After Villanova’s epic 77–74 win in the 2016 NCAA Championship Game, you wouldn’t have been alone in feeling sympathy for North Carolina’s Marcus Paige, who hit this remarkable, off-balance, game-tying three-pointer with just four seconds remaining:

It would surely have gone down as one of the five greatest moments in March Madness history — had Villanova’s Kris Jenkins not made a game-winning three of his own at the buzzer, immediately relegating Paige’s heroics to footnote status.

Paige’s shot, however, is not alone in history’s dustbin of heartbreak; moments where extraordinary achievements quickly crumbled into nothing more than a few seconds on a game recap. Deadspin commenters did not disappoint in coming up with other examples of most-amazing-plays-in-clutch-situations that would’ve been all-time great sports moments had it not been for the fickle whims of fate.

When compiling, we must, of course, take certain factors into consideration:

• The stakes: When in the game, series and playoffs the play happened.
• The heartbreaks: How fast and far the team’s fans fell from ecstatic high to crushing low after the team somehow lost anyway.
• The permanence (or lack thereof): How iconic or forgotten the play has become over time.
• The feat itself: How impressive, athletic, or lucky the play was.

Here, presented in no particular order, is the (by no means definitive) list:

Super Bowl XLIX, 1:00 remaining

Down four to the New England Patriots, Jermaine Kearse makes a circus catch to put the Seahawks on the goal-line. NOBODY talks about Kearse’s grab nowadays, but …

… if the Seahawks had opted to let Marshawn Lynch run the ball, they likely would have scored a touchdown and Kearse would’ve been right up there with Tyree, Manningham and Swann. I weep for the endorsement dollars he’ll never get to enjoy.

2001 World Series, Game 7, 8th Inning

One of the closest and most dramatic World Series of all time, it was full of indelible moments. There was a post-9/11 President Bush throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium, Jeter becoming Mr. November, Byung-Hun Kim’s collapse, Randy Johnson and Curt Shilling dominating—it’s easy to forget Alfonso Soriano’s almost-Championship-winning home run to give the Yankees a 2–1 lead, just three outs away from the club’s fourth straight title.

That was until Mariano Rivera blew the save in the bottom of the ninth.

2011 World Series, Game 6, 10th Inning

Josh Hamilton’s homer in the tenth put the Texas Rangers up two, and just three outs away from winning the franchise’s first World Series. Alas, the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, and the Natural’s heroics were largely erased from our collective memory.

2006 NLCS, Game 7, 6th Inning

This catch might now stand as one of the greatest moments in New York Mets history if their fans weren’t so traumatized by the rest of the game. In 2011, the WSJ dubbed it The Greatest Play That Didn’t Matter, with Brian Costa summing it up:

“At the apex of his jump, Chavez was a metaphor for the Mets at the height of their mid-2000s success. At that moment, before Carlos Beltran’s season-ending strikeout three innings later, before the great collapse of 2007, anything seemed possible. Nothing was unreachable.”

If only.

1992 NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight, :03 remaining in OT

Every March Madness—every hour of every March Madness—we see Duke’s Christian Laettner make that turn-around jumper and Thomas Hill oh-my-god in disbelief. We never see the shot Sean Woods made seconds before to give Kentucky the lead.

2004 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 5, :00.4 remaining

Not four seconds, point-four seconds. In what will forever be known as the Derek Fisher game (by Laker fans at least), Tim Duncan’s shot just before was even more impressive.

Super Bowl XLIII, 2:30 remaining

Kurt Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald over the middle, Fitzgerald blew past the Steelers defense, and to many people’s surprise, the 9–7 afterthought Cardinals were about to win the Super Bowl …

… except Santonio Holmes tip-toed a touchdown catch in the final seconds to snatch victory away from Arizona.

2003 NLCS, Game 7, 3rd Inning

Up 3-2 in the series, the Chicago Cubs blew the lead in Game 6 and were down early in Game 7 when legendary pitcher Kerry Wood hit a game-tying two-run homer …

… that ended up not mattering because the Marlins later took the lead and the series.

2016 NFC Divisional Round, 0:00 remaining

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers somehow pulled TWO Hail Marys out of his ass on the last drive of regulation …

… but Larry Fitzgerald got to be on the winning side of one of these moments, reeling in a long touchdown in OT.

2014 BCS Championship Game, 1:24 remaining

Auburn’s Tre Mason ran all over Florida State, including this Marshawn Lynchian 37-yard touchdown to go up four.

If only Auburn’s defense could stop Jameis Winston. Alas, they could not.

Honorable Heartbreakers

1986 AlCS, Game 5

Even though tragedy struck in the World Series, I didn’t include Dave Henderson’s home run against the Angels because the Sox won this series.

1994 Texas Class 5A Division II Playoffs

Perhaps the most crushing of them all. From D Magazine’s look back on the game’s twentieth anniversary:

It wasn’t the championship game, because that would’ve been too perfect, too unbelievable. Instead, the greatest high school football game of all time happened in the third round of the playoffs. November 26, 1994. The Plano East Panthers versus the Tyler John Tyler Lions at Texas Stadium.

But as the clock ticked down in the fourth quarter, the game wasn’t even living up to its billing as the Plano TeleCable Game of the Week. In the second half, a tight contest had turned into a blowout. With only three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, John Tyler was up 41–17. And then it blew back the other way. By the time the game ended, there would be 34 more points scored, on five touchdowns, including a game-winning 97-yard kickoff return with 24 seconds left.

You have to see it to believe it …

… then cringe in disbelief as it all goes to waste.

2011 NFC Divisional Round, 1:38 remaining

The last four minutes of this game were bananas. More a forgotten lowlight for the Saints since they blew the lead in the final seconds, the Niners losing the Super Bowl managed to make this game forgettable for both teams.

2010 NCAA Tournament, Second Round, :06 remaining

After hitting shot after shot down the stretch for Maryland, Greivis Vasquez made one final clutch basket, only to see Michigan State’s Korie Lucious win it with a three at the horn.

So, what did I miss? Do you have any other memories of hopes getting raised after a feat of athletic greatness, only to be crushed shortly thereafter? Admittedly, there is some obvious recency bias in my list, and there are surely older tragedies to excavate. Let me know by responding below.