blowout (sports)
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In sports, 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, e.g. ''Team Frosties defeat Team Goose 9-1''. The term is often used in reference to athletic competition, but it is used in other contexts such as
electoral politics An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections m ...
(see also the synonym ''landslide''). During blowouts, sports
play-by-play announcer In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio wa ...
s are challenged to maintain viewing and listening audience interest and ratings. The announcers attempt to keep a stock of relevant informative discourse for such events.


Ethics and sportsmanship

During blowouts, some coaches and players are challenged by the
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
and
sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to o ...
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. It can also be difficult for the losing team to keep their cool. Yelling/fights and players being removed from the game often take place when a team is being blown out because the losing team is frustrated and embarrassed. During the portion of the game that is played after the outcome has been decided, which is known as
garbage time In sports, garbage time is the period toward the end of a timed sports competition that has become a blowout when the outcome of the game has effectively already been decided, and the coaches of one or both teams will decide to replace their best ...
, 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 gives the reserves a chance to get some experience under game conditions. The fans often amuse themselves with chants about favorite teams and players that they want to see play during garbage time or teams that they look forward to playing in future rounds of playoff competition. However in some sports, maintaining a large margin of victory must be done in order to retain the lead in statistical
tiebreaker In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests. General operation In matches In some situations, the tiebreaker may consi ...
computations for playoff contention, and in other sports such as
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, a strong inning or comeback win by the trailing team is always possible in pressure situations, due to the non-timed nature of the sport.


Notable blowouts

Some of the most one-sided sporting victories are given below: *American football (
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
). In the 1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game, called "the biggest blowout in football history" by ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' columnist Paul Aurandt in 1983, Georgia Tech defeated 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 team The 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the Western Conference during the 1901 Western Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Fielding H. ...
defeated its opponents over the course of the entire season by a combined score of 550–0. *American football ( NFL). In 1940, the Chicago Bears beat the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
73–0 in the league's championship game. Chicago coach George Halas 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. * Australian rules football ( AFL). In 1979,
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
defeated
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
238–48. *Baseball (
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
). In 1897, the Chicago Colts of the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
defeated the
Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...
, 36–7. The modern record (i.e., post-1900) for margin of victory was set in 2007, when the Texas Rangers defeated the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
, 30–3. (The 30 runs are also a modern-era record for runs scored in a nine-inning MLB game by one team.) * Basketball ( NBA). On December 2, 2021, the
Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
beat the
Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...
152–79. *Canadian Football (CFL). On August 24, 1959, the Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 55–0. On July 29, 2017, the Calgary Stampeders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 60–1. *Canadian Football (IRFU). In 1956, the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 82–14. *Canadian Football (IRFU/WIRFU). In the 1923 Grey Cup, Queen's University defeated the Regina Rugby Club 54–0. * Club association football. In 1885, Arbroath defeated Bon Accord of
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
in a
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,by a score of 36–0. In 2002, the coach of
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
's Stade Olympique de l'Emyrne team staged a protest by directing his players to score at will—against themselves. The final score was 149–0, with players on the winning team (
Adema Adema is an American rock band from Bakersfield, California. The band formed in 2000 with members vocalist Mark Chavez, guitarist Tim Fluckey, guitarist Mike Ransom, bassist Dave DeRoo, and drummer Kris Kohls. After their first two albums, ' ...
) not scoring any of the goals. *Cricket ( Test format). In the fifth test of the 1938
Ashes Series The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...
, England defeated Australia by an innings and 579 runs. Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, England declared after scoring 903 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. In reply, Australia were bowled out for 201 runs in their first innings and 123 runs in their second innings. *Cricket ( ODI format). In 2008, New Zealand defeated Ireland by 290 runs. New Zealand's opening pair James Marshall and
Brendon McCullum Brendon Barrie McCullum (born 27 September 1981) is a cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer representing New Zealand, who played all formats, including as captain. McCullum was renowned for his quick scoring, notably recording the f ...
put on a first wicket partnership of 274 runs and batted through 42.2 overs. New Zealand posted a total of 402 runs for the loss of 2 wickets and bowled out Ireland for 112 runs in 28.4 overs. *Cricket ( Twenty20 format). In 2007, Sri Lanka defeated
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by 174 runs (201–27) in a match in
Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
. *Golf (
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
). 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 Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...
has the largest margin of victory since 1950 with a 15-stroke win at the 2000 U.S. Open. *Horse Racing.
Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths to win the Triple Crown. * International association football.
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
was defeated by
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
46–0 in the
2015 Pacific Games The 2015 Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015, was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby. More tha ...
. Micronesia conceded a total of 114 goals in the tournament. *
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
racing. In 1965,
Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett (born October 12, 1932) is an American retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR Grand National Series champion. Because of his calm demeanor, he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett". He is the father of former drivers Glenn J ...
won the
Southern 500 The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. Fro ...
at
Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...
by 14 laps over 2nd place
Buck Baker Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. (March 4, 1919 – April 14, 2002), better known as Buck Baker, was an American stock car racer. Born in Richburg, South Carolina, Baker began his NASCAR career in 1949 and won his first race three years later at Columbia ...
and 19 laps over 3rd and 4th-place finishers:
Darel Dieringer Darel Dieringer (June 1, 1926 – October 28, 1989) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He ran 181 NASCAR Grand National Series races during his career, notably racing for Bud Moore Engineering and Junior Johnson & Associates. ...
and Roy Mayne. It is still the largest margin of victory in NASCAR. * NHL ice hockey. On January 23, 1944, the Detroit Red Wings beat the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
15–0. * Olympic basketball. During the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...
,
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
described a 129–63 victory by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
over Japan in men's basketball as "the most one-sided blowout of the current Olympic competition.". In the highest scoring performance by any team in Olympic history, the U.S. men's basketball team beat Nigeria 156–73 in the 2012 Olympics. * Rugby. The Australian Wallabies defeated Namibia at the 2003 World Cup of Rugby by a score of 142–0. * Tennis. In the 1974 US Open, Jimmy Connors defeated
Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...
6–1, 6–0, 6–1, the most lopsided defeat in any Grand Slam final. * Tennis. At the
1988 French Open The 1988 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 92nd staging of the French Open, and the second Gran ...
, Steffi Graf, en route to the first ever Calendar Golden Slam, successfully defended her title by defeating
Natasha Zvereva Natallia Marataŭna Zvierava ( be, Наталля Маратаўна Зверава; russian: Наталья Маратовна Зверева, Natalia Maratovna Zvereva; born 16 April 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Belarus ...
6–0, 6–0 in a 32-minute final. Natasha, who had eliminated Martina Navratilova in the fourth round, won only thirteen points in the match. *Women's hockey. In 2008, Slovakia beat Bulgaria 82–0 in a
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...
qualifying tournament.


Notes


External links

* For international association football: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqdgCeTpT5s * For American high school records (all sports): * https://web.archive.org/web/20121207111039/http://www.nfhs.org/recordbook/ * For NCAA records (all sports): * https://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Stats/ * For NCAA baseball records in Divisions I, II, and III since 2001: * https://web.archive.org/web/20131105061918/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Stats/Baseball/RBindex.html * For NCAA men's basketball records in Division I, II, and III since 2001: * https://web.archive.org/web/20131105010653/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/stats/m+basketball/rbindex.html * For NCAA women's basketball records in Divisions I, II, and III since 2001: * https://web.archive.org/web/20131105010202/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/stats/w+basketball/rbindex.html * For NCAA American football records in Divisions I (FBS and FCS) since 2004: * https://web.archive.org/web/20131212044128/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Stats/Football/RBindexI.html * For NCAA American football records in Divisions II and III since 2004: * https://web.archive.org/web/20131213030445/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Stats/Football/RBindexII-III.html * For NCAA men's hockey records in Divisions I and III since 2004: * https://web.archive.org/web/20131219085309/http://ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Stats/Mens+Ice+Hockey/RBIndex.html * For NCAA women's hockey records in Divisions I and III since 2004: * https://web.archive.org/web/20131105012630/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/resources/stats/w+icehockey/rbindex.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Blowout (Sports) Terminology used in multiple sports