Your Biggest 'What If'

The Brain

King Of The Ring
In life most people have moments they look back on and think 'What if?' How would things have played out had one thing gone differently. If you're a sports fan you can probably think of a few of these moments. They could be something like what if your team didn't lose a certain player to free agency to what if just one call during a given game went the other way. There are plenty to choose from but as a fan I have two that jump out to me.

What if Michael Jordan didn't retire from the NBA in 1993? The Bulls had just won their third straight NBA championship in 1993 when at only 30 years old MJ shocked everyone by suddenly announcing his retirement just weeks before the start of the 93/94 season. I don't want to get into a discussion about whether this was a voluntary retirement or a covered up suspension. Bottom line was MJ was gone from the Bulls when they were the hottest thing in the NBA. Two years later Jordan returned to the Bulls and they picked up right where they left off. In fact they were even better and won another three straight championships. Every Chicago sports fan wonders what would have happened had MJ been around those two years between 3peats. Actually most just assume the Bulls would have won eight straight titles matching the Celtics of the 60s. Of course there's no way to know for sure but Chicago fans can help but wonder what if.

What if Moises Alou caught the Bartman ball? In 2003 the Chicago Cubs had a 3-2 series lead on the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. Games six and seven were going to be at Wrigley Field and Mark Prior and Kerry Wood (both considered top pitchers at the time) would be the starting pitchers for the Cubs. I should have known better but I allowed myself to think the Cubs were actually going to the World Series. Prior was cruising in game six as the Cubs had a 3-0 lead with one out in the 8th inning. Cubs fans were in a state of euphoria when the atmosphere suddenly changed. A simple foul ball to left field changed the complexion of the game and the series. A fan in the front row got in the way of outfielder Moises Alou preventing him from making the catch for another out. What happened next was a nightmare as the Cubs gave up eight runs losing game six 8-3 before losing game seven the next night and missing the World Series.

For the record, I don't blame Bartman. It was just a foul ball. No real damage had been done. There's debate as to whether Alou would have even caught the ball anyway. However, Alou's visable angry reaction drew the attention of the entire stadium and the crowd that was so happy just seconds before suddenly became hostile. Had Prior just thrown one more strike he would have gotten the batter out and the now infamous incident wouldn't be remembered. Unfortunately the Cubs ace seemed to let the reaction from Alou and the now overwhelmingly negative energy in the stadium rattle him as the inning quickly got away from him. It would have been nice if veteran manager Dusty Baker would have gone out to have a word with his 23 year old pitcher to calm him down, but that didn't happen. It also didn't help that the normally sure handed defender, Alex Gonzalez, bobbled an easy ground ball that could have ended the inning with the Cubs still on top. Not to mention there was still a game seven that the Cubs could have won. So while I don't blame Bartman directly for the Cubs losing the 2003 NLCS I can't help but wonder what if Moises Alou caught the ball. Or for that matter if the ball was just a little further back so it was clearly out of play. The Cubs didn't even need that out at that exact moment. Nobody would have thought twice about an ordinary foul ball. It was the unusual situation and negative atmosphere that the Cubs let get in their heads.

I could list some more but those are my two big sports 'What ifs.' Feel free to comment on those but also tell me some of yours.
 
What if San Diego Chargers QB Drew Brees hadn't torn his labrum up in what was a meaningless Week 17 game in 2005?

Drew Brees was playing on the franchise tag in 2005, while the Chargers also had Philip Rivers, who SD traded Eli Manning for at the 2004 NFL Draft, as their backup. Had Brees not messed his shoulder up, would SD had given him a better offer than the one he received in the spring of 2006 (5 yrs. $50 mill which was heavily based on incentives I believe)? If so & Brees ended up signing it, SD would've obviously traded Rivers. Where would Rivers have ended up getting traded to? I'm sure there were plenty of rumors that season on where Rivers could've gotten traded to the following spring, I just can't remember which teams would've shown interest in him.

Also had SD kept Brees, would the Chargers have reached the Super Bowl in the coming years & would they have won at least one championship?

Or, would SD have chosen to keep Rivers anyways & have hit Brees with the franchise tag for the second straight year, but this time to trade him or hopefully have some team sign him to an offer sheet? If the latter had happened, SD could've received TWO first round picks from the team that decided to sign Brees to an offer sheet....of course SD wouldn't have matched it lol.

What would've happened to the Saints? They had the 2nd pick in the 2006 Draft, which they used on Reggie Bush. What would they have done at QB? They had plenty of options. Would they've just waited to take either Vince Young or Matt Leinart in April at #2 overall? Or, would they have gone after one of Brees or Rivers from SD, Daunte Culpepper from MIN, or even Tony Romo from DAL? Remember, former Cowboys assistant HC & new Saints HC Sean Payton did go after Romo first before signing Brees that spring of '06. I think NO offered DAL a 3rd rd. pick, but the Cowboys wanted a 2nd rounder....and that was the end of that. Perhaps, Sean Payton would've then been comfortable trading a second-round pick to DAL for Tony Romo since trying to trade for Brees or Rivers would've obviously been more costly.

Also with NO, there were some rumors during that 2005 season that Benson was thinking about moving the team to San Antonio....or possibly even LA. Had the Saints not ended up with Brees, NO might not have had a successful season in 2006 or in the coming years as they likely would not have won a Super Bowl during the 2009 season. This might have led to a move to one of the aforementioned cities.
 
My biggest what if stems from one penalty kick in football (soccer) one strange offside decision and 2 vitals points.

During the 2000/2001 season Leeds United hosted Rivals Manchester United at Elland Road in a match billed as battle of the roses. Although Manchester United had dominated domestic football for the better part of the last decade Leeds United had a excellent blend of youth and experience in their team and were on the way to becoming on the giants of the domestic game once again.

During the match Leeds United were awarded a penalty kick after a foul by their goalkeeper ( which should lead to a red card ) . Unfortunately the Keeper only got a yellow card and was allowed to remain on the pitch. The keeper went on the save the kick. Manchester United then scored in the second half to take the lead only for Leeds to equalise with 7 minutes remaining on the clock. Leeds United pushed and pushed until finally they got their goal as Manchester United defender Wes Brown scored and own goal. This was considered a very strange decision as how can an own goal be offside?

Anyways both teams took a point from the match. 0 points for a loss, 1 for a draw and 3 for a win. That season Leeds finished one point behind Liverpool who were in 3rd. This meant the missed out on Champions League qualification and the huge amount of money that came with it.

When you consider the fact that Leeds took a huge (stupid) financial gamble and spent so much money to achieve it, the fact they missed out was financially crippling for the club. In the following seasons Leeds had to sell their best players for way below their value to pay off debts. The club stadium had to be sold along with the training ground. By 2007 Leeds United were in the 3rd tier of English football and at one point even lost to a part time football team. They had gone from playing the likes of Barcelona,AC Milan, Real Madrid etc at Elland Road to losing to postmen and plumbers. We having been close to administration several times over the last decade with the club become a circus.

So my biggest what if.... What if the keeper had been sent off? What if the disallowed goal had stood? What if Leeds United had gained European qualification that season? Would we still be dining at the highest table in the land? Oh what if
 
What if the Miami Heat never pursued and acquired Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James?

As a fan, it's ludicrous to complain about three world title wins, five appearances in the NBA Finals (four consecutive appearances during LeBron's tenure), and all the buzz and excitement surrounding Shaq and LeBron during their years with the Heat, so this is purely a food for thought post.

Both sides are refusing to make any official comments or statements, but recent rumblings/rumors suggest Dwyane Wade wants more money. IF the rumors are true, you get the feeling Wade wants to be rewarded for his loyalty to the Heat, and the pay cuts to keep LeBron James and The Big Three intact.

Of course, LeBron returned to Cleveland, and now we're stuck in a stalemate with both sides. Wade is obviously tiptoeing around the issue, but if he's holding out for more money, I have to wonder what's going on in his head.

Wade is an aging player, it's no secret he's playing with bad knees, and he's proven to be injury prone recently, so what does he expect? Now we're crossing into a territory, where you're expecting the employer to reward an employee for loyalty, but the catch 22 with Wade is, with the exception of a handful of games here and there, the days of Wade consistently performing at the level of an elite superstar are long gone.

Apparently, Pat Riley has plans to intentionally lowball Wade, so he can free up cap space for the future. According to all the rumors swirling around, Riley wants to pursue Kevin Durant in the future.

But it's hard to ignore a few potential roadblocks with Kevin Durant. There's a chance he's happy in OKC, and there's a chance Durant will see a few red flags with Shaq and LeBron. I still believe Shaq's diva attitude played a big part in his exit, but the fact of the matter is Shaq left the Miami Heat on bad terms.

To add to that, numerous reports suggest there's some bad blood between LeBron James and Pat Riley for a number of reasons, and it's hard to forget about Riley's subtle jab (paraphrasing here, but I believe Riley said something along the lines of "no more smiling faces with hidden agendas," i.e. James simply used the Heat to win championships) at LeBron.

On top of all that, if Dwyane Wade leaves the Heat on a sour note, Durant might think twice about jumping head first into a multi-year contract. After all, if Wade leaves, you're talking about three publicized and botched relationships with all-stars/Hall Of Famers, who left the team on bad terms, and over the years, Wade as a Heat lifer was supposed to be a surefire guarantee with no questions asked.

Pat Riley knows more about basketball and the business side of the NBA than I'll ever know. BUT in the grand scheme of things, you have to consider the realistic possibility for negative ramifications after the fiascos surrounding Shaq and LeBron's exits, and Wade, if he decides to sign a contract with a new team.
 
I hate those words. "What if" I'm more of a what happened happened kind of guy, and it was meant to happen. God has a plan for me (and everyone) and everything that happens happens for a reason. To answer the question, my biggest what if (off the top of my head) would be what if Nick Saban didn't opt to kick that FG in the 2013 Iron Bowl? My guess is that Alabama wins 4 out of 5 national championships. Oh well, I'm satisfied with 3 out of 4.
 
What if Bo Jackson never suffered that serious injury to his hip? The guy was a pure beast in both football and baseball and that injury seriously derailed him. There's no doubt that without that freak injury he would've been (still is really) considered one of the best all time athletes.
 

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