Clubhouse

15 Worst Ways To Find Out You’ve Been Traded

Fresh Videos

By @nickmarsico

15 Worst Ways To Find Out You've Been Traded

Seahawks Fans Gather To Watch Super Bowl XLIX, Seattle Vs. New England
Getty Images

Getting traded can be a rough experience. It can mean leaving a great coach, a strong team, moving out of a fantastic city and being pulled away from family and friends. With so many means of communication these days, there are a number of ways to learn about your new status, and they can range from shocking to awkward.

15. Seeing It On SportsCenter

ESPN sportscenter
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

15. Seeing It On SportsCenter

ESPN sportscenter
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

You wake up and it's like every other morning. Put on a pot of coffee, step outside to grab the paper, pour a bowl of cereal and sit on the couch to check out SportsCenter to see if there's anything interesting happening during your offseason. Oh, hey, Keith Olbermann is back! And he's interviewing your coach... who announces that management decided to trade you for a third-round draft pick.

14. See Your Name On A Different Team's Jersey At The Mall

New York Jets Introduce Brett Favre
Getty Images

14. See Your Name On A Different Team's Jersey At The Mall

New York Jets Introduce Brett Favre
Getty Images

School is about to be in session again, so it's off to the mall because your daughter needs new shoes and your son has worn holes in all of his jeans. You walk past a store with team jerseys in the window and you see your last name. Must be a rookie with the same name, you think. Same first initial, even. Wait, is that your first name on the tag?

13. A Sports Radio Host Confirms The Rumors

Colin Cowherd
Getty Images

13. A Sports Radio Host Confirms The Rumors

colin cowherd
Getty images

Driving in your truck on the way back from a terrible night with your poker buddies, you flip on the radio to hear about guys having a worse day than you. The host mentions your name and sends the show to a commercial break. It lasts forever, as radio commercials tend to do, and you sit in your driveway for 5 minutes waiting to hear him sing your praises. Nope. It's audio of your team's GM confirming a trade with that team in northwestern Canada.

12. In An Advance Copy Of The Latest EA Sports Game

Los Angeles Clippers v Memphis Grizzlies - Game Five
Getty Images

12. In An Advance Copy Of The Latest EA Sports Game

Los Angeles Clippers v Memphis Grizzlies - Game Five
Getty Images

You just returned from a family vacation with no internet access and limited cell phone service. When you arrive home there is a package waiting on the doorstep. It's a copy of the newest game, not set to be released for another month! You choose to play as your team, but that's odd, you aren't on the roster list. Must be a glitch. You start a game and see that the other team has a center with your name who looks strikingly similar to you. Oh.

11. Winning A Surprising Kids' Choice Award

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards 2014 - Alternative Views
Getty Images

11. Winning A Surprising Kids' Choice Award

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards 2014 - Alternative Views
Getty Images

You were invited to this year's Kids' Choice Awards to be a presenter and are told you are up for an award. Sweet! You don't know if you'll win anything but hopefully at least you get to be slimed. Then it turns out that you are the first winner of the show's newest award: Most Shocking Fan Favorite To Be Traded. Getting slimed when you go on stage to accept the award just feels like egg on your face more than anything else.

10. Hearing It From The Fans

David Beckham, Beckham Fans, MLS
Robert Hanashiro - USA TODAY Sports

10. Hearing It From The Fans

David Beckham, Beckham Fans, MLS
Robert Hanashiro - USA TODAY Sports

It's the last game of the season and everyone in the locker room is being oddly quiet around you. The manager says he wants to see you in his office after the game and you figure it's about a raise or some recognition for being the best player on a bad team. When you go out to the field, though, there are signs in the crowd and people are chanting "Thank you!"

9. Reading It On Social Media

facebook trades
Rant Sports Facebook

9. Reading It On Social Media

facebook trades
Rant Sports Facebook

Your phone goes off, and being glued to it you check your notifications immediately. 10 private messages? Why is your brother sharing articles about "10 Best Cities to Live In"? Holy cow, ESPN's Facebook page has an article about last-minute trades and your picture is on the link image. Oh. Darn.

8. You Walk In On Your Own Going Away Party

15 Athletes You’d Love to Party With on Independence Day
Getty Images

8. You Walk In On Your Own Going Away Party

15 Athletes You’d Love to Party With on Independence Day
Getty Images

Is that cake you smell? Booze too? There's a lot of noise coming from your apartment. It's not your birthday. You walk in and people are talking and drinking but nobody will look at you. That cake has a Knicks logo on it. Aren't you on the Lakers? Not anymore!

7. Overhear Someone Talking About It On The Phone

Charles Woodson
Ezra C. Shaw / Allsport

7. Overhear Someone Talking About It On The Phone

Charles Woodson
Ezra C. Shaw / Allsport

"Hey, who got traded?" You ask. "Um, nobody..." Is the reply. "Then what are you talking about?" "My fantasy football team." But of course that guy hates fantasy sports and he's actually talking about you. And he's talking to your mother. Why do they know about it before you?

6. Find Out In The Middle Of A Game

John Elway scoreboard
Tom Hauck / Allsport

6. Find Out In The Middle Of A Game

John Elway scoreboard
Tom Hauck / Allsport

It's overtime in the final game before the trade deadline. You expected to be gone, but it's close to midnight and it looks like you're going to be safe after all. Then the jumbotron lights up with some breaking news during a commercial break. You've been traded right at the end of the 11th hour, and nobody had the common decency to tell you that it was still in negotiations.

5. Your Biggest Rival Finds Out First

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson pose for a portrait
Getty Images

5. Your Biggest Rival Finds Out First

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson pose for a portrait
Getty Images

You're on the court defending your most fierce rival and as always there's trash talk going back and forth. You think you're coming out on top after a sweet 'your momma' joke. And then he drops a bombshell that it will be the last time it will ever be happening while the two of you are wearing these colors. It doesn't phase you until your coach confirms it. And then you see him smiling from across the court, mocking you.

4. See It On The Scrolling Ticker In Times Square

donald driver times square
Getty Images

4. See It On The Scrolling Ticker In Times Square

donald driver times square
Getty Images

You've been wanting to bring your family to see New York City for a long time. Then you finally get them there and one of your kids sees your name on the ticker. "Hey dad, when were you going to tell us you were going to be traded to Green Bay?"

3. The Mascot Tells You

Philly Phanatic
Getty Images

3. The Mascot Tells You

Philly Phanatic
Getty Images

You're always first to arrive and last to leave. The team's mascot is usually the only other guy you see still around the locker room when you leave for the night. You never really talk, but there's an odd mutual respect between you. One night he approaches you and mimes something peculiar. You don't understand him, but he makes the "sobbing" gesture by rubbing his eyes. He hands you a note and skulks away sadly. You thought he was leaving.

2. Read It In A Newspaper On The Road

kim kardashian
Getty Images

2. Read It In A Newspaper On The Road

kim kardashian
Getty Images

It's the first game of a three-game series out of town. One of your superstitions is having the local newspaper delivered to your hotel room during road trips. This morning starts like every other, until you step out of your room, grab the paper, open it up and see your face below the headline "Welcome To Montreal!"

1. Find A Red Tag In Your Locker

MajorLeagueII-popscreen
Popscreen

1. Find A Red Tag In Your Locker

MajorLeagueII-popscreen
Popscreen

It's a classic. The worst part is that you go to the wrong locker first by mistake. Then you open your actual locker and there it is. Your ticket to a whole new team. And yes, I'm aware that in the movie the red tag means you're cut, not traded. The team you play for isn't a made-up movie ball club. At least they put your new team's logo on the tag to make it a souvenir!

Share Tweet
Trending Now on