Sport hurts: Jimmy White (1994)

Monday May 2, 1994. Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White are locked in a final frame decider in the World Championship final. With White leading 37-24 and the table open, even the usually stoic Hendry is showing signs of concern. White bends down to tackle a black he would normally pot with his eyes closed.

It should have been his crowning glory, the moment White conquered his Everest. Instead it was the day the music died. A gasp echoed around the Crucible as White's attempt at the black failed to threaten the pocket. All he could do was sit, wait and hope that Hendry would give him one more shot.

1993 Ryder Cup

Welcome to 1993. Take That teamed up with Lulu. There were four UK terrestrial television channels. England were preparing for a crucial World Cup qualifier in the Netherlands. Five of America's 2023 Ryder Cup team had not been born. The world wide web was still a thing of the future. Prince Andrew was allowed to present the Ryder Cup to the winning captain. The past is indeed a foreign country.

As captain Tom Watson lifted up the Ryder Cup at the Belfry on September 26, 1993, you would have got long odds on the American team waiting at least 30 years to triumph on European soil. But since that Sunday in the Midlands, six US captains - including Watson again in 2014 - have tried and failed to take the trophy back across the Atlantic. Thirty years of hurt. 

At the time it felt like the end of an era and the start of another period of American dominance. Admittedly the 1991 and 1993 wins had been nip and tuck throughout, but America's strength in depth coupled with an apparent lack of successors behind Europe's ageing stars painted a worrying image for the future. Yet history tells us another tale.

1997: England v Australia First Test

For once in my life it appeared as if my optimism had not been misplaced. Going into the first Ashes Test in the summer of '97, there seemed a renewed energy, not just with English cricket but also the nation as a whole. Euro 96, Britpop, Things Can Only Get Better, it was clear that this momentum was leading to an inevitable conclusion: The Ashes were coming home. 

Disappointment heaped upon misery, embarrassment and despair since 1989 had left many English cricket fans wondering when the drought would end. But in 1997 there was genuine hope that Michael Atherton could lift the Ashes urn and end the years of hurt.

Sport hurts: Bernhard Langer (1991)

My new series where I take a look back at a time sport left me broken.

There is nothing quite like the final day of a Ryder Cup in terms of gut-wrenching tension. For hours on end you study the scoreboard meticulously, allowing yourself brief moments of hope when a blob of blue is added, and descending into despondency when red starts to dominate. As the 12 singles matches develop you board a rollercoaster of emotions, thrown up and down as hole by hole the picture changes. By the end of the day you feel like you've been to hell and back.

Sometimes I think this is just me being far too invested in sport. But it is reassuring to discover that you are not alone. And when you find out that the players involved are also suffering then it helps to know that maybe all of this does matter after all. To hear Sir Nick Faldo comment that every part of his body was shaking during his pivotal singles match against Curtis Strange in 1995 is confirmation that the Sunday of the Ryder Cup is unique.