Everybody loves an underdog. When underdogs win, they create moments that truly exemplify the beauty of sport – that it provides everyone with the opportunity to win, provided one is willing to give it everything they have. A little luck on one’s side also wouldn’t hurt, of course.
The greatest underdog stories are eternally etched into the living history of a sport. While there’s no substitute for watching underdogs in sports overcome spectacular odds in the moment, reading about some of these inspiring sports stories is equally enjoyable.
While sports is filled with some of the greatest underdog stories, there are some that stand out for different reasons – some simply evoke a sense of nostalgia for a different era in sports, while some famous underdog stories that take place in modern times herald a generational shift in a sport.
Whether or not you’ve already heard about these six stories, they are definitely some of the greatest underdog stories that are worth revisiting. And if you’re reading about these inspiring sports stories for the first time, prepare to be enthralled.
1. Leicester City wins the 2015/2016 English Premier League title
5,000 to 1. These were the odds that Leicester City – Premier League champions of 2015/2016 – faced and incredibly overcame. The club strategized intelligently, and took advantage of a brief lull in quality amongst the big five (Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City), and do something unprecedented in English football.
It is hard to overestimate the magnitude of this feat. The gap between the top five and the rest of the Premier League has widened to become a depthless chasm in recent years, with the big clubs having access to unearthly amounts of funding that the rest of the league simply can’t compete with. With commercial behemoths like Manchester United and Liverpool that have built their legacies by winning titles over decades, to sovereign backed clubs such as Manchester City (and now Newcastle United as well) that have recently come into wealth, the big clubs simply have better facilities and more world-class players. It isn’t hard to see why only five teams had ever won the Premier League until 2016, considering these facts.
Leicester City defied all of that, to produce one of the greatest underdog stories in football and the history of sports, on the stage of the biggest league in world football. While many expected their run of form to eventually lose steam, the team dug their heels in and played with a spirit of togetherness. One team did buckle under pressure, but it wasn’t Leicester City – it was second-placed Tottenham who drew to Chelsea in a crucial fixture and allowed Leicester to script one of the most famous underdog stories of all time.
We didn’t mention that Leicester City had also languished in a relegation battle in the 2014/2015 season, just a year before doing the unimaginable and winning the Premier League.
2. The Miracle On Ice
In the 1980 Winter Olympic Games ice hockey finals, the United States men’s hockey team needed nothing short of a miracle to defeat the Soviet Union – the undisputed favorites heading into the rink.
At the time, the USSR men’s hockey team had won gold in four successive Winter Olympics games, which was a streak that started in 1964. From 1968 till the 1980 Winter Olympic Games finals, the team had gone on an unbeaten run to become the most feared ice hockey team anywhere in the world. The odds were overwhelmingly stacked in their favor as they headed into the 1980 final, with viewers practically expecting them to take another title home.
The same odds were also overwhelmingly stacked against the United States men’s hockey team, which had been playing well and most definitely earned their spot in the final. However, the USSR’s team sheet was filled with the biggest heavy hitters in the hockey world, with some of the sport’s greatest stars who looked like they were mot in the mood to lose. This was in stark contrast to the United States men’s hockey team, which was filled with amateurs and average players who were just making their way into the sport.
However, as is the case with all sports, both teams start level on the scoresheet regardless of their legacies. The United States men’s hockey team played fearlessly, to level the scoresheet after trailing 2-1 to the Soviets. That was when Mike Eruzione took a shot from 25 feet away, to cement his place in history with a goal that proved to be the match winner. The underdogs had won in a battle that was truly David versus Goliath, producing a moment that will forever be known as the Miracle On Ice – immortalized by the voice of Al Michaels screaming on broadcast that he did, in fact, believe in miracles.
3. Tom Brady – From 199th Pick To Greatest Of All Time
Today, there is no universe in which any team playing Tom Brady could be considered an underdog. When Tom Brady steps onto the field, the odds of winning are always in his favor, and it’s often only a matter of how large the margin.
What many don’t know is that Tom Brady’s story is one of the most inspiring sports stories you’ll ever hear. For starters, he most definitely was an underdog when he started his career. While every young player starts off as an underdog, what makes Tom Brady’s story so special is that he was the 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft. Teams gauged him to be more of a backup quarterback, which was why he was drafted as the fourth-string quarterback for the New England Patriots.
Tom Brady eventually got an opportunity to shine when he became a starter following Drew Bledsoe’s injury in 2001. Not only did Brady convincingly take over Bledsoe’s position, but won the Super Bowl in his very first season as a starter. Thus began one of the greatest underdog stories in the NFL and in sports in general, as Brady went on to win three NFL MVP awards, seven Super Bowl rings, and ten Conference Championships in what is now the greatest career of anyone to have played the sport.
4. Greece Wins Euro 2004
Judging by the way Greece played in Euro 2004, one wouldn’t imagine that it was their first time qualifying for the tournament in 24 years.
Qualifying for the tournament was a satisfactory enough result for the Greece fans, but what the world didn’t know was that it was going to witness one of the greatest underdog stories in international football.
The team had exceeded expectations by making it to the quarter finals of the championship, where they faced an exceptionally talented France squad. While their journey was expected to end there, the team shockingly scored a goal in the 65th minute and put their lives on the line to defend the lead. They were successful in seeing the game out, and having won a game against the tournament favorites, rode the momentum to win the Euro final against host-team Portugal – going from sports underdogs to champions of Europe.
5. N.C State Wins The 1983 NCAA Championship
One wouldn’t imagine that a team featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler would ever lose a championship final, but that’s exactly what happened to Houston in the 1983 NCAA Championship. Despite having both these future NBA legends on their team, they were beaten by a Houston team that dug deep and also had luck on their side.
In a thrilling game that saw the game tied 52-52 with less than five seconds on the clock, Wolfpack’s Derick Whittenburg decided to take an air-ball shot that Lorenzo Charles dunked just as the time expired, thus making that shot the match winner.
In one of the most iconic sporting moments of all time, N.C State coach Jim Valvano could be seen running around the court looking for anyone and everyone to celebrate this triumph of the underdogs.
6. Max Verstappen Becomes Formula 1 World Champion
After seven years of dominance by Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, everyone expected the greatest driver of all time to clinch a record-breaking eighth world championship in the 2021 season.
However, for the first time in years, Mercedes saw a serious threat to their dominance by Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, their prodigious driver. The 2021 season saw a thrilling back-and-forth battle between Hamilton and Verstappen, with the two drivers incredibly entering the final race level on points – effectively making the Abu Dhabi GP a Formula 1 final.
After a convincing start by Hamilton who also had the superior car on the day, he went on to lead most of the 58 laps in the Yas Marina circuit. In a move that caused serious controversy, the Safety Car rules were flouted in the last lap of the race due to human error by the Race Director, which led to Max Verstappen shockingly taking the lead in the 58th lap of the race, crossing the finishing line as a first-time Formula 1 World Champion.
While many would rightfully agree that Hamilton would’ve won had the rules not been flouted, Verstappen’s win was that of a true underdog – putting a pause on years of Hamilton’s dominance with a famous underdog story that marked the arrival of a new generation of championship contenders, despite his maiden title being marred by controversy.
