Underdog (competition)

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Underdog (competition)

VICTORIOUS UNDERDOGS

History

The Biblical David who slew the champion Goliath

The ancient Greeks over the mighty Persian Empire at the Battle Of Salamis

The Knights Hospitaller against the overwhelming Ottoman forces during the Great Siege Of Malta

The defending British fleet was victorious over the "invincible" Spanish Armada in June 1588

The American revolutionary forces against the British army during the American Revolutionary War .

The Royal Navy at the Battle Of Trafalgar

American Volunteers , led by Andrew Jackson , defeated the regular British army during the Battle Of New Orleans with minimal losses

1.400 Indian warriors withstood 40.000 government troops during the Second Seminole War

The Confederate Army's initial victories in the American Civil War

The Battle Of Vimy Ridge during World War I in which Canadian forces managed to defeat the seemingly invincible German army who had already defeated both the French and British in that locale

Sergeant Alvin York and his men raided a German machine gun stronghold during World War I

Finland against the Soviet Union during the Winter War .

The RAF staving off the vastly superior Luftwaffe in the Battle Of Britain .

The United States Navy at the Battle Of Midway .

Politics

U.S. President Harry Truman in the 1948 Presidential Election

Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone in 1990

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold in 1992

Tennessee Senator Bill Frist in 1994

Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura in 1998

Sports

In the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , Germany , Japan won against the favourite team Sweden, 3-2 in the soccer competition.

In Super Bowl III , the New York Jets , led by quarterback Joe Namath , defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 16-7.

In 1972 , Top Professional side Newcastle United were beaten by then-amateur team Hereford United in the FA Cup replay after the two teams drew at Newcastle's home stadium, St. James' Park

In 1980 , the United States hockey team consisting of amateurs and college players defeated the Olympic hockey superpower, the Soviet Union . The amazing upset was called the " Miracle On Ice "

The 1985 Villanova University basketball team (8 seed) defeated the Georgetown University basketball team (1 seed) in the Men's NCAA Tournament Final

Boxer James "Buster" Douglas , given Odds of 42-to-1 by one Las Vegas Sports Book , handed the previously-undefeated Mike Tyson his first ever professional defeat in Tokyo , Japan on February 11, 1990

In the 1992 European Football Championship in Sweden , Denmark won the entire tournament. Denmark was a reserve team because of the Yugoslav Wars .

In 1994, the Denver Nuggets (42-40; 8 seed) beat the Seattle Supersonics (64-18; 1 seed) in the first round of the playoffs.

In 2002 , the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI . In retrospect this seems less an underdog story because the Patriots went on to dominate the NFL for 3 more years, but at the time the Rams were favored by 14 points, making it the second largest upset in Super Bowl history.

In 2001 , the hugely favored Iowa State University basketball team (2 seed) lost to the Hampton University basketball team (15 seed) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament

In the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah , USA , Belarus won, 3-2, over the favourite team from Sweden in the Men's Ice Hockey Competition .

In the Football competition, Greece , which some sports books gave 150-1 odds to win at the start of the tournament, defeated the hosts Portugal in their opening match, the holders France , the favourites Czech Republic in the semifinals, and Portugal again in the final to complete a shocking win.

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox were down three games to none against the heavily favored New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series , and the Red Sox won four games in a row to defeat the Yankees four games to three, en route winning their first World Series title in eighty-six years.

In the 2005-06 NFL Playoffs , the Pittsburgh Steelers were the #6 seed in the AFC playoffs, and went on to pull off upsets at Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Denver, en route to a controversial 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL . However, the Steelers were favoured to defeat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

In April 2006, the WWE 's Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton & Kurt Angle to become the lightest and shortest World Heavyweight Champion ever.

Although the George Mason Patriots did not win the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament , making it as far as they did has been considered a victory in itself.

UNDERDOGS IN POPULAR CULTURE

Underdogs often play the protagonist role in popular culture.
Most often - in Action Movies .

Rocky Balboa in Rocky

Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid

The Nerd s in Revenge Of The Nerds

The hapless cat in several Tom And Jerry (MGM) episodes

The Rebel forces defeat over the Imperial juggernaut in the Star Wars universe

SEE ALSO

Contender