Everybody loves an underdog. We were all pulling for David to slay Goliath in our 5-year-old Sunday school class. We were certainly all pulling for the glass slipper to fit on Cinderella’s foot. The same applies to sports \u2014 we all love a good upset.<\/p>\n
I’ve lived through several odds-defying performances in my time of sports fandom, so here are a few of my favorites:<\/p>\n
1. Appalachian State over Michigan \u2014 2006<\/p>\n
No one had heard of this Division I-AA school from North Carolina until a blocked field goal gave it a 34-32 win over 5th-ranked Michigan in 2006. The Appalachian State radio call of the game’s last few seconds can only be described as incredible and is only a Youtube search away. Enjoy.<\/p>\n
2. Butler University \u2014 2010, 2011 NCAA Tournament<\/p>\n
If you didn’t love seeing Brad Stephens coach a bunch of white boys to back-to-back championship games, then I’m not sure you have a heart. Members of the Horizon league, the Butler Bulldogs suprised March Madness fans by stymieing the offenses of top seed after top seed in 2010 and 2011.<\/p>\n
3. New York Giants over New England Patriots \u2014 Super Bowl XLII<\/p>\n
The Pats were 12-point favorites and a win away from a perfect season. The Giants were 10-6 and didn’t even win their division. So when Eli Manning, David Tyree and company became the first wild card team to win a Super Bowl, the world was shocked. As was 8th-grade Caleb, who still owes a friend $100 based on this game’s results.<\/p>\n
4. Georgia State over Baylor \u2014 2015 NCAA Tournament<\/p>\n
Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter sat on a stool on the sideline because of a foot injury he acquired while celebrating the team’s NCAA tournament berth. When his son, R.J., hit a game-winning three-pointer to beat 3-seed Baylor, coach Hunter literally fell off his stool. You can’t make this stuff up.<\/p>\n
5. Robin Soderling over Rafael Nadal \u2014 2009 French Open<\/p>\n
“The King of Clay” had never lost at Roland Garros and was coming off a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 thrashing of Roger Federer in the 2008 final. But on this windy day, he was overpowered on his favorite surface by a Swede who had never been past the third round at a major tournament.<\/p>\n
6. St. Louis Cardinals \u2014 2011 World Series<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Yes, I’m biased. But when the Cardinals trailed the Braves by five games for the wild card spot with 10 games left in 2011, their odds of winning a World Series were 999-1. A month and a half later, the team was hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy. In the words of Fox commentator Joe Buck, “What a team, what a ride.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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