Today, number two ranked Alabama will face the number one ranked Louisana State University in what ESPN commentators are calling the “Game of the Century,” the“Super Bowl of College Football.”
Yawn.
The Alabama-LSU matchup is going to be a great game, however I’m of the opinion that the “duel between giants” is vastly overrated, even boring. Performances are almost always solid, but the big plays, the “Hail Mary” moments are rarely a possibility. Though Alabama may be favored, because of their home field advantage among other reasons, no one would be particularly surprised if LSU took them down. Victory is always so much sweeter when you’re rooting for a true underdog. Nothing can compare to that feeling of accomplishment and pride, knowing that your team, who was thought to have no chance of winning, fought hard and took down a giant. Culture conditions us to think this way because that very notion has worked itself into the idea of the American Dream.
From the goody-goody-two-shoes in elementary school, to the seemingly infallible athletes like Roger Federer or the Yankees, perfection is irritating. It makes watching them stumble somewhat of a guilty pleasure and watching their opponents succeed a joy. World Series Champions, The St. Louis Cardinals, were 10 ½ games behind Atlanta at the beginning of September and clinched the National League Wildcard spot on the last game of the season on their loss to the Phillies. They then charged through the Division Series, League Series, and went on to take the Texas Rangers—who had the third-best record in Major League Baseball—in a nail biting, record smashing, seven games. Watching World Series MVP and hometown hero David Freese hit the homerun in the eleventh inning (with two outs no less) to force a Game 7 was a semi-divine experience for any member of Cardinal Nation. When NCAA March Madness rolls around, some of the most exciting, bracket-destroying games happen in the first and second rounds, where lower seeded teams are given the chance to oust some of the best teams in the nation. In last year’s tournament the 12th seeded University of Richmond eliminated the number five Vanderbilt by only three points, and two years ago, Northern Iowa University upset the number one ranked Kansas. These are the games that come down to the last seconds, that require heart more than skill, where as a player you have to really want it.
The triumph of the underdog is a theme that dates back to the Old Testament with the story of David and Goliath. This paradigm has manifested itself as part of the American Dream: The immigrant arrives in New York harbor from the old country with nothing but lint in his pocket, and overcomes the odds by pulling himself up by his bootstraps and making a successful living for himself. We were the underdogs in our own war for independence for goodness sake! History, literature, film—examples run the gamut. Practically every sports movie ever made is about a downtrodden team finding success. Moneyball, the most recent example, may earn its star Brad Pitt an Oscar nod.
Maybe it is culture, then, that conditions us to root for the underdog. Or perhaps it’s just human nature. So many Americans treasure the success of their teams, stay a fan through the losing seasons as well as the winning. But watching a downtrodden team hit that 11th hour (or inning) homerun soar outta the park, or sink the buzzer-shot with a resounding “swish,” is like watching the American Dream take place right before your eyes. It represents what’s great about this country: with hard work, a lotta heart, and a little luck, anything is possible.
