Cheering the underdog

Guys... (I am speaking to the male sex here)... I bet I can guess a few of your favorite movies: How about Rudy, Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, Braveheart, Shawshank Redemption, The Blind Side, Facing the Giants (excellent Christian movie..check it out), The Patriot?...I could go on. You do realize that there is a common thread that runs through each of these movies, right? These films feature a main character, sports team, group of people, etc. that is/are clearly the underdog...never expected to win or prevail. We love these movies because these underdogs do ultimately succeed (OK... Mel Gibson's character, Scotsman William Wallace, didn't actually get to see the fruits of his cause...but we come away convinced that, despite death, he actually wins.)

We love underdogs! But, you know...that admiration isn't solely due to their underdog status. There are plenty of underdogs. Frankly, many, if not most, underdogs remain so... never winning the prize.

Each of the movies I listed has a person or group of people that are not only underdogs, they also do something about their situation with hard work and dogged determination. We admire people like that and cheer when we see it happen....whether in a movie or real life.

Rudy overcame his blue collar upbringing, where friends and family insisted that he couldn't succeed, and worked his tail off to not only get into Notre Dame but actually make the football team. He made the team despite being "5 foot nothing" and weighing "a hundred and nothing". He had a huge heart and worked harder than most of his teammates. Link to You Tube: The real Rudy sacks the GA Tech QB

Andy Duphresne...convicted of a crime he didn't commit, didn't wait for Shawshank's prison walls to fall down. He used his brain and an indomitable desire to be free and eventually escaped after nearly 20 years in prison.

Japan's women's soccer team defeated the American women to win the World Cup and, while we were disappointed that the U.S. lost, nonetheless we secretly cheered the Japanese victory... considering all that island nation has been through recently. Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke, after 19 attempts at winning the British Open, did so on his 20th try...and the whole world cheered.

What is it about us that pulls for and celebrates the success of the "never give up" underdog? I'd love to hear your answers!

--Mike