The 7 Worst Blown Calls in Sports History

2. Cold War Blown Call

At the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Soviet Union and the United States were playing for the basketball gold, but also for the victory in a PR battle. The USA team had not lost since the sport was first included in the Olympics in 1936, so their loss was twice as hurtful (still to this day the players haven’t claimed their silver medals). The USSR won after some really shady officiating decisions: the Russians got three chances to inbound the ball and they were also given inexplicable extra time. Bluntly, America’s deepest open wound in basketball history.