Is A Walk-Off Field Goal The Most Boring Walk-Off Win In Sports?

Kickers are all the craze right now. You had Mason Crosby miss roughly 100 field goals yesterday. You had the Browns win on a walk off field goal. The Browns! You had Graham Gano kick from 142 yards out to beat the Giants. So it got me thinking.

Is a walk-off field goal the most boring way to win in walk-off fashion in sports? Take away the game, meaning don’t put it in the playoffs, Super Bowl, whatever. Just a regular walk-off win. Now, we’re going to take golf out of it, because there are too many variables. But, a 3-putt bogey on 18 to win is probably the worst walk-off. It can happen, it’s just the worst.

I’d argue that probably a walk-off walk/balk/hit by pitch is the most boring. Those stink. Just the absolute worst to sit there and watch 4 straight balls go outside. Then a balk and hit by pitch is just more hilarious to lose. Those would probably take the cake for me in terms of the worst walk-off win. There’s no fun there. I could listen to maybe a full count, bases loaded, pitch right outside, waiting for the call. But, it’s still kinda boring.

Here are the list for my 5 worst walk-off wins:

1. Walk, hit by pitch, balk
2. Field goal
3. Free throw as time expires
4. Sac Fly
5. Safety 

I think those are all pretty standard. It’s a lot of just okay, yeah, we won, but was it really fun? I could listen to the argument for safety being more entertaining, but offense is sexy and that’s what we’re going for here. The sac fly I debated as well since you get the excitement of is it going to be a homer, it’s in the air for a while, oh is the throw going to make it.

Now as for the most exciting, I’d go with this:

1. Hail Mary/long pass (see: Diggs, Stefon)
2. Any sort of home run
3. 3-pointer/pull-up jumper
4. One-timer slap shot
5. Penalty kick

Now, penalty kick is a bit different. It’s a terrible way to decide who wins the match. I mean you play 120 minutes of actual soccer and then just go to 1v1 shots. It’s a bit bizarre. But, the anticipation for every kick is awesome. The stare down between the keeper and the shooter. The guessing game you play at home, screaming he’s for sure going left. The celebration helps too. I think it’s a clear top-3 though. Every kid dreams of hitting a homer. Every kid who plays hoops practices the countdown into a game-winner in the driveway. Then there’s the Hail Mary, which is rarely completed.

So that’s what I have. Let me know your list.