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Been poking around club boards looking for dream team smokies and noticed a few threads like this, thought it might be cool to see here, I mean we as a club specialise in routinely ripping our fans hearts out through their eyeballs- there should be an extensive list...hell in the last 2 years we have agonisingly lost after the siren multiple times, some clubs boards might have the gc, coll and port muggings in their top 5s for pain, for us it's just chicken feed.
Anyhow we are talking those losses that really knocked you about, you might have shed a tear, you might have still been feeling it a week later, teams win and lose each week, it's normal but there are these extra special losses that leave a mark.
(Let's be honest, any red blooded Essendon fan will all have the same one #1 but let's go through the motions anyway)
Here's a few of mine leading into the top 3
89 prelim v Geelong
Ten year old me toddled off to the g to see us destroy Geelong 3 weeks earlier, we looked awesome after finishing second on the ladder, hawthorn softened us up in the precursor, dermie flattened vdh, but I came out of that game thinking we were not far off them in a potential gf, just had to get there, Geelong had other ideas, 160 point turnaround. Tears were shed.
1990 grand final v coll
More tears were shed. How could we kill the collywobbles?
95 semi final v Richmond
Up by 5 goals at half time, cruising, enter scott turner who destroys Gary O'Donnell and awakens the tiger army... Painful on all accounts.
....onto my top 3
3. 2014 elimination final v the minnow
Cruising at half time, then some kid that looks like a
decides to become a footballer, and Frank the tank makes an appearance - unforgivable loss!
2. 1996 prelim v Sydney
Sure we may have been under dogs this game but there was a real feeling we really wanted that gold centenary cup, we flew out the blocks in the lightning premiership and looked primed all season, after losing to Brisbane by a point agonisingly 2 weeks earlier this one really stung, we'd opened up a late 2 goal lead when Symonds hit a cheeky banana, Lloyd was gone with a spleen, bewick in a dressing gown with whiplash yet we were still on for a famous victory.. yeh nah. Could somebody have chopped off that plugger lead? Is it worth death? We just handed the minnow a flag with. Legend has it Sheedy gave the worst spray of his career which he still regrets.
#1 you know it, 99 prelim v Carlton
Best side all year, up against the old foe... how could we let this happen? All those late moments still etched, Mercs head in hands missing a soda, Wallis with the world at his disposal decides to try break through a junk yard dog first...Murphy holding the ball aloft. Horrible horrible times. I just sat there tier 3 of the ponsford in tears , numb, as that stupid bass droned round the stadium bap ba dup dada. ...and we just gave the minnows another flag. I don't even care if it spurred on 2000, if i could rewrite any game, it's this one.
Anyway, over to you, heartbreaking games for you?
Anyhow we are talking those losses that really knocked you about, you might have shed a tear, you might have still been feeling it a week later, teams win and lose each week, it's normal but there are these extra special losses that leave a mark.
(Let's be honest, any red blooded Essendon fan will all have the same one #1 but let's go through the motions anyway)
Here's a few of mine leading into the top 3
89 prelim v Geelong
Ten year old me toddled off to the g to see us destroy Geelong 3 weeks earlier, we looked awesome after finishing second on the ladder, hawthorn softened us up in the precursor, dermie flattened vdh, but I came out of that game thinking we were not far off them in a potential gf, just had to get there, Geelong had other ideas, 160 point turnaround. Tears were shed.
1990 grand final v coll
More tears were shed. How could we kill the collywobbles?
95 semi final v Richmond
Up by 5 goals at half time, cruising, enter scott turner who destroys Gary O'Donnell and awakens the tiger army... Painful on all accounts.
....onto my top 3
3. 2014 elimination final v the minnow
Cruising at half time, then some kid that looks like a
![Clown face :clown: 🤡](https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/twemoji/14.0.2/72x72/1f921.png)
2. 1996 prelim v Sydney
Sure we may have been under dogs this game but there was a real feeling we really wanted that gold centenary cup, we flew out the blocks in the lightning premiership and looked primed all season, after losing to Brisbane by a point agonisingly 2 weeks earlier this one really stung, we'd opened up a late 2 goal lead when Symonds hit a cheeky banana, Lloyd was gone with a spleen, bewick in a dressing gown with whiplash yet we were still on for a famous victory.. yeh nah. Could somebody have chopped off that plugger lead? Is it worth death? We just handed the minnow a flag with. Legend has it Sheedy gave the worst spray of his career which he still regrets.
#1 you know it, 99 prelim v Carlton
Best side all year, up against the old foe... how could we let this happen? All those late moments still etched, Mercs head in hands missing a soda, Wallis with the world at his disposal decides to try break through a junk yard dog first...Murphy holding the ball aloft. Horrible horrible times. I just sat there tier 3 of the ponsford in tears , numb, as that stupid bass droned round the stadium bap ba dup dada. ...and we just gave the minnows another flag. I don't even care if it spurred on 2000, if i could rewrite any game, it's this one.
Anyway, over to you, heartbreaking games for you?