothers.

I was excited until I saw the names Melvin Gordon and Montee Ball. Taylor Martinez let us down again. Wisconsin ended up with 539 rushing yards. They passed the ball only ten times and scored 70 points. I was pissed. I shed a tear because I knew it’d be a while until I saw Nebraska in the conference championship game again. Boy was I right.