History HilariousInHindsight / Sports

** Related to this, no one (especially his producer Drew) will ever let hockey vlogger Steve "Dangle" Glynn forget that he initially thought this trade (which saw Colorado give up Duchene for relative unknowns and draft picks) was the worst trade ever and that Avalanche GM Joe Sakic should have been ''fired'' for it. For context, one of those unknowns was Sam Girard, who scored a key goal in the Cup run, one of the draft picks became Bowen Byram, who played the most time on the ice, and (while not directly related to this trade, more a knock-on effect) having Byram meant Sakic was able to trade for Nazem Kadri, who scored very critical goals, including the one that put Colorado one game away from winning the cup. To be fair, Steve himself has admitted he was wrong about it, and in a later video analyzing the trade calls it Sakic's masterpiece.

** Related to this, no one will ever let hockey vlogger Steve "Dangle" Glynn forget that he initially thought this trade (which saw Colorado give up Duchene for relative unknowns and draft picks) was the worst trade ever and that Avalanche GM Joe Sakic should have been ''fired'' for it. For context, one of those unknowns was Sam Girard, who scored a key goal in the cup run, one of the draft picks became Bowen Byram, who played the most time on the ice, and (while not directly related to this trade, more a knock-on effect) having Byram meant Sakic was able to trade for Nazem Kadri, who scored very critical goals, including the one that put Colorado one game away from winning the cup. To be fair, Steve himself has admitted he was wrong about it, and in a later video analyzing the trade calls it Sakic's masterpiece.
-->'''Steve:''' ([[https://www.youtube.com/live/GMNCSKJ7oBo?feature=share&t=11467 immediately after the Avs win the Cup]]) My mentions are ''brutal'' right now because of that Sakic tweet.

* Related to the above, [[https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1225109-nhl-draft-the-50-biggest-busts-in-nhl-draft-history a Bleacher Report list on NHL draft busts]], when discussing Daigle being surpassed by Pronger, fellow Hall of Famer Paul Kariya and Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu, "Imagine this year’s consensus top prospect Nail Yakupov being upstaged in his career by Alex Galchenyuk, Ryan Murray and Matt Dumba." Well, Yakupov flamed out after six seasons and returned to Russia, while one decade later the other three were still reliable players.

** Even funnier is England's 1966 World Cup Final win over West Germany, where Geoff Hurst scored a goal that didn't actually cross the line (though it was due to the match officials not being able to speak the same language. FIFA wasn't as smart then than now).

* In the 1995 post-season of the PremierLeague, Manchester United sold three of their starting players - Paul Ince, Mark Hughes & Andrei Kanchelskis - and proceeded to replace them with three of their youth team; Paul Scholes, David Beckham & Nicky Butt, also bringing Gary & Phil Neville into the squad aswell. In their first game of the 95[=/=]96 season, United lost 3-1 to Aston Villa, prompting ''Match of The Day'' pundit Alan Hansen to declare "You don't win anything with kids." Come the end of the season, United won the PremierLeague & the {{FA Cup}}.

* In 2008 Plaxico Burris tried using the alias "Harris Smith" when checking himself into the hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the leg with an illegal handgun, in an attempt to avoid prosecution (it didn't work, he spent the entire 2009 and 2010 seasons in prison on gun charges before returning in 2011). Not to be confused with ''Harrison'' Smith, a two-time all-pro strong safety currently playing for the Minnesota Vikings.

* UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}}: In 2008, Clint Bowyer said that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgVrXq_Iie4 "Michael Waltrip is the worst driver in NASCAR, period."]] Cut to 2012: in his first season driving the #15 5-hour Energy Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, Bowyer won three races (Sonoma, Richmond, and Charlotte), made the Chase, and finished second in the final points standings.

* A baseball manager once said of weak-hitting pitcher Gaylord Perry that "a man would land on the moon before he hit a home run." He was right... by about 15 minutes. Perry did the deed on July 20, 1969, shortly after Apollo 11 landed. ''{{WebSite/Snopes}}'' couldn't quite [[http://www.snopes.com/sports/baseball/perry.asp verify the quote]], however.

* In Creator/KenBurns' acclaimed 1993 documentary ''Baseball'' the Red Sox and the White Sox both had "and they never won a World Series again" after respectively selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees and the Black Sox Scandal. They did win, ''eighty-something years later'' (Red Sox in 2004, White Sox one year later).
* In the 2006 [=NFL=] Draft, the first pick was held by the Houston Texans. There were three pretty big names in the draft: Vince Young (who'd just led the University of Texas to a stunning national championship), Reggie Bush, and Matt Leinart (who both played for the then-dominant University of Southern California). Instead, they chose to draft defensive end Mario Williams, and were roundly criticized by everyone. The funny part comes five years later: Leinart's a backup, Bush's team has all but severed ties with him, and Vince Young's team's owner has gone on record as saying he won't be back next year. Meanwhile, Mario Williams has gone on to be one of the game's better linemen.

* After the Dallas Mavericks won the [=NBA=] Championship, they went on ''Series/TheLateShow With Creator/DavidLetterman'' to read the Top Ten for an evening - "Top Ten Perks of Winning the [=NBA=] Championship". The #1 entry via Dirk Nowitzki was "finally, I'm gonna get my shot with a Kardashian sister!" That next offseason, Khloe's husband Lamar Odom was traded to the Mavs. Dirk's prediction may come true...

* The Boston Bruins of the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] sells shirts at TD Garden that say "Subban Is A Bitch" in reference to PK Subban of the [[TheRival Montreal Canadiens]]. However, with Boston's recent drafting of PK's younger brother Malcolm, we'll see how long those shirts will be around.
* Mets rightfielder Bobby Bonilla appeared in an episode of ''Series/LivingSingle'', where he agrees to write a column for Khadijah's magazine during the 1994 strike. While in the office, Bonilla clashes with a Jamaican employee who dismissively calls him an "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p408diqgsqM overpaid cricket player]]". After the strike ended, Bonilla played for the Orioles, Marlins, and Dodgers before returning to the Mets in 1999. In a desperate move to free up cap space, the Mets agreed to an [[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-01-04/sports/0001040254_1_bobby-bonilla-cubs-and-mets-adrian-beltre infamous deal]]: instead of releasing Bonilla and paying him his last $6 million up front, they would defer payment, with interest, until 2011 (Bonilla's playing career ended in 2001). This ensured that Bonilla will stay on the Mets payroll until ''2035'' and net nearly $30 million in the process.

* When Arizona Diamondbacks GM acquired Didi Gregorious in 2013, he compared him to a young Derek Jeter. Fast-forward to December 2014 when Gregorious was traded to the Yankees to replace...Derek Jeter.

* In fourth grade, Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers predicted that he would become a pro-football player and play for either the Niners or the Packers. He also accurately predicted that he'd be 6 foot 4 inches in height.
* During Halloween 2009, Manu Ginobili famously swatted a bat out of midair with his hand. This becomes funnier when you realize that there IS an animal called the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_short-tailed_bat Manu short-tailed bat]], and it lives in South America.
* [[NeverLiveItDown One of the more infamous stories about the Philadelphia Eagles]] was fans booing Santa Claus at a 1968 game. In the 2017-18 season, the Eagles scored the top seed in the playoffs only to have star quarterback Carson Wentz suffer a season-ending injury, leading many to think the Eagles' Super Bowl hopes were dead in the water. But backup QB Nick Foles (a previous QB for Philly) rallied the team to the Super Bowl, where they defeated the highly-favored New England Patriots and won their first-ever Super Bowl, earning him the nickname "St. Nick".
* In 1982, Atlanta Braves pitcher Pascual Pérez, then a newly-licensed driver, missed an August 19 start because he circled the I-285 beltway, known locally as "The Perimeter", thrice while looking for Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which was located ''inside'' The Perimeter near the intersection of I-75[=/=]I-85 and I-20. 35 years later, the Braves moved into a new ballpark, [=SunTrust=] Park, located just off The Perimeter, where it intersects the north side of I-75.

* In Week 3 of the 1992 NFL season, Green Bay Packers' star quarterback Don Majkowski fell to injury in the first quarter, and the backup quarterback, a second-year player with a spotty track record, had to come in in his place. As said backup quarterback came onto the field, commentator Jim Lampley explained to TV viewers that the Packers had made a valuable trade to get him and commented, seeming a little skeptical, that "they are hopeful he can succeed in the NFL". The backup quarterback's name? ''Brett Favre''.

* In Week 3 of the 1992 NFL season, Green Bay Packers' star quarterback Don Majkowski fell to injury in the first quarter, and the backup quarterback, a second-year player with a spotty track record, had to come in in his place. As said backup quarterback came onto the field, commentator Jim Lampley explained to TV viewers that the Packers had made a valuable trade to get him and commented that "they are hopeful he can succeed in the NFL". The backup quarterback's name? ''Brett Favre''.

* In Week 3 of the 1992 NFL season, Green Bay Packers' star quarterback Don Majkowski fell to injury in the first quarter, and the backup quarterback, a second-year player with a spotty track record, had to come in in his place. As said backup quarterback came onto the field, commentators mentioned that the Packers had made a valuable trade to get him and that "they are hopeful he can succeed in the NFL". The backup quarterback's name? ''Brett Favre''.

* In Week 3 of the 1992 NFL season, Green Bay Packers' star quarterback Don Majkowski fell to injury in the first quarter, and the backup quarterback, a second-year player with a spotty track record, had to come in in his place. As the backup came onto the field, commentators mentioned that the Packers had made a valuable trade to get him and that "they are hopeful he can succeed in the NFL". The backup quarterback's name? ''Brett Favre''.

* In the mid-1980's, the USFL's New Jersey Generals, owned by future President Donald Trump, made it to the playoffs in two of their three seasons of existence, but got knocked out both times by the Philadelphia (later Baltimore) Stars. Decades later, in the 2020 Presidential election, Pennsylvania would get the better of Trump again, as its electoral votes went to Joe Biden, himself a Pennsylvania native, to put Biden over the 270 mark and clinch the Electoral College.

** Another, which might not count: basketballer Rafael Araújo (who even played some time for the Raptors) was known in Brazil as Baby. Then for numerology, he decided to rewrite his nickname as... Bábby. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_RaPOOVX1Y Yes.]]

* In the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketBallAssociation NBA]], center Dwight Howard began his career as an Orlando Magic, with hype of becoming a championship winning, star franchise player. However, this turned out not to be the case, as he suffered from EveryYearTheyFizzleOut during his career, despite achieving milestones like winning defensive player of the year three times. He would end up being bounced from one team to another, until in 2020, he ended up as a player for the Los Angeles Lakers and helped them win a championship during the restart bubble season during the Covid-19 pandemic against the Miami Heat... in Orlando Florida. [[note]]Orlando Florida was one of the few places chosen to set up a Covid-19 prevention basketball court known as "The Bubble", so the NBA teams can finish out their season.[[/note]]

* In the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketBallAssociation NBA]], center Dwight Howard began his career as an Orlando Magic, with hype of becoming a championship winning, star franchise player. However, this turned out not to be the case, as he suffered from EveryYearTheyFizzleOut during his career, despite achieving milestones like winning defensive player of the year three times. He would end up being bounced from one team to another, until in 2020, he ended up as a player for the Los Angeles Lakers and helped them win a championship during the restart bubble season during the Covid-19 pandemic against the Miami Heat... in Orlando Florida.

** Even funnier is England's 1966 World Cup Final win over West Germany, where Geoff Hurst scored a goal that didn't actually cross the line (though it was due to the match officials not being able to speak the same language. FIFA wasn't as smart then than is is now).

* A television ad proclaiming American Football quarterback Eli Manning to be "Unstoppable" became hilarious as he had two of the worst games in NFL history, then became funny in an ironic sort of way when the same player had an uncharacteristically great run in the playoffs, and then...
* A T-Mobile ad which took several moments from everyday life, replacing the word "goodbye" with the word "hello", featured a Brett Favre press conference, spoofing his recent retirement: "After seventeen seasons, it's time for me to say... hello." By the time the commercial made it to air, Brett Favre had already stated his desire to play another season.
** It's become even more hilarious since Favre has retired AND unretired again. He's retired again now, but who knows if it'll stick.

* Given Helio Castroneves indictment for tax evasion there's something cruelly amusing about his trademark victory celebration of climbing up race track debris fences/prison fences.

* In the acclaimed 1993 documentary ''Baseball'' the Red Sox and the White Sox both had "and they never won a World Series again" after respectively selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees and the Black Sox Scandal. They did win, ''eighty-something years later'' (Red Sox in 2004, White Sox one year later).