Underdog (competition)

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An underdog is a party in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, who is popularly expected to lose. The party which is expected to win is called the favorite. If the underdog wins, the event is known as an upset. These terms are commonly used in sports betting. The origin of the word Underdog comes from Naval Ship Building when the planks of wood were sawn for their construction. The logs of wood were placed over a pit on planks of wood called "Dogs" (a bit like fire dogs). The senior sawsman stood on top of the plank and he was the overdog. The junior had to go into the pit and saw and of course he got covered in saw dust. He was the "Underdog".

Contents

1 Victorious underdogs

1.1 History
1.2 Politics
1.3 Sports

2 Underdogs in popular culture
3 See also

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 Scottish army of Robert the Bruce, outnumbered almost three to one by the English force of Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn.
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.
On June 29,1950, during the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the USA defeated highly ranked England, 1-0
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 1978, Irish rugby union team, Munster Rugby defeated the All Blacks 12 points to nil. The game was later turned into a stage play, Alone it Stands.
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 2003 National League Championship Series, the Florida Marlins down 3-0 in the 8th inning of a crucial Game 6 against the favored Chicago Cubs, went on to score eight runs in the eighth inning to eventually win the NLCS series and the 2003 World Series against the New York Yankees. Making it their second World Series title in there ten years of existence.
In the Euro 2004 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.
During the 2005 MLB playoffs, the Houston Astros, a wildcard team, were expected to lose to the St. Louis Cardinals, owners of the best record in baseball, in the 2005 National League Championship Series; however, they managed to beat the Cardinals in a 4-2 series and reach the World Series in the first time in franchise history.
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 the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the George Mason Patriots defeated the heavily favored Connecticut Huskies 86-84 to make it to the Final Four.
The 8th seeded Edmonton Oilers team upset the President's Trophy winner Detroit in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. They then upset the heavily favoured San Jose Sharks in the semi-finals and then the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the Conference Finals. They advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, being the first 8th seeded team to ever do so. The Oilers went down 3-1 in the series but came back to force a game 7. However, the Oilers still lost the game and did not win the Stanley Cup.
The Miami Heat winning the 2006 NBA Finals. Though they finished the season 52-20, they were considered weak, despite a strong finish and the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. They were expected to lose in the first round to the Chicago Bulls^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}, but beat them in 6 games. They were paired up with the New Jersey Nets, and again expected to lose; after losing the first game, they took the next four to win the series. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they were up against the league-leading Detroit Pistons, considered the league's best team; Miami won the series in 6 games. In the finals, their opponent was the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas was clearly the better team, and beat Miami 2 times in a row to take an 0-2 lead. Miami however, refused to quit, and beat the Mavericks 4 straight to take the series and the championship, becoming the third team in NBA History to win the championship following an 0-2 deficit, joining the 1969 Boston Celtics and 1977 Portland Trail Blazers. Dwyane Wade was named NBA Finals MVP.

Underdogs in popular culture

Underdogs often play the protagonist role in popular culture. Most often - in action movies.