Top 20 Times Athletes Celebrated Too Early

Top 20 Times Athletes Celebrated Too Early

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Times Athletes Celebrated Too Early.

For this list, we’ll be looking at sportspeople who let confidence overwhelm them and gave up on a play or win, only to watch in horror as their opponents took advantage.

Have you ever celebrated too early and got punished? Let us know below!

#20: Jurickson Profar

In 2017, the Netherlands took on Puerto Rico in the semi-final of the World Baseball Classic. And the Europeans got off to a solid start. But then, well, it all fell apart in a singular moment. Stepping up to bat, Jurickson Profar struck a single and ran to first base. In the meantime, the outfield threw the ball to the plate to keep Xander Bogaerts on third. Something that Profar didn’t realize as he celebrated in front of the dugout, taking his sweet time to reach the base. Seeing the opportunity, Yadier Molina chucked the ball at T.J. Rivera, who tagged the startled Profar.The Netherlands went on to lose 3-4 to Puerto Rico.

#19: Molly Huddle

At the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, Molly Huddle was set to win her first-ever medal at the event as she competed in the Women's 10,000 meters. She was set to win bronze, and judging by her body language, she knew this as well. However, this proved costly. As she slowed down, already celebrating, her United States teammate Emily Infeld sped up on the inside and crossed before Huddle. Her reaction says it all.

#18: Björn Wirdheim

Sweden’s Björn Wirdheim was having a great season for Arden during the Formula 3000 International Championship back in 2003. But then Monaco happened. With pole position, Wirdheim drove excellently and was leading the race. However, he suddenly slowed down nearing his pit crew to wave. The Swede believed he’d seen the checkered flag and thought it was over…but it wasn’t, as Danish driver Nicolas Kiesa flew by. This mishap, and the Swede forgetting about the safety car’s involvement in an earlier accident, had reduced his lead to four seconds, which meant that by the time the two Scandavians crossed the finish line, Kiesa had won by 0.895 seconds.

#17: Freddie Burns

In 2018, having already missed a simple penalty in front of the posts for England’s Bath against France’s Toulouse in the European Rugby Champions Cup match, Freddie Burns must’ve felt relieved when he found a gap through the French defense. After all, his team was trailing by two points to Toulouse. This try would give them a three-point lead. But the England international let his emotions get the better of him as he played up to the crowd and nonchalantly jogged towards the posts. Unfortunately, before Burns could place the egg on the ground and secure the points, Toulouse’s Maxime Médard swept in and swiped the ball out of the fly-half’s hands. This lackadaisical play cost Bath the match.

#16: Tanguy Pepiot

University of Oregon’s Tanguy Pepiot had a commanding lead as he approached the finish line in the men’s steeplechase at the 2015 Pepsi Team Invitational. Seeing the win in the bag, Pepiot started waving his arm at the crowd, encouraging them to cheer louder for his monumental achievement. But this waving took the runner’s mind from what he was meant to be doing; finishing the race. As he slowed down drastically, Meron Simon for the University of Washington saw his chance and accelerated. He beat Pepiot to first place before the Frenchman realized what happened. The devastated runner-up described the humiliating incident as a “learning experience.”

#15: Mateo Bustos

In 2021, Mateo Bustos took part in Spain’s Sagunto Triathlon and had a decent lead. But without checking his surroundings, Bustos enjoyed the crowd cheers way too much as he slowed, did a little dance, and pumped his fist for his achievement. Only Bustos hadn’t secured the victory just yet. Right behind him, Germán Cister sprinted past the expected winner to claim first place. As soon as he realized, Bustos hid his face in his hands. We don’t blame him.

#14: Dwayne Rudd

With four seconds left and his side leading by 1, Cleveland Browns linebacker Dwayne Rudd hit Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green. Believed the game was over, he infamously took his helmet off and threw it in celebration. Only Green wasn’t sacked. In fact, the play was still very much alive. He had handed the ball to John Tait, who ran it to the Browns’ 28. A penalty handed to the Browns due to Rudd’s poor conduct brought the Chiefs closer to the endzone and although the game clock ran out, the rules dictate the Chiefs get a field goal try. Morten Andersen went on to secure the win for Kansas City 39-37.

#13: Nigel Mansell

At the 1991 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, British legend Nigel Mansell was looking to win the event again after his victory in the 1986 edition. Competing for Williams-Renault, he dominated the race. With around a mile before the finish line, Mansell waved at the crowd, likely playing out the podium champagne spray in his mind. But by doing that, he stalled his car as the engine revs dropped too low. This allowed rival Nelson Piquet to power past a bemused Mansell as he stood beside his motionless vehicle.

#12: Alex Cujavante

In 2010, Alex Cujavante competed in the men’s juniors 20,000 meters elimination at the World Roller Speed Skating Championships in his home nation of Colombia. Up to this point, everything had gone perfectly as the infamous skater approached the finish line to reach first place. Cujavante savored the moment. And that’s when it all went downhill. Even though he looked behind him, Cujavante badly misjudged the positioning of South Korea’s Lee Sang-cheol. With arms aloft and a vastly reduced speed, Cujavante didn’t realize that Lee had beaten him for several awkward moments until eventually realizing what had unfolded.

#11: Riccardo Russo

Motorbike racing and doing celebratory tricks sound like a bad mix. And Riccardo Russo discovered this in 2012 the hard way. At the Italian CIV championship in Mugello, Russo held a comfortable lead in the race. But as he crossed the line, he drastically slowed down and did some arm thrusts in celebration.Meanwhile, as other racers darted past him. Even as Russo stood up on the bike with his arms aloft, it didn’t click yet that there was still one lap to go. By the time he realized this, the damage was done. Russo ended up coming in 14th place…yikes.

#10: Patrick Roy

This entry is proof that even Hall of Fame goaltenders make mistakes from time to time. Locked in a 0-0 game with bitter rivals the Detroit Red Wings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, Patrick Roy appeared to be a brick wall. In this sequence alone he made a number of key saves. However, he wouldn’t be on this list if that’s all that had occurred. After making a particularly impressive save on Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, Roy lifted his glove hand in the air in celebration. Unfortunately, the puck popped out and Brendan Shanahan was there to knock it into the back of the net. Detroit would go on to win the game, the series, and eventually, the Stanley Cup.

#9: Nick Young

Unlike our previous entry, this sports gaffe proved inconsequential to the final outcome of the game. However, we doubt Nick Young’s teammates ever let him forget about the time he celebrated prematurely. During a 2014 game against the New York Knicks, Young made an embarrassing mistake when he celebrated a successful three-pointer that, uh, wasn’t successful. The ball bounced off the rim and out; a fact Young missed because his back was to the play. Instead of waiting to see what happened, Young had turned away from the rim, throwing his arms in the air in an attempt to rouse the crowd. The Lakers won, but Nick Young was definitely the night’s big loser.

#8: Jeon Jun-Woo

Down two runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Lotte Giants of the Korean League found themselves in desperate need of some late-game heroics. That’s when Jeon Jun-Woo came up to bat. With a runner on second base, a home run would tie the game. So when Jun-Woo smashed a deep fly ball into left field, he didn’t wait to see what happened next. Instead, he flipped his bat high into the air and pointed to the crowd. It was only as he was slowly trotting to first base that he realized the ball had not cleared the fence and was instead safely nestled inside the glove of his opponent. Jun-Woo was left standing on first completely stupefied.

#7: Mark Martin

Remember how we said not all sports gaffes have serious consequences? Yeah, that wasn’t the case with this next entry. At the 1994 Goody’s 250 NASCAR Series, driver Mark Martin had a clear path to victory. He’d been in first place for much of the race, but with two laps to go the caution flag went up. The next thing Martin knew the white flag was up (indicating the start of the final lap) and other drivers were congratulating him. Confused due to the multiple flags, Martin took it as a sign that the race was over. He subsequently pulled off the track and into pit row. This gave David Green the opportunity to overtake him and win the race. Talk about a bad way to lose.

#6: Meghan Rutledge

Inexperience and excitement rarely produce stellar results. Just ask motocross racer Meghan Rutledge. While competing in the 2013 X Games, Rutledge found herself in first place with the finish line in sight. Emboldened by her lead and the prospect of winning her first X Games race, Rutledge decided to add a little flair to one of her final jumps…but ended up crashing. In response to her early celebration, Rutledge stated: "I was out there leading. I'm really young. I've never led an X Games before. I celebrated a bit too early and made a mistake.” The moment may have proved too big for the young racer, but it sounds like she learned her lesson.

#5: Adriana Nelson

Imagine you’re a long-distance runner competing in your first marathon. At one point your lead is 30 seconds, and with 300 meters to go, you’re ahead of the next closest runner by more than a dozen meters. What do you do? Start celebrating, of course! That’s exactly what Adriana Nelson (formerly Pirtea) did at the 2007 Chicago Marathon, and it cost her big time. With record-setting temperatures slowing everyone down, Nelson managed to build a healthy lead. Unfortunately, she flew a little too close to the sun and began celebrating with people in the crowd as she approached the finish line. This gave defending champion Berhane Adere time to catch up, with Adere passing Nelson with just a few meters left to go in the race.

#4: Leon Lett

Former NFL defensive tackle Leon Lett was an important part of a Dallas Cowboys squad that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s. However, when people hear his name their minds inevitably drift to this infamous moment from Super Bowl XXVII. Nearing the end of the game, Lett recovered a fumble and began chugging towards the endzone. However, he was unaware that speedy Buffalo receiver Don Beebe was hot on his tail, slowing down and raising the ball in the air. This gave Beebe the chance to knock it out of his hand and through the back of the endzone, causing a touchback. Luckily for Lett and the Cowboys, they were up by 35 points, so the only real harm was to Lett’s reputation.

#3: Cibona Zagreb

Didn’t anyone ever tell these guys it ain’t over till it’s over? In 2010, Croatian basketball squad Cibona Zagreb found themselves facing KK Partizan in the ABA League Finals. Down 72-71 in the final quarter, Bojan Bogdanović nailed a three-pointer to put Cibona up by two points with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock. Cibona Zagreb players and coaches immediately ran onto the court to celebrate, but all this did was give KK Partizan a golden opportunity to get the ball up the court undefended and score the game-winning basket. Cibona lost 75-74 and learned a valuable lesson about playing to the final buzzer.

#2: Khalid Askri

Back in 2010, FAR Rabat goalkeeper Khalid Askri found himself in a penalty shootout versus MAS Fez in the 2010 Moroccan Throne Cup. With the game on the line, Askri stared down the opposing player and made a key save to extend the shootout. He then stood up and began banging his chest in an attempt to rile up the crowd. Unfortunately for Askri, the ball continued to spin…right into the back of the net. The goal proved costly, as it gave MAS Fez a 7-6 lead and ultimately, the win.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:

Philadelphia Phillies
Upon Video Review, It Was Determined They Celebrated Too Early

Lindsey Jacobellis
Showboating Cost This Snowboarder a Gold Medal

Toronto Blue Jays
They Partied Like They Won The World Series After Clinching The Division, But Went on to Lose to the Kansas City Royals in the Playoffs

Skyview High School
Sometimes Knowing the Rules Is More Important Than Making the Big Play

#1: DeSean Jackson

What is it with football players dropping the ball at the one-yard line? Unlike Leon Lett, this gaff was 100% DeSean Jackson’s fault. After catching a deep ball from Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, Jackson zipped into the endzone and immediately began to celebrate. Turns out he kicked off the festivities a little too soon, dropping the football before entering the endzone. While initially ruled a touchdown, video review quickly determined the ball never crossed the white line. Luckily for Jackson, the ball was placed at the one-yard line, and the Eagles immediately punched it in for a score. This wouldn’t be the first time the wide receiver celebrated too early…