The nation has taken to Jeremy Lin like he’s the fourth Kardashian sister, and there are many reasons why. He plays in Madison Square Garden, the epicenter of the basketball universe. He is an Asian-American and looks so much different than the other players on the court. He went to Harvard; I bet he knows Ryan Fitzpatrick!
But the main reason America is swept up in LinSanity is because he is an underdog. You didn’t see him coming. Neither did I and there’s nothing this country loves more than a good underdog story!
Inspired by Jeremy Lin, here’s a list of my top 10 favorite underdogs of all time…
10 – Appalachian State. At the end of the 2006 season, Michigan Wolverine’s Jake Long, Mike Hart, and Chad Henne decided to come back to school for one more year. Their Wolverine squad was touted as favorites to win the Big 10, and contend for a national title. That pipe-dream lasted about 60 minutes, as FOUR touchdown underdog Appalachian State stunned Michigan 34-32 in potentially the biggest upset in college football history.
9 – Upset. This race horse may or may not have coined the common phrase after knocking off Man-O-War in Saratoga’s Stanford Memorial race in 1919. Man-O-War was undefeated in his lifetime, while Upset came to the starting gate as an-almost-unbelievable 100-1 underdog. Two things were certain after that race… Man-O-War was no longer undefeated, and anyone who bet on Upset left the track with a smile on their face.
8 – Rocky. Just LOOK at Ivan Drago and tell me you didn’t think ‘Rock was going to get pounded… But since movies don’t count on my list, I’ll stay in the ring and go with Buster Douglas. In the late ’80’s, Mike Tyson was bad. Not “crazy tattoo faced dude from the Hangover movies” bad… but legitimately “put this guy in prison because he could snap and kill someone” bad. America was glued to their television every pay per view to see how quickly “Iron Mike” was going to finish the fight. He was absolutely untouchable. Until he stepped in the ring with 42-1 underdog James “Buster” Douglas. On February 11, 1990, Buster Douglas knocked Mike Tyson out, changing the landscape of Tyson’s career (and boxing as a whole) forever.
7 - Earlier this week, we heard the very sad news of Gary Carter passing away from brain cancer. I was very young when “Kid” played, but the more I read about him the more I wish I would have seen him play. In honor of the fallen Met great, we will add the 1969 New York Mets to the list. The “Miracle Mets” had never finished better than 9th place (out of 10 teams) in their first seven years of existence, and never even sniffed a winning record. In 1969, things changed with Cy Young winner Tom Seaver winning 25 games, helping the Mets reach the playoffs and ultimately win their first World Series. The next time the Mets would reach the promise land? 1986, with the help of Gary Carter.
6 – David Tyree and the New York Giants. The ’72 Dolphins and Mercury Morris were worried. The New England Patriots were not only in their town and on their block … they were knocking on the door of an undefeated season. That was until they squared off with the New York Giants. Eli Manning connected with David Tyree on what I consider to be the greatest play in Super Bowl history as Peyton’s little brother lead a fourth quarter drive to spoil the Patriots unblemished season. Pop that champagne, Mercury. And make an ass out of yourself on SportsCenter while you’re at it…
5 - When Razor Ramone beat Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental belt in a ladder match at Wrestlemania 10, I was shocked… but again, since we need to stick to actual sports I’ll include Rulon Gardner for the wrestling portion of this list. In the 2000 summer olympics, Russian heavyweight wrestler Alexander Karelin was known as “the unbeatable”. Karelin was undefeated in his THIRTEEN YEAR international wrestling career until he stepped on the mat with the roley poley Gardner. Gardner did the unthinkable as he outlasted Karelin, handing the Russian his first loss since he was a teenager.
4- 1985 Villanova Wildcats. On paper, Georgetown should have routed Rollie Massimino’s 8th seeded Wildcats in the NCAA championship game. But that’s why they play the game… The Wildcats were unconscious, shooting 90% in the second half to stun Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas 66-64. Think about that for a second… Villanova shot better than 75% from the field for the ENTIRE game and still only won by a bucket. That should tell you how good the Georgetown team really was.
3 – Fabricio Werdum. Fedor Emelianenko was the Michael Jordan of MMA, if Michael would have won a few more titles. Fedor dominated the heavyweight division like no other fighter in the history of the sport. Thought to be indestructible, Fedor was riding a ten year unbeaten streak when he stepped in the ring with Werdum, who many considered a tin can and enormous underdog. One minute into this fight, Werdum proved everyone wrong by tapping out Emelianenko.
2 – Joe Namath and the New York Jets. Coming into the game as 20 point underdogs, “Broadway Joe” guaranteed a victory before it was cool to guarantee a victory. Coming through on his promise, the Jets upset the Colts 16-7 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Is there a better image than Joe Namath trotting off the field with one hand raised in victory? Well… maybe one.
1 - 1980 USA Men’s Hockey Team. You know the story… now enjoy a little American pride, courtesy of Mr. Al Michaels. USA! USA! USA!
Have someone you want to add to the list? Leave it in the comments below, or follow me on Twitter @JockPostDT to discuss!
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That may be the BEST article that DT has ever written. Keep up the good work.
david tyree dropped that pass