Choke (sports)
A choke is a failure to perform in sport due to anxiety. This is a form of panic attack in which the athlete may literally experience breathing difficulty or otherwise lose physical composure.[1]
Successful champions do not choke but are "clutch" players — rising to the occasion under pressure rather than collapsing.
Use in the USA
National Football League
Use of the term "choke" in this context is most frequently encountered in the United States, and appears to be of relatively recent origin, not becoming reasonably widespread until well into the 1960s. Since then, NFL teams popularly labeled chokers (or often, "choke artists") have included the Minnesota Vikings more or less throughout the 1970s, the San Diego Chargers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s for their 4 straight Super Bowl losses and, most recently, the Dallas Cowboys in the late 2000s. [2].
Recidivism
Recidivism — that is to say, the same player or team coming close to winning the championship repeatedly without ever actually succeeding in doing so — is another aggravating factor.
Examples of choking in sports
On January 6, 2007, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Qwest Field to play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wild card playoff round. With the Cowboys down 21-20 and 1:19 left on the clock, Dallas attempted a 19-yard field goal. Tony Romo botched the hold for the kicker by dropping the snap as he attempted to set it down. Romo then tried to run into the end zone for an impromptu touchdown, but was tackled at the one-yard line by Seattle defensive back Jordan Babineaux.
The University of Mississippi baseball team has gone 0-6 in NCAA Super Regional games at home after winning the first game in three different best-of-three series. [1] In reference to the University of Mississippi (aka "Ole Miss") baseball team's 37-year absence from the College World Series, OMAHA has also been coined an acronym for "Ole Miss At Home Again". [2] [3] [4]
Jean Van de Velde only needed a double-bogey 6 to win the 1999 British Open. Instead he scored a triple-bogey 7 on the 18th hole and entered a play-off which he lost. [5]
In 1978, the Yankees were 14½ games behind the Red Sox in July, and on September 10, after completing a 4-game sweep of the Red Sox (known as "The Boston Massacre"), the Yankees tied for the divisional lead. The Yankees ultimately overtook the Red Sox with the help of Bucky Dent's 7th inning three-run home run in a sudden death post regular season game played at Fenway Park on October 2, 1978.
In the 2004 ALCS, the Yankees led the Red Sox 3-0 and ultimately lost the series in 7 games;this was the first such comeback in baseball history, though it has happened twice in the NHL; in the 1942 Stanley Cup in which the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings after the Red Wings led 3-0, as well as in 1974 when the Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the New York Islanders in seven games when leading 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
In Super Bowl XLII, the undefeated New England Patriots were the heavy favorites to defeat the New York Giants and become the first team to have an undefeated season of 19-0. The Patriots lost 17-14, however, and became the first team in NFL history to win every game except for the Super Bowl, with a record of 18-1.
References
- ^ Ernest Cashmore, "Choke", Sport psychology, p. 53 on
- ^ ESPN Page 2 - The Sports Guy: We hate everything!