Always the bridesmaid, never the bride

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I don't know why but I've always been drawn to the 'nearly guys'. Maybe it's just so I can root for them and when they do eventually win, I'll be all the more delighted. Some, of course, never did - Jimmy White at the snooker, for example, or Greg Norman at the Masters.

I've come across another one. Ryan Bester, a Canadian lawn bowler. He's lost the last four finals of the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games (which in bowls is a de facto World Championship), in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. The 2020 Worlds got cancelled. Even more cruelly, Bester has lost those four finals to four different players. If Bester represents Canada again at this year's Commonwealth games I'll be his biggest fan.

[Eggchaser]

The Minnesota Vikings of the 60s & 70s would be a good shout. And in general in the Superbowl era.

[ursus arctos]

See also Marv Levy's Buffalo Bills for a more concentrated experience (four consecutive Super Bowl losses from 1990 to 1993)

[Discordant Resonance]

Lee Keegan of Mayo - six All-Ireland silver medals.

[Eggchaser]

That must have been soul destroying for the team. Year in, year out, you fall short because as good as you are, your job is to turn up to be beaten by the NFC champions.

[Tony C]

Ken Rosewall famously declared that Wimbledon was the Grand Slam he always wanted to win and the fast grass surface there seemed best suited to his serve and volley game. However he lost four finals there (to four different opponents) over an incredible twenty year period beginning in 1954. His last final in 1974 ended in a substantial thrashing by Jimmy Connors, who went on to give Rosewall an even more humiliating beating in his last ever Grand Slam final at the US Open later that year.

Rosewall, did win other Grand Slams in his career, admittedly, but the cherished Wimbledon title always eluded him.

[elguapo4]

Lee Keegan of Mayo - six All-Ireland silver medals.

Mayo in general, no title in 69 years. Otherwise I'll nominate me. My team reached the final of the GAA inter class tournament in my first two years in secondary school and lost them both, I failed to reach my only chance of a cup final after defeat in extra time ,following us scoring an own goal with the last kick of normal time. When I first joined the post office, at Christmas there we're 5 a side tournaments for the early and late shifts, my duty meant I could play in both. In two years, I lost all four finals,three on penalties.

[delicatemoth]

Raymond Poulidor, 'The Eternal Second'. Tour De France record - three times 2nd, five times 3rd, and never spent a day in yellow. More popular with the French public than five-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil, much to the latter's frustration.

[Satchmo Distel]

Plymouth Argyle were runners up in the first six Division 3 South seasons (1921-27*) but did go up in 1930.

*AFAIK it was stronger than the North division so, in theory, Plymouth would have gone up had they been in that section.

[Gangster Octopus]

Ken Rosewall, did win other Grand Slams in his career, admittedly, but the cherished Wimbledon title always eluded him.

Yet, but that was funny because he's from Australia...

[Janik]

Nothing in the least funny about Elise Christie’s story nor any final act redemption, as published in tomorrow’s Observer. Just pain upon pain, in pretty well every conceivable way (and yes, she did win plenty of European and World Championships, but...):- https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...d-her-new-life

[Hot Pepsi]

This thread makes me sad.

[Sits]

Ivan Lendl at Wimbledon - five semi-final and two final defeats in an eight year period. My memory was telling me there’d been more than two finals. Of course he won plenty elsewhere.

[Southport Zeb]

On a similar theme, Andy Murray lost five Australian Open finals in seven years.

[Eggchaser]

And like that, Dan Reeves' death is announced - twice thwarted by the Packers when playing for the Cowboys, then had three Superbowl coaching losses with the Broncos, and then one to the Broncos, coaching the Falcons.

[Antepli Ejderha]

This thread makes me sad.

This.

[Southport Zeb]

See also Marv Levy's Buffalo Bills for a more concentrated experience (four consecutive Super Bowl losses from 1990 to 1993)

Backup quarterback Gale Gilbert was on the roster for all four defeats. He then moved to San Diego and was on the losing side for a fifth consecutive Super Bowl.

[ursus arctos]

Gilbert has also lost the Little League World Series championship game at age 12, as his Red Bluff, California team lost to one from Taiwan

But he was the starting quarterback for the California Golden Bears in the legendary Big Game of 1982, when Cal beat Stanford on the final play of the game via half a dozen laterals on a kickoff return.

[G-Man]

Michael Ballack and Bernd Schneider of Leverkusen in 2002. Runners-up in the Bundesliga, beaten finalists in the Champions League, beaten finalists in the DFB Pokal, and beaten finalists in the World Cup.

Oh, how Bayern laughed at Neverkusen. Until 2012, when they had the same domestic runners-up treble (at least the Germany team had the good grace to be beaten in the semi-finals). Unlike the Big Pharma club, Bayern went on to win a thing or two the following season and subsequently.

[diggedy derek]

that Elise Christie story is tough to read

[Janik]

One I’ve just heard about on TV - Skiing’s Wendy Holdener. She has recorded 32 podiums in the World Cup in classic Alpine disciplines (28 slalom, 2 GS, 2 Super-G) and none of them have been on the top step! Her 28 slalom results are 13 second places and 15 thirds. She was fourth today.
Holdener has won a handful of more esoteric things (2 x combined, 1 x parallel GS) and was part of a Swiss Olympic team gold effort. She also won the season on combined a couple of times. But if she ever outright wins a World Cup Slalom the whole of Europe might hear her scream of joy.

[Gangster Octopus]

Hasn't the darts player who lost last night also lost all his telly finals?

[ursus arctos]

Yes
Seven on the trot, if I remember coreectl7

[Simon G]

Still a couple behind Terry Jenkins who has played 9 PDC TV finals and not come close in any of them.

No World finals though (Smith now has two of those).

On the other side of the divide, Tony O'Shea has played in 3 Lakeside finals and failed in all 3. He's also a two-time runner-up in the World Masters (the 2nd highest tournament).

[Paul S]

Jimmy White is a contender. Appeared in six World snooker finals and lost them all.