Florida Marlins def. Chicago Cubs – 2003 NLCS:
For a while in the fateful fall of 2003, it looked like the Chicago Cubs were finally going to break their painful curse. They were the odds-on favorite to win the World Series, and they started the playoffs living up to that billing.
Winning their way to the National League Championship Series, Chicago held a 3-2 series lead on the Florida Marlins prior to a potential clinching game 6. They even managed to maintain a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning, but then one of the most infamous moments in the Cubs’ history happened. A foul ball sailed towards the stands, with Cubs player Moises Alou attempting to track it. Ostracized Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached out to grab the ball to Alou’s protest. It’s highly debatable if he would have been able to catch it. But he did not, and the tide had turned.
The floodgates opened with Florida putting eight runs on the board in that insane inning alone. Of course, they won that game and the game 7 that followed to shut down the Cubs’ run to the title. The Marlins went on to score eight runs that inning, and would eventually win Games 6 and 7. Their already brutalized fanbase was heartbroken, but thankfully the Cubs finally won the title again in 2016.