I don't know about you, but I'm the type of person who always loves the underdog—the one who doesn't seem to have a chance, the one who just doesn't look the part, or the one who tries and tries again but no luck.
For a long time, I thought everyone rooted for the underdog. Who didn't root for Rudy or the Titans? Who didn't want Cinderella (or Sam) to meet the prince (or Austin)? Who wasn't dying to see Princess Mia's new look after her makeover?
In middle school, I found myself enveloped in the NBA (yes, a redheaded awkward middle school girl liked professional basketball). My favorite team was an underdog team and my favorite player was an underdog player. He was an underdog from the beginning of his college career. Gilbert Arenas wore the number 0 because his college coach told him that's how many minutes he would get to play. Obviously, his coach was wrong because Gil made it to the NBA for a while.
Since I always rooted for the underdog, in turn I disliked any team or player that was not an underdog: Kobe, Lebron, and Shaq, to name a few. If someone asked me, "Why don't you like [him]?" my answer usually sounded something like, "I just get tired of him winning" or "He's a ball hog" or "He's not a team player." I did not question their playing skills because clearly, they were decent players to have become the top in the league. However I did question their story and their motives.
I want the guy on the bottom of the totem pole to have a chance to be at the top. That's not too much to ask, right? I want the nerdy guy to win the girl of his dreams. I want the "one of the guys" best friend to get her Prince Charming, who doesn't seem to notice her in that way.
So I ask, why do I root for the underdog? Why do most of us root for the underdog, at least in some situations?
The answer is easy. We all are the underdog more often than not. I am the underdog more often than not.
Let's be honest. We've all had days, weeks, or even years where we felt and looked like Mia Thermopolis.
We all have that guy or girl who seems way out of our league that doesn't seem to give us a glance. Many of us have been in love with our best friend but are afraid to ever say anything in fear of losing the friendship. Others have played sports their entire life, worked their hardest, and are never the star player or in the starting line up.
We all cheered when Lizzie finally kissed Gordo in Italy. After many years of watching him swoon and be the best guy friend a girl could have, he finally won her heart.
We all were bummed when Julia Roberts was beat out by Cameron Diaz in "My Best Friend's Wedding." Why? Because most of us have been beat out before as well. We hated that for her because we hate it for ourselves.
When Murph and Calvin were adopted in "Like Mike," our hearts melted because we all want to be loved and accepted. We all want to be wanted the way Tracy wanted those boys as his own.
We are all the underdog in some shape or form. That doesn't make us less important than the winner or the hero. That also doesn't mean all of us choose to root for the underdog in every situation, but I think it happens more often than not. To those of you who just jump on the bandwagon and follow the crowd, stop that. Do what you think is best and cheer on who you want, not who anyone else wants. If you're pretty sure they're going to lose, you still root for your team. Put yourself in the shoes of that underdog and realize that could be you too. Wouldn't you want to be rooted for?
