Blowout (sports)
Encyclopedia
A blowout is an easy or one-sided victory. It occurs when one athletic team or individual performer outscores another by a large margin or in such a fashion that allows the second team or individual little chance of a victory from a point early in a competition, game, contest or event. The term is often used in reference to athletic competition, but it is used in other contexts such as electoral politics.
During blowouts, sports play-by-play announcers are challenged to maintain viewing and listening audience interest and ratings. They attempt keep a stock of relevant informative discourse for such events.
and sportsmanship
of the event. Some believe it is not appropriate to give full effort when winning by a blowout margin, or "run up the score
", and others believe that in athletic competition one is supposed to give full effort at all times. During the portion of the game that is played after the outcome has been decided, which is known as garbage time
, most teams rest many of their better players and play reserves who do not regularly play in their place. This keeps the regular players from getting injured and gives them a chance to get some rest. It also give the reserves a chance to get some experience under game conditions. The fans often amuse themselves with chants about favorite players that they want to see play during scrub time or teams that they look forward to playing in future rounds of playoff competition.
During blowouts, sports play-by-play announcers are challenged to maintain viewing and listening audience interest and ratings. They attempt keep a stock of relevant informative discourse for such events.
Ethics and sportsmanship
During blowouts, some coaches and players are challenged by the ethicsEthics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and sportsmanship
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...
of the event. Some believe it is not appropriate to give full effort when winning by a blowout margin, or "run up the score
Running up the score
In North American sports, "running up the score" occurs when a team continues to play in such a way as to score additional points after the outcome of the game is no longer in question and the team is assured of winning...
", and others believe that in athletic competition one is supposed to give full effort at all times. During the portion of the game that is played after the outcome has been decided, which is known as garbage time
Garbage time
Garbage time, also known as "junk time", is a term used to refer to the period at the end of a timed sporting event that has become a blowout when the outcome of the game has already been decided, and the coaches of one or both teams will decide to replace their best players with substitutes...
, most teams rest many of their better players and play reserves who do not regularly play in their place. This keeps the regular players from getting injured and gives them a chance to get some rest. It also give the reserves a chance to get some experience under game conditions. The fans often amuse themselves with chants about favorite players that they want to see play during scrub time or teams that they look forward to playing in future rounds of playoff competition.
Uses of the term
Early uses of the term "blowout" to describe one-sided sporting scores include the following:- In 1965, the term "blowout" was used to describe a 40-minute inning in which the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
scored seven unearned runs in a 12-2 victory over the Milwaukee BravesAtlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
. - During the 1976 Summer Olympics, the UPI syndicate described a 129-63 victory by Russia over Japan in men's basketball as "the most one-sided blowout of the current Olympic competition."
- In 1983, Los Angeles Times columnist Paul Aurandt wrote a column about Georgia Tech's 222-0 victory over Cumberland in 1916, the most lopsided score in American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
history. Aurandt called it "the biggest blowout in football history." - In 1990, the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
beat the Denver BroncosDenver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Super Bowl XXIVSuper Bowl XXIVSuper Bowl XXIV was an American football game played on January 28, 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1989 regular season...
55-10. It is the largest win in Super Bowl history to date. This game is one of the most lopsided "blowouts" in sporting history including the following: - American football (college). In the 1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game, Georgia Tech defeated Tennessee's Cumberland College by a score of 222-0. Georgia Tech rushed for 1,650 yards and did not allow a first down by Cumberland. In a record-setting season of blowouts, the 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team1901 Michigan Wolverines football teamThe 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1901 college football season. In their first year under new head coach Fielding H. Yost, Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by the unprecedented total of 550...
defeated its opponents over the course of the entire season by a combined score of 550-0. - NFL football. In 1940, the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
beat the Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, 73-0 in the league's championship game. Chicago coach George HalasGeorge HalasGeorge Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
reportedly showed his players newspaper clippings in which the Redskins' owner called the Bears "crybabies and quitters" after the Redskins beat the Bears, 7-3, in the regular season. - Major League Baseball. In 1897, the Chicago Colts of the National League defeated Louisville, 36-7. The modern record for margin of victory was set in 2007, when the Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 30-3.
- NBA basketball. In 1991, the Cleveland CavaliersCleveland CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
beat the Miami HeatMiami HeatThe Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
, 148-80. - NHL hockey. On January 23, 1944, the Detroit Red WingsDetroit Red WingsThe Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
beat the New York RangersNew York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
15-0. - Girls high-school basketball. In 2009, a DallasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
Christian high school called The Covenant School beat the team from Dallas Academy, 100-0. The victory was widely condemned due to the circumstances: Dallas Academy, a school for students with learning disabilities, fielded a team of eight out of an entire student body population of 20 girls, yet the Covenant continued a full-court press and three-point shots well after taking a halftime lead of 59-0. The Covenant's administration called for a forfeit of its own win, calling it "shameful and an embarrassment," and fired its coach after he declined to apologize for the blowout.- In 1990 Morningside H.S. in Inglewood, CA outscored South Torrance H.S. by 78 in the first half. Lisa LeslieLisa LeslieLisa Deshaun Leslie-Lockwood is a former American professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner...
scored a record 101 points. Protesting “our girls have feelings too,” the South Torrance coach yanked his team at halftime and went home. Final score, Morningside H.S. 102, South Torrance H.S. 24. - In 2003 Hart, MichiganHart, MichiganHart is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 1,950. It is the county seat of Oceana County. The city is located within Hart Township, but is politically independent....
's Lakeshore Public Academy was defeated by Walkerville High School with a final score of 115-2.
- In 1990 Morningside H.S. in Inglewood, CA outscored South Torrance H.S. by 78 in the first half. Lisa Leslie
- Golf (PGA tour). Three players have won PGA Tour matches by 16 strokes: J.D. Edgar at the 1919 Canadian Open; Joe Kirkwood, Sr., at the 1924 Corpus Christi Open; and Bobby Locke at the 1948 Chicago Victory National Championship. Tiger WoodsTiger WoodsEldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
has the largest margin of victory since 1950 with a 15-stroke win at the 2000 U.S. Open. - British Soccer. In 1885, ArbroathArbroath F.C.Arbroath F.C. are a Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Second Division. They were founded in 1878 and currently play their home matches at Gayfield, Arbroath, Angus. They play in maroon strips, and are nicknamed "The Red Lichties" due to the red light that used to guide...
defeated Bon AccordBon Accord F.C.Bon Accord were a football team from Aberdeen, Scotland who suffered the worst defeat in any British senior football match, losing 36–0 to Arbroath on 12 September 1885 in a first round match of the Scottish Cup...
of AberdeenAberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
in a Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
match by a score of 36–0Arbroath 36-0 Bon AccordArbroath 36–0 Bon Accord is the result of a football match between Arbroath and Bon Accord which took place on 12 September 1885. To this day it is the biggest ever win in professional football, and the second biggest win of all time.-Background:...
. The losing Bon Accord team was actually a cricket squad that had been invited to play in the Scottish Cup by mistake. - International soccer. In 2002, the coach of MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
's Stade Olympique de l'EmyrneSOE AntananarivoStade Olympique de l'Emyrne Antananarivo is the football section of a Malagasy sports club based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. They won the THB Champions League in 2001 and were runners-up in the Coupe de Madagascar in 2003....
team staged a protest by directing his players to score at will—against themselves. The final score was 149-0AS Adema 149–0 SO l'EmyrneThe world record for the highest scoreline in football , recognised by The Guinness Book of Records, is 149-0, set on 31 October 2002. AS Adema, of Toamasina in Madagascar, beat their arch-rivals Stade Olympique de L'Emyrne as the result of a pre-determined protest by SOE over refereeing...
, with players on the winning team (AdemaAS AdemaAS ADEMA Analamanga is a Malagasy football club based in Ivato, Madagascar near Antananarivo. They have won the THB Champions League championship on two occasions, in 2002 and 2006...
) not scoring any of the goals. - Rugby. The Australian Wallabies defeated Namibia at the 2003 World Cup of rugby by a score of 142-0.
- NCAA men's basketball tournament. In 1963, Loyola set the NCAA tournament record for largest margin of victory (69 points) with a 111-42 victory over Tennessee Tech in the first round.
- International hockey. At the 1998 Asia-Oceania Junior Championships, South Korea defeated Thailand 92-0. South Korea forward Donghwan SongSong Dong-hwanSong Dong-hwan is a professional ice hockey forward for Nikkō Ice Bucks. Nicknamed "Korean Rocket", he won the scoring title with 31 goals in the 2005-2006 regular season for Asia League Ice Hockey. Song was the first Korean player to do so...
scored 31 goals. - Women's hockey. In 2007, Slovakia beat Bulgaria 82-0 in a 2010 Winter Olympics2010 Winter OlympicsThe 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
qualifying tournament. - Horseracing. SecretariatSecretariat (horse)Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...
won the 1973 Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
by 31 lengths to win the Triple Crown. - Cricket (Twenty20 format). In 2007, Sri Lanka defeated Kenya by 174 runs (201-27) in a match in Johannesburg.