Every Year They Fizzle Out: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|'''Chris Graham''': Well, they always do. This year, Arizona was supposed to make the Elite Eight. Instead, once again, they turned out to be the Tournament's [[Person as Verb|Peyton Manning]].

'''Ted Trimble'''<ref>played by Peyton Manning</ref> : What do you mean?

'''Ted Trimble''':<ref>played by Peyton Manning</ref> What do you mean?

'''Chris Graham''': Well, you know how, every year, Arizona comes in with impressive stats and all the hype, and, [[Trope Namer|every year, they.. fizzle out!]]

'''Ted Trimble''': Yeah.. sure. But why is that a Peyton Manning?

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** Two words for you, my friend: [[Never Live It Down|Appalachian State]].

** Ohio State's victory in The Game 2006 turned out to be a Pyrrhic one; they ended up losing to Florida in the national title game. Speaking of...

* Ohio State is a perennial powerhouse and generally acknowledged by everybody except Michigan fans as the top team in the Big 10. But they also have a well-earned reputation for postseason futility against the Southeastern Conference<ref>They haven't fared much better in regular season games against the SEC, recording only 1 win in school history against an SEC team other than eternal losers Kentucky and Vanderbilt.</ref>, with their only bowl win against an SEC team being in the 2011 Sugar Bowl against Arkansas...which was officially vacated (along with all of their other wins for the 2010-2011 season) due to OSU putting 5 ineligible players on the field. The losing streak against the SEC includes two years in a row in which a #1 ranked Ohio State met an SEC team in the national championship game, and proceeded to lose in embarrassing fashion (once to Florida and once to LSU).

* Ohio State is a perennial powerhouse and generally acknowledged by everybody except Michigan fans as the top team in the Big 10. But they also have a well-earned reputation for postseason futility against the Southeastern Conference,<ref>They haven't fared much better in regular season games against the SEC, recording only 1 win in school history against an SEC team other than eternal losers Kentucky and Vanderbilt.</ref> with their only bowl win against an SEC team being in the 2011 Sugar Bowl against Arkansas...which was officially vacated (along with all of their other wins for the 2010-2011 season) due to OSU putting 5 ineligible players on the field. The losing streak against the SEC includes two years in a row in which a #1 ranked Ohio State met an SEC team in the national championship game, and proceeded to lose in embarrassing fashion (once to Florida and once to LSU).

* While we're still on the subject of Big Ten teams, let's not forget Michigan State. They have been known by fans and detractors alike as "illusionists" and "pretenders": often times they would always get off to a flying start only to end with late season collapses and embarrassing losses. For the 2010-2011 season, it seemed that they may have finally proven themselves to be a real contender<ref> well, to everyone except Iowa fans, due the 37-6 beatdown that the Hawkeyes inflicted on the Spartans</ref>, sharing the Big Ten title with Wisconsin and Ohio State. Then came the Capital One Bowl against Alabama, which was a loss deemed so bad by many<ref> [[Curb Stomp Battle|Alabama won]] ''[[Curb Stomp Battle|49-7]]''.</ref> that people wondered why they even bothered to show up to the game, let alone continue to play after halftime. In turn, the team lost the credibility they built up that year, as people just chalked up the loss to Michigan State [[Status Quo Is God|"holding their illusion up longer than usual"]].

* While we're still on the subject of Big Ten teams, let's not forget Michigan State. They have been known by fans and detractors alike as "illusionists" and "pretenders": often times they would always get off to a flying start only to end with late season collapses and embarrassing losses. For the 2010-2011 season, it seemed that they may have finally proven themselves to be a real contender,<ref>well, to everyone except Iowa fans, due the 37-6 beatdown that the Hawkeyes inflicted on the Spartans</ref> sharing the Big Ten title with Wisconsin and Ohio State. Then came the Capital One Bowl against Alabama, which was a loss deemed so bad by many<ref>[[Curb Stomp Battle|Alabama won]] ''[[Curb Stomp Battle|49-7]]''.</ref> that people wondered why they even bothered to show up to the game, let alone continue to play after halftime. In turn, the team lost the credibility they built up that year, as people just chalked up the loss to Michigan State [[Status Quo Is God|"holding their illusion up longer than usual"]].

** They finally shed the label in 2011-12 by beating an SEC opponent (Georgia) in the Outback Bowl. ''In double-overtime.'' The fact that it came down to hoping for Georgia's kicker to miss a chip-shot field goal in the first overtime and blocking a field-goal in the second overtime did not make the win any more impressive.

* In College Basketball, the NCAA men's and women's tournaments are a subversion of this trope, given that besides the usual powerhouses, different teams tend to appear every other year. One exception is Arizona, who was the last men's team with a notable tournament streak-25 straight appearances (until 2010). In fact, one of the attractions to March Madness is that it's incredibly, exceedingly difficult for one team to make it to the Final Four two years in a row. On the women's side, however, that is not exactly the case with [[Boring Invincible Hero~~|Boring Invincible Heroines~~]] Connecticut, Tennessee and Stanford. Any one of the three is a safe bet to reach the Final Four year in and year out.

* In College Basketball, the NCAA men's and women's tournaments are a subversion of this trope, given that besides the usual powerhouses, different teams tend to appear every other year. One exception is Arizona, who was the last men's team with a notable tournament streak-25 straight appearances (until 2010). In fact, one of the attractions to March Madness is that it's incredibly, exceedingly difficult for one team to make it to the Final Four two years in a row. On the women's side, however, that is not exactly the case with [[Boring Invincible Hero]]ines Connecticut, Tennessee and Stanford. Any one of the three is a safe bet to reach the Final Four year in and year out.

** University of North Carolina has been a long-dominant team, but had a nasty reputation between 1976 and 2005 as the '''U'''niversity '''N'''oted for '''C'''hoking, because they only won ''three'' championships in thirty years despite regularly making the top 8 or the Final Four.

** People who fill out men's brackets have learned to take Duke and Kentucky no further than the Elite Eight in most cases. In fairness, Duke won the national title in 2010, and Kentucky in 2012.

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** This whole ordeal is now [[Harsher in Hindsight]] for the Rays and Yankees. Both teams lost in the AL Division Series to the Rangers and Tigers, respectively. "Game 162" was meaningless for the Yankees; they had already won the AL East and were in the playoffs win or lose.

** It's also this for the Braves when you remember that the Cardinals ended up winning the title.

** And the historical capper: Both teams set the mark for biggest blown September leads in baseball ''history''. The Red Sox led the Rays for the AL Wild Card by 9 games on September ~~3rd~~, the Braves led the Cardinals for the NL wild card by 8.5, and no team had ever squandered such a commanding lead in September, with their mathematical odds of reaching the playoffs each being over 99%. Since the Red Sox are the more signature franchise and were the favorites to win it all after adding superstar Carl Crawford, they grabbed most of the headlines, much to the small consolation of the Braves, who are basically the MLB leader in this trope over the last 20 years.

** And the historical capper: Both teams set the mark for biggest blown September leads in baseball ''history''. The Red Sox led the Rays for the AL Wild Card by 9 games on September 3, the Braves led the Cardinals for the NL wild card by 8.5, and no team had ever squandered such a commanding lead in September, with their mathematical odds of reaching the playoffs each being over 99%. Since the Red Sox are the more signature franchise and were the favorites to win it all after adding superstar Carl Crawford, they grabbed most of the headlines, much to the small consolation of the Braves, who are basically the MLB leader in this trope over the last 20 years.

** Needless to say, probably the greatest day of baseball ''ever''.

* The New York Mets have gotten this in the past few years. Oftentimes, they'll start the year playing fairly well, but by August or September, things will go wrong enough for them to be out. The worst of these were their epic collapses in both 2007 and 2008.

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***** Since then, LeBron's eventual descent has led many people to believe that just perhaps, [[The Cuckoolander Was Right|it wasn't so insane after all]].

** LeBron James might just be on his way to being an individual player example of this trope, as after his eventual descent by taking his talents to South Beach, it still proved to be fruitless with the Heat being upset by the Mavericks in the Finals. It didn't help that in the series, LeBron was notably ineffective in the fourth quarter (leading to many jokes about how asking LeBron to give you change for a dollar will get you 75 cents<ref>[[Don't Explain the Joke|as in, 3 quarters]]</ref>), not scoring more than 10 points in the 4th quarter of any game. Nor did it help that the Heat's other two stars, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (especially Wade) generally seemed to be putting forth much greater effort. Basketball fans (''especially'' those from Cleveland) see this as quite a fitting outcome.

* NBA cousins Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter are widely considered individual-player versions of this trope, to such an extent that nearly EVERY team they play on (they've both played for 4+ teams EACH) happen to find limited success in the post-season. Tracy McGrady's Houston Rockets eventually ended a drought of not winning a Playoff series since acquiring ~~him-- as~~ SOON as he was sidelined by injury and unable to play. Maybe this trope should be named after McGrady.

* NBA cousins Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter are widely considered individual-player versions of this trope, to such an extent that nearly EVERY team they play on (they've both played for 4+ teams EACH) happen to find limited success in the post-season. Tracy McGrady's Houston Rockets eventually ended a drought of not winning a Playoff series since acquiring him—as SOON as he was sidelined by injury and unable to play. Maybe this trope should be named after McGrady.

** As of the 2011-12 season both McGrady (by now playing for the Atlanta Hawks) and Carter (playing for the Dallas Mavericks) were bounced in the first round by the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

*** The Atlanta Hawks dealt with injuries and inconsistent play throughout the team, the Dallas Mavericks lost [[Stone Wall|Tyson CHandler]] in the off-season and their defense and rebounding took a major hit because of it.

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** ....Against the [[The Juggernaut|1984 San Francisco 49ers]]. Marino never stood a chance.

* The Dallas Cowboys, despite being one of the most successful teams in NFL history, had not won a playoff game for years until their home win in the 2010 wildcard round. This has become increasingly worse for Cowboy fans in the last two years with the Cowboys being easily one of the most dominant teams in the league, but choking in the first round (first time was against the Seahawks with a gimme field goal being botched and the second time they lost outright to the heavy underdog Giants). The Cowboys finally got a postseason win over Philadelphia in the NFC wild-card round.

** And this isn't the '''FIRST''' time that could apply for the Cowboys. During a stretch between 1966 and 1970, the Cowboys were one win away from advancing to the NFL (pre-merger) Championship game (losing to Cleveland in the divisional playoffs in 1968 and 1969), after narrowly losing to Green Bay the two preceding years in surprisingly close matches that cost Dallas a shot at appearing in the first two [[Super Bowl~~|Super Bowls~~]]. The year they finally broke through, 1970, they lost the exceptionally sloppy Super Bowl V to the Baltimore Colts with kicker Jim O'Brien's game-winning field goal; resulting in the Cowboys' being dubbed "Next Year's Champions" (a moniker they would finally shed in Super Bowl VI against the Miami Dolphins)

** And this isn't the '''FIRST''' time that could apply for the Cowboys. During a stretch between 1966 and 1970, the Cowboys were one win away from advancing to the NFL (pre-merger) Championship game (losing to Cleveland in the divisional playoffs in 1968 and 1969), after narrowly losing to Green Bay the two preceding years in surprisingly close matches that cost Dallas a shot at appearing in the first two [[Super Bowl]]s. The year they finally broke through, 1970, they lost the exceptionally sloppy Super Bowl V to the Baltimore Colts with kicker Jim O'Brien's game-winning field goal; resulting in the Cowboys' being dubbed "Next Year's Champions" (a moniker they would finally shed in Super Bowl VI against the Miami Dolphins)

** One more instance of this trope hitting the Cowboys was the early 1980s. Between the 1980 and 1982 seasons, Danny White ([[Replacement Scrappy|replacing the retired Roger Staubach]]) led Dallas to 3 straight NFC Championship appearances only to lose all three, first to Philadelphia, then San Francisco following a thrilling conclusion with young quarterback Joe Montana throwing the winning pass to a leaping Dwight Clark, and finally [[The Rival|arch-rival]] Washington in a game where Danny was knocked out early. These games, combined with the Cowboys' decline soon after, relegated Danny White to the status as being known as [[My Friends and Zoidberg|the Dallas quarterback between Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman]], despite having stats that surpassed Aikman and rivaled Roger's.

*** Another instance of this trope in regards to Cowboys QBs has to be Tony Romo, their current starter. After a series of HORRIBLE starting quarterbacks after the injury-induced retirement of legend Troy Aikman(Chad Hutchinson, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testeverde, and a washed-up Drew Bledsoe), Tony Romo burst onto the scene in 2006, showing incredible talent and drive and reigniting a fizzled interest in the Cowboys franchise, with a decent ability to scramble, a Favre-like gunslinging style of play, and a strong arm capable of deep passing plays. However, the crucial moments of each of his starting seasons(sans 2010, which he missed most of due to a broken clavicle), ended with heartbreaking losses due mostly to blunders on the part of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FOTeWUjHIo Romo himself.] The one time Tony Romo's won a playoff game was 2009, and the jury's still out on whether this is the exception rather than the rule.

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** The fact that ESPN analysts often picked them as "a team to watch out for" and "playoff-bound" did not help matters, as their disappointing finishes rewarded them with nicknames such as "Forever 8-8" and "Next Year's ''Divisional'' Champions", a combination of an insult and a reference to the Cowboys' years of being this trope in the 60s.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers between 1994 and 2004 (all under Bill Cowher) advanced to the AFC Championship game five times and lost four of those (and would have lost the 1995 game against Indianapolis had receiver Aaron Bailey not dropped a last-second Hail Mary). The really frustrating fact about this? All five of those games, the Steelers were the home team.

* Another American football example: the Cleveland Browns went to three conference championships in four years (~~1986-87~~, 1989) and lost every time. To the same team. Who went on to lose the Super Bowl every time.

* Another American football example: the Cleveland Browns went to three conference championships in four years (1986–87, 1989) and lost every time. To the same team. Who went on to lose the Super Bowl every time.

** The City of Cleveland itself can qualify. They haven't won a professional sports title since 1964. The heavily-favored Cavaliers didn't even make it to the Finals in 2009.

** Joke: Do you know why Toledo, Ohio doesn't have a professional football team? Because then Cleveland would want one too.

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** The 2011 season had an odd example; thanks to not one, not two, but THREE teams slipping up in the last week of the season (Jets, Broncos and Raiders), the Bengals made the playoffs regardless of losing to the Ravens in their last regular-season game. The Bengals then went on to get destroyed by the Houston Texans, who were playing their first playoff game in franchise history.

** Thus they're better known to fans as the Cincinnati ''[[Fan Nickname|Bungles]]''.

* Although in most years they're straight-up hapless [[Butt Monkey~~|Butt Monkeys~~]], in the rare seasons that they even seem remotely competitive, the Detroit Lions seem to choke. Most painful was when they lost to the ''terrible'' (at the time) Chicago Bears in the last game of the regular season, losing a spot in the playoffs.

* Although in most years they're straight-up hapless [[Butt Monkey]]s, in the rare seasons that they even seem remotely competitive, the Detroit Lions seem to choke. Most painful was when they lost to the ''terrible'' (at the time) Chicago Bears in the last game of the regular season, losing a spot in the playoffs.

** It was basically this trope that resulted in ''Barry freaking Sanders'' to retire from the game, even though he was within one good season of passing Walter Payton, and barring injury, could've put the all-time rushing record out of even Emmitt Smith's reach. The Lions followed up two of their best seasons, 1991 (going 12-4 and getting their only playoff win since 1957 to date, over an up-and-coming Dallas squad) and 1995 (in which Herman Moore and Brett Perriman became the first teammates to finish 1-2 in total receptions) with 5-11 records the following year. Barry didn't walk away because of any issues with coach Bobby Ross, as was speculated at the time, but because the front office absolutely failed to make the necessary moves to improve the team (especially on defense), and the lack of a winning culture that resulted drained him of his love for the game. Needless to say, [[It Got Worse]] under the Matt Millen administration, which saw the Lions' [[Butt Monkey]] status not only cemented, but fellow perennial cellar-dweller Arizona make the Super Bowl for the first time (a feat the Lions have yet to accomplish).

** The 2011 Lions, which went 10-6, have given the team new hope. Only to those hopes dashed by a dominating 45-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints...who not long ago were in the same "perennial [[Butt Monkey]]" boat as the Lions.

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* Under head coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons have had four straight winning seasons and playoff appearances in three of them. All three of those playoff appearances (two wild cards, one divisional) a first appearance loss. The fact that in each loss, the team that beat them would go on to the Super Bowl, probably doesn't help, nor does the fact that they were the favored team in each of their losses.

** This has lead to Matt Ryan receiving the "overrated" and "choker" label by his detractors: A common response used in any response to people talking about Matt Ryan being one of the league's top quarterbacks on [[Image Boards]] is "Playoff wins: 0". Kind of ironic, when you remember his days at Boston College, where he was known as a clutch QB (Hence the nickname, Matty Ice).

* The Baltimore Ravens are starting to show some dangerous signs of becoming just another team that can't seal the deal. Since their Super Bowl Win over a decade ago (2000-01 Season), it's been nothing but seasons of "almosts" in the Charm City. For the past decade now the Ravens have been an AFC contender consistently fielding one of the league's most prolific Defenses led by stars Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. It hasn't brought the Ravens much success from 2002-2007 when Baltimore underwent a long postseason win drought (Reached the Postseason Twice, lost both first games at ''home'' until the losing streak was snapped in 2008), but that was perhaps easier for fans to take than the John Harbaugh-coached period of 2008 to the present, where the Ravens have reached the playoffs four seasons in a row and coming up short of the Super Bowl each time. The latest postseason collapse (2011-12 AFC Championship Game) perhaps being the most painful chapter yet, thanks to Lee Evans<ref>''Dropped the Game-Winning Touchdown that would've sent the Ravens to the Super Bowl.''</ref> and Billy Cundiff <ref> ''Missed the Game-tying Field Goal that would've sent the game into Overtime''</ref>, with an assist from the officials<ref> ''Failed to call an obvious pass interference penalty on the play between those epic failures.''</ref>.

* The Baltimore Ravens are starting to show some dangerous signs of becoming just another team that can't seal the deal. Since their Super Bowl Win over a decade ago (2000-01 Season), it's been nothing but seasons of "almosts" in the Charm City. For the past decade now the Ravens have been an AFC contender consistently fielding one of the league's most prolific Defenses led by stars Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. It hasn't brought the Ravens much success from 2002-2007 when Baltimore underwent a long postseason win drought (Reached the Postseason Twice, lost both first games at ''home'' until the losing streak was snapped in 2008), but that was perhaps easier for fans to take than the John Harbaugh-coached period of 2008 to the present, where the Ravens have reached the playoffs four seasons in a row and coming up short of the Super Bowl each time. The latest postseason collapse (2011-12 AFC Championship Game) perhaps being the most painful chapter yet, thanks to Lee Evans<ref>''Dropped the Game-Winning Touchdown that would've sent the Ravens to the Super Bowl.''</ref> and Billy Cundiff,<ref>''Missed the Game-tying Field Goal that would've sent the game into Overtime''</ref> with an assist from the officials.<ref>''Failed to call an obvious pass interference penalty on the play between those epic failures.''</ref>

** The four straight AFC Championship losses have caused the Ravens to be labelled as the [[Spiritual Successor]] to the early 90s Buffalo Bills mentioned above <ref> The last AFC Championship loss ended ''eerily'' similar to one of the Bills Super Bowl losses...</ref>. Some consider it an insult...[[Insult to Rocks|to Buffalo]], that is. At least the Bills ''made'' the Super Bowl.

** The four straight AFC Championship losses have caused the Ravens to be labelled as the [[Spiritual Successor]] to the early 90s Buffalo Bills mentioned above.<ref>The last AFC Championship loss ended ''eerily'' similar to one of the Bills Super Bowl losses...</ref> Some consider it an insult...[[Insult to Rocks|to Buffalo]], that is. At least the Bills ''made'' the Super Bowl.

=== NHL ===

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** To be fair, in 2012, when the Capitals arguably got their fizzling out done during the season itself when they dramatically failed to meet very high expectations, after squeaking into the post-season they played fairly respectably through two long playoff rounds, upsetting the reigning champions in the first round, but they still lost in the second.

* The Philadelphia Flyers. Thirty-four playoff appearances in forty-two seasons (and fourteen of the last fifteen), but only two Stanley Cups, and none since 1975. Part of the problem is that unbelievable consistency prevents them from bottoming out and having the ability to select a slur of high draft picks; their arch rival Pittsburgh Penguins are built on the first overall pick in 2003 (Marc-Andre Fleury), second overall in 2004 (Evgeni Malkin), first overall in 2005 (Sidney Crosby), and second overall in 2006 (Jordan Staal). Not to mention how the Penguins had a meteoric rise in the 1980s after drafting a young Mario Lemieux...

** The Flyers "bottomed out" in the mid-1990s, spending heavily to acquire the rights to Eric Lindros from Quebec (which was the first of a series of trades that built the Nordiques into the Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche). They did eventually build back up, led by the "Legion of Doom" line<ref>Lindros, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg</ref>, but after being swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1997 Finals, they settled back into the Eastern Conference pack. They got a bit lucky in 2010, having Montreal knock off the heavily favored Capitals and Penguins, before losing to Chicago in the Finals.

** The Flyers "bottomed out" in the mid-1990s, spending heavily to acquire the rights to Eric Lindros from Quebec (which was the first of a series of trades that built the Nordiques into the Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche). They did eventually build back up, led by the "Legion of Doom" line,<ref>Lindros, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg</ref> but after being swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1997 Finals, they settled back into the Eastern Conference pack. They got a bit lucky in 2010, having Montreal knock off the heavily favored Capitals and Penguins, before losing to Chicago in the Finals.

* The Detroit Red Wings were this for a period of about a decade, having rebuilt from the "[[Fan Nickname|Dead Things era]]" to make back-to-back Conference Finals and making the playoffs in 9 of 10 seasons (the 1989-90 season was rife with internal strife, resulting in [[Dork Age|management trading away several young stars for washed-up veterans]]), but never getting over (swept by the New Jersey Devils in the 1995 Finals, nearly trading away Steve Yzerman to Ottawa). Finally, in 1997, the team got over on new arch-rival Colorado, and then swept the Flyers to win their first Cup in 42 seasons, and the first of four Cups in 11 seasons. Still, it seemed to be feast or famine for the Wings; prior to 2006-07, they either won the Cup or ended in the first or second round.

* The Vancouver Canucks have consistently made the playoffs and won their division throughout the 00's but always falling short even after getting Roberto Luongo, a guy many consider to be the best goaltender in the world didn't improve their efforts.

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=== [[Real Life]] ===

* The Rafale fighter plane. Consistantly touted by French aviation fans and a few others as close, equal or better than the F-22 despite the disagreements of the foremost authorities on the matter and even a number of French politicians and defense experts. Has been the focus of a major PR campaign in weapons sales by Sarkozy after no foreign sales ten years after going into production to no result, and looks to see either no sales ever or half a squadron's worth of planes. In early 2009 France itself cut production, amidst governmental backroom beatings of the Dassault Thales' managerial staff. Contrast with the highly successful Mirage series, compare with LeClerc.

** Sounds more like these "French aviation fans and a few others" have been [[Drinking the Kool Aid|drinking the Kool-Aid]] about the [[It Was Okay|Dassault Rafale]], rather than it being an [[Every Year They Fizzle Out]].

** Sounds more like these "French aviation fans and a few others" have been [[Drinking the Kool Aid|drinking the Kool-Aid]] about the [[It Was Okay|Dassault Rafale]], rather than it being an Every Year They Fizzle Out.

*** Maybe it's a [[Cult Classic]]?

** It does, however, easily match or surpass performance of its actual competitors on the export market: the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet (American), Eurofighter Typhoon (British/German/Italian), Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Swedish), and Mikoyan MiG-29M and MiG-29K (Russian). The F-16 has been exported to 25 nations, the F/A-18 to 7, the Typhoon to 3, the Gripen to 4, the MiG-29M to 2, and the MiG-29K to 1. The Rafale, as of October 2011, has yet to secure a single export contract.