Blowout (sports)

In sports, a blowout is an easy or one-sided victory.[1][2] It occurs when one athletic team or individual performer outscores another by a large margin or in such a fashion that allows the second team or individual little chance of a victory from a point early in a competition, game, contest or event, e.g. Team A defeats Team B by 8.5 points. The term is often used in reference to athletic competition, but it is used in other contexts such as electoral politics (see also the synonym landslide).[3][4][5]

During blowouts, sports play-by-play announcers are challenged to maintain viewing and listening audience interest and ratings. The announcers attempt to keep a stock of relevant informative discourse for such events.[6]

Blowouts are common during the first few weeks of the NCAA college football season, when schools from Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) Power 5 conferences, e.g., the Big Ten or Big 12, play those from the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA, or FBS "Group of 5" teams e.g., the MAC or The American, usually winning by dozens of points.

Ethics and sportsmanship

During blowouts, some coaches and players are challenged by the ethics and sportsmanship of the event. Some believe it is not appropriate to give full effort when winning by a blowout margin, or "run up the score", and others believe that in athletic competition one is supposed to give full effort at all times. It can also be difficult for the losing team to keep their cool. Yelling/fights and players being removed from the game often take place when a team is being blown out because the losing team is frustrated and embarrassed.[7] During the portion of the game that is played after the outcome has been decided, which is known as garbage time, most teams rest many of their better players and play reserves who do not regularly play in their place. This keeps the regular players from getting injured and gives them a chance to get some rest. It also gives the reserves a chance to get some experience under game conditions.[8] The fans often amuse themselves with chants about favorite teams and players that they want to see play during scrub time or teams that they look forward to playing in future rounds of playoff competition.[9][10][11]

Notable blowouts

Some of the most one-sided sporting victories are given below:

  • American football (high school). In 1927, Haven, Kansas High School beat Sylvia, Kansas High School 256–0 on Haven's home field. The game set numerous high school football records.[12] In 2013, Aledo High School (Aledo, Texas) defeated Western Hills High School (Fort Worth, Texas) 91–0 prompting a Western Hills High School parent to file a bullying suit against Aledo.[13]
  • American football (college). In the 1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game, called "the biggest blowout in football history" by Los Angeles Times columnist Paul Aurandt in 1983, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland College by a score of 222–0.[14] Georgia Tech rushed for 1,650 yards and did not allow a first down by Cumberland.[15] In a record-setting season of blowouts, the 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team defeated its opponents over the course of the entire season by a combined score of 550–0.[16]
  • American football (NFL). In 1940, the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the league's championship game.[17] Chicago coach George Halas reportedly showed his players newspaper clippings in which the Redskins' owner called the Bears "crybabies and quitters" after the Redskins beat the Bears, 7–3, in the regular season.[15] In the 20th century the Super Bowl was notorious for its frequent blowouts, particularly during a run of 13 consecutive wins by the NFC representative between 1985 and 1997. In 1990, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV 55–10, the largest Super Bowl victory to date. Recent blowout games include a 2011 regular season game which saw the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 62-7 with Saints head coach Sean Payton spotted eating a hot dog in a relaxed state mid-game by a TV camera,[18] a 2009 regular season game in which the New England Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans 59-0 and a 2012 regular season game in which the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals 58-0.[19]
  • Baseball (MLB). In 1897, the Chicago Colts of the National League defeated the Louisville Colonels, 36–7.[20] The modern record (i.e., post-1900) for margin of victory was set in 2007, when the Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 30–3. (The 30 runs are also a modern-era record for runs scored in a nine-inning MLB game by one team.)[21]
  • Basketball (Boys high school). On January 29, 1964, Grand Avenue High School of DeQuincy, Louisiana defeated Audrey Memorial High School of Cameron, Louisiana 211 to 29, a still-standing high school scoring record.[22][23][24] Numerous scoring records exist for each of the 50 states.
  • Basketball (NBA). On December 17, 1991, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 148–80.[25]
  • Club association football. In 1885, Arbroath defeated Bon Accord of Aberdeen in a Scottish Cup match by a score of 36–0.[26] The losing Bon Accord team was actually a cricket squad that had been invited to play in the Scottish Cup by mistake.[15] In 2002, the coach of Madagascar's Stade Olympique de l'Emyrne team staged a protest by directing his players to score at will—against themselves. The final score was 149–0, with players on the winning team (Adema) not scoring any of the goals.[26]
  • Cricket (Test format). In the fifth test of the 1938 Ashes Series, England defeated Australia by an innings and 579 runs. Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, England declared after scoring 903 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. In reply, Australia were bowled out for 201 runs in their first innings and 123 runs in their second innings.[27]
  • Cricket (ODI format). In 2008, New Zealand defeated Ireland by 290 runs. New Zealand's opening pair James Marshall and Brendon McCullum put on a first wicket partnership of 274 runs and batted through 42.2 overs. New Zealand posted a total of 402 runs for the loss of 2 wickets and bowled out Ireland for 112 runs in 28.4 overs.[28]
  • Cricket (Twenty20 format). In 2007, Sri Lanka defeated Kenya by 174 runs (201–27) in a match in Johannesburg, South Africa.[29]
  • Girls high school basketball. In 1990, Morningside High School of Inglewood, California outscored South Torrance High School of Torrance, California by 78 in the first half. Lisa Leslie, currently retired after playing with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks from 1997 to 2009, scored a record 101 points. Protesting "our girls have feelings too," the South Torrance coach pulled out his team at halftime and went home. The final score was Morningside with 102 and South Torrance with 24.[30] In 2003, Hart, Michigan's Lakeshore Public Academy was defeated by Walkerville (Mich.) High School with a final score of 115–2.[31] In 2009, a Dallas, Texas Christian high school called The Covenant School beat a Dallas Academy team with a score of 100–0. The victory was widely condemned due to several ensuing circumstances: Dallas Academy, a school for students with learning disabilities, had fielded a team of eight out of an entire student body population of 20 girls, yet Covenant continued a full-court press and three-point shots well after taking a halftime lead of 59–0. Covenant's administration called for a forfeit of its own win, calling it "shameful and an embarrassment."[32]
  • Golf (PGA Tour). Three players have won PGA Tour matches by 16 strokes: J.D. Edgar at the 1919 Canadian Open; Joe Kirkwood, Sr., at the 1924 Corpus Christi Open; and Bobby Locke at the 1948 Chicago Victory National Championship. Tiger Woods has the largest margin of victory since 1950 with a 15-stroke win at the 2000 U.S. Open.[33]
  • Horse Racing. Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths to win the Triple Crown.[34]
  • International association football. Micronesia was defeated by Vanuatu 46–0 in the 2015 Pacific Games. Micronesia conceded a total of 114 goals in the tournament.
  • NASCAR racing. In 1965, Ned Jarrett won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway by 14 laps over 2nd place Buck Baker and 19 laps over 3rd and 4th-place finishers: Darel Dieringer and Roy Mayne. It is still being the largest margin of victory in NASCAR.[35]
  • NHL ice hockey. On January 23, 1944, the Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers 15–0.[36]
  • Olympic basketball. During the 1976 Summer Olympics, UPI described a 129–63 victory by the Soviet Union over Japan in men's basketball as "the most one-sided blowout of the current Olympic competition.".[37] In the highest scoring performance by any team in Olympic history, the U.S. men's basketball team beat Nigeria 156–73 in the 2012 Olympics.[38]
  • Rugby. The Australian Wallabies defeated Namibia at the 2003 World Cup of Rugby by a score of 142–0.[15][26]
  • Tennis. In the 1974 US Open, Jimmy Connors demolished Ken Rosewall 6–1, 6–0, 6–1, the most lopsided defeat in any Grand Slam final.
  • Tennis. At the 1988 French Open, Steffi Graf, en route to the first ever Calendar Golden Slam, successfully defended her title by defeating Natasha Zvereva 6–0, 6–0 in a 32-minute final.[39] Natasha, who had eliminated Martina Navratilova in the fourth round, won only thirteen points in the match.[39]
  • Women's hockey. In 2008, Slovakia beat Bulgaria 82–0 in a 2010 Winter Olympics qualifying tournament.[40]

Notes
  1. "blowout". Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  2. "blowout". The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  3. Goodman, Joseph (November 8, 2008). "Latest blowout victory keeps BCS title hopes alive". Miami Herald. Miami Herald Media Co. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  4. "LeBron scores 23 in Cavaliers' blowout victory". CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive. November 28, 2008. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  5. Sieff, Martin (November 5, 2008). "Obama, Dems win historic blowout victory". United Press International, Inc. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  6. Gary Bender, Michael L. Johnson (1994). Call of the Game. Bonus Books. ISBN 978-1-56625-013-9. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  7. Boxill, Jan (2003). Sports Ethics. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-631-21697-1. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  8. Jackson, John (December 25, 2006). "Trash men: Rookies roll in garbage time". Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  9. Whiteside, Larry (February 9, 1980). "Celtics Notebook\ Maravich Gets Two\ Ovations". Boston Globe. Newsbank. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  10. Gammons, Peter (September 28, 1982). "Yankees Send Sox Back To School, 10–3". Boston Globe. Newsbank. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  11. Ryan, Bob (June 5, 1982). "NBA Notebook- Lakers Fans React To 'Beat LA' Cheer". Boston Globe. Newsbank. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  12. Staff (2011). "Haven set amazing scoring mark in 1927". National Federation of State High School Associations. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  13. Durrett, Richard (October 23, 2013). "'No grounds' for bullying by Aledo". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  14. Paul Aurandt (February 3, 1983). "Where do you go from there?". The News (Frederick, Md.) (Los Angeles Times syndicate).
  15. Stephen Ripley (January 4, 2009). "Brutal blowouts: Most lopsided losses in sports history". Edmonton Sun.
  16. "1901 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  17. Gay, Jason (November 2009). "Beautiful Losers". Hemispheres. Ink Publishing: 52.
  18. "Colts vs. Saints - Game Summary - October 23, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  19. "Cardinals vs. Seahawks - Game Summary - December 9, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  20. "Rangers score 30, most in game since 1897". NBC Sports. August 22, 2007. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  21. "Rangers' 30 runs sets AL record in rout of Orioles". ESPN.com.
  22. Staff (January 30, 1964). "Basketball Team Scores 211 Points". Laurel (Miss.) Leader Call. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  23. Geiger, Wayne (January 29, 2013). "Fun Facts for Tuesday, January 29, 2013". Blogspot.com. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  24. Staff (2013). "NFHS Boys Basketball Team Records". National Federation of State High School Associations. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  25. "December 17, 1991 in History". Brainy History.
  26. Christopher Clarey (September 14, 2007). "A rich legacy of history's biggest blowouts". International Herald Tribune.
  27. "Largest margin of victory (by an innings)". ESPNCricInfo.
  28. "Largest margin of victory (by runs)". ESPNCricInfo.
  29. "Largest margin of victory (by runs)". ESPNCricInfo.
  30. "Maxim Online "The Agony of Defeat"". Archived from the original on May 13, 2006. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  31. NY Times "Lopsided Scores Fuel School Sports Debate"
  32. "Girl's Hoops Team Regrets 100–0 Blowout Win". ABC News.
  33. Brent Kelley. "Largest Margin of Victory on the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Records: Biggest Winning Margin". About.com.
  34. David Schoenfield (August 27, 2007). "The greatest beatdowns in history". Espn.com.
  35. "09/06/1965 race: Southern 500 (Cup) - Racing-Reference.info".
  36. "The Largest Margin Of Victory In NHL History". NHL Digest. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 28, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  37. "Russian Men Made Sure". Kingsport Times-News (UPI wire service story). July 24, 1976.
  38. "The Official Site of USA Basketball". Archived from the original on June 5, 2013.
  39. Herman, Robin (June 5, 1988). "TENNIS; Graf Shuts Out Zvereva to Gain French Open Title". New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  40. "ROUND ROBIN GAME 7 GAME SUMMARY" (PDF). IIHF. September 6, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
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