It happened tonight in the NCAA 3rd round of March Madness. #1 seeded Pitt fell to Butler. I am sure it messed up a lot of people's brackets. But I also know a lot of people were cheering for Butler. How do I know? Because Butler was a big-time underdog and we like cheering for the underdog.
And it's not just basketball that we find ourselved rooting for the underdog. How about Susan Boyle, the frumpy, 47 year old lady that won America's got Talent? We like the story of David vs. Goliath. Rocky Balboa. Secretariat. Rudy. The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Just mention these underdogs and I bet you get a good feeling deep inside. There is something about them that we relate to.
Why do we like cheering for the underdog? I think there are several reasons. For example, some people like rooting for the underdog as a basis of bragging, especially if the underdog wins. Being able to brag that you supported to underdog implies a cleverness on your part.
It also implies that you aren't just following what is popular. Ironically, this also offers a safe psychological out if the underdog loses. In that sense it gives some people the best overall bet--you can either brag that your team won against the odds or can shrug off a loss and make the self-righteous claim that you didn't go with the obvious.
Perhaps we feel morally good about rooting for the underdog.
Maybe, it's part of our identity as a nation, after all, the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth rock seemed destined to fail from the start.
But, here's why I think we really like the underdog; because if they can do it, maybe, just maybe, we can do it too.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
I have recently written blogs on things I like, things I miss, and this one is about things I look forward to. This blog is about regular e...
-
Turn on the radio or the television and you are almost assured of getting a little depressed. Things are not exactly easy right now. The ec...
-
I have lived through the real estate bubble, the dot.com technology bubble, and the stock market bubble. I am now convinced that the Keynes...
-
I grew up surrounded by Indy car racing. My dad loved the races and followed Indy style racing fervantly. Some of my favorite memories ... -
On Friday, I drove down to my parent's house to visit. The drive down is a drive that I used to take 30+ years ago and one that I used ...
-
This morning I woke up, took a shower, walked to the family room and sat in my favorite leather chair. The morning was calm and peaceful. ...
-
This past Wednesday night I met with the freshman boys that I have been mentoring. Tonight, I let them know that I will be meeting with the...
-
On 9/9/11, I posted a blog titled, " The Greatest Speech in the History of Mankind". It was a blog that I wrote while listening ...
-
I wrote a blog not too long ago ( Is Heaven for Real) about a boy that claims to have gone to heaven. Some time ago I saw that boy, Colton...
-
At the request of my wife, I have not written a "political" blog for a few days. But I can't stay quiet any longer. Listenin...
No comments:
Post a Comment