Wigan's 9-1 drubbing at the hands of Spurs in a Premier League fixture in London yesterday was certainly the north England club's most embarrassing moment in years.
Here's a list of a few other days that sports teams and individuals would wish best forgotten.
1. US beats England in a World Cup soccer match
In the finals of the 1950 event in Brazil, the American team stunned the sports world by defeating the team from England, one of the tournament favourites.
At the time, the English considered themselves on top of the sport, with a post-war record of 23 wins, 4 losses, and 3 draws. Conversely, the Americans - a team of part-timers - had lost their last seven international matches by a combined scoreline of 45–2.
Even the American coach said during a media interview before the match, "we have no chance".
However, despite England starting the match with an array of shots that either missed the mark or drew impressive saves from the American goalkeeper, it was the US team that found the back of the net, with a goal just before halftime.
No amount of England pressure in the second half could yield a goal, and the Americans greeted the sound of the final whistle with unrestrained joy. USA 1, England 0.
It would be another 40 years - the 1990 tournament - before the Americans even made it to another World Cup finals.
2. Arrivederci Roma
If that result in 1950 was the biggest upset in World Cup history, this one is not far behind.
In the 1966 World Cup in England, Italy was one of the favourites to win the competition and lowly North Korea was a 1000-1 outsider.
The unknown Koreans hadn't read the script, however, and beat the arrogant Italians 1-0. Goalscorer Pak Do Ik is still a hero in his country, while the Italians were pelted with tomatoes when they arrived at Milan airport.
3. The dreaded "triple bagel"
A double bagel is tennis player slang for losing a match 6-love, 6-love. This humiliation happens frequently in the women's game, especially in the early round mismatches.
It's not that uncommon on the men's tour either. Just a couple of weeks ago, Novak Djokovic dispatched fellow pro Jan Hernych of the Czech republic 6-0, 6-0 in Basel, Switzerland.
The "triple bagel", however, is much more rare. It can only happen in a men's Grand Slam match (or, possibly, a Davis Cup tie), which is played over the best-of-five sets.
Spain's Sergey Bruguera beat Frenchman Thierry Champion "18-zip" at the 1993 French Open, and cool Swede Stefan Edberg thumped his compatriot Stefan Eriksson by the same scoreline at Wimbledon in 1987.
Spain's Alberto Martin probably thought he was going to become only the sixth man in the Open era to be triple-bageled as he sat with towel draped over his head during the change of ends late in his match with Brit Andy Murray at the 2007 Australian Open. Murray led 6-0, 6-0, 5-0. Thankfully for Martin, he caught his opponent relaxing and the Spaniard eked out a win in the next game to avoid the down-trou.
4. Oops!
South Africa's Hershelle Gibbs is a talented cricketer, but one game he will want to forget is the Proteas' match against Australia during the 1999 World Cup.
Gibbs will forever be haunted by the memory of dropping a comparatively simple catch off Australian captain Steve Waugh.
In attempting to hurl the ball into the air in celebration, Gibbs only managed to spill the sitter of a catch. Waugh went on to punish the South Africans by scoring a century and leading his team to victory.
Gibbs more than made up for his gaffe in later years. He is one of only three batsmen in ODI history to score hundreds in three consecutive innings, and in 2007 he became the first player to hit six sixes in one over in an ODI, against the Netherlands in a World Cup fixture (India's Ravi Shastri and West Indian Sir Garfield Sobers had both previously achieved this feat, but they'd done it in 3-day matches).
5. Fore! No, better make that 'seven'
Anyone who's ever played the game of golf dreams of moments like this. You're leading the field by a comfortable margin in the final round of a Major, as you stride up the 18th fairway.
For little-known Frenchman Jean van de Velde, this dream was a reality at the British Open at Carnoustie in 1999 - but it was soon to become a nightmare.
Leading by three strokes as he stood on the 18th tee, the coveted Claret Jug was in his grasp. But poor van de Velde's game simply imploded - on a very public stage.
During his series of (mis)adventures on that seemingly never-ending final hole he was, at various times, in the rough, in the water, and in the bunker.
He ultimately posted a miserable 7 on the par 4, losing his chance to win the British Open in the process.
(The tournament winner ended up being a rather bemused Scot, Paul Lawrie, who triumphed in a playoff against the shattered van de Velde and American Justin Leonard.)
IN SHORT ...
6. Aussie Rules side Port Adelaide delighted their fans by making the Grand Final of the 2007 AFL competition. However, in front of a packed MCG, Port capitulated to Geelong and lost by a record margin of 119 points. Ouch.
7. Australian swimmers Petria Thomas, Elka Graham, Giaan Rooney and Linda Mackenzie were so happy they had won the 4 x 200m relay at the 2001 World Championships in Japan that they jumped in the pool to celebrate. Only trouble was not all swimmers had finished, so the Aussies were disqualified.
8. How about major-league baseball outfielder Milton Bradley of the Chicago Cubs who caught a fly ball at Wrigley field back in June and did what players traditionally do after the third "out" of the inning - he tossed the ball to a grateful fan in the stands. Only trouble was - Bradley had lost track of the number of outs and it was actually only TWO down - his gaffe allowed a couple of Minnesota baserunners to stroll around the bases. The crowd wasn't impressed.
9. Rugby league's John Hopoate was banned for 12 weeks in 2001 after being found guilty of "interfering" with opponents. The Wests Tigers winger was said to have jammed his fingers up the backsides of three North Queensland players during a match. Hopoate denied the charges, but television replays showed the truth. "I know he wasn't doing it accidentally. He was definitely pushing," North Queensland player Paul Bowman told the NRL judiciary. "I was disgusted. I couldn't believe it."
10. There's a whole list of players who have failed to dot down a rugby ball for a try, despite the fact they've successfully got across the line. One such mishap befell a man who has held the exalted post of All Black captain - Tana Umaga. Playing for the Hurricanes against the Chiefs at Waikato Stadium in a Super 14 match in 2007, Umaga ended an exhilarating 'Canes backline break started by Hosea Gear; but in cantering over the line, Umaga held the ball in just the one hand and spilled it onto the turf. Aarrggh. Don't copy that one, kids.
SOURCES: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Wikipedia, Cricinfo
Reader suggestions:
* Super 14 Final, Bulls 61 Chiefs 17
* "Fight of the Century"? Tua downs Cameron in first round
* The AB's world cup performances in all but the 1987 tournament
