National Underdog Day recognizes that America loves its underdogs. Each year on the third Friday in December, we cheer on the teams and individuals who are statistically expected to lose in competition.
In sporting events, people tend to rally around the person or team that is not favored to win. An underdog is a person or team in competition most likely expected to lose. This expectation can be based on statistical data, opinion or overall standings. When the underdog wins, we call it an upset.
The first recorded uses of the term occurred in the second half of the nineteenth century; its initial meaning was "the beaten dog in a fight."
Also known as a Cinderella story, the underdog has long piqued Americans' interest. Whether in a sporting event, business, education or arts, when success is a long shot and a struggle as well, Americans root and cheer for the underdog.
We also love books and movies about the underdog. The Rocky film franchise tells of an underdog that the crowd quickly wants to see win. Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger became a real-life underdog when he walked on to the University of Notre Dame football field in 1974.
Not all underdogs are athletes, though. Some come in the form of scientists or authors. Or, calculus students as portrayed in the movie Stand and Deliver. One of the modern time's most beloved authors went from underdog to success as if by magic. Before receiving a nod from Bloombury to publish her first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling was a broke, single mom.
Underdogs inspire us. They remind us of our potential. They motivate us to get out there and make a difference in our life and the lives of others.
Narrator: Before there were gritty reboots, before CGI explosions, before superheroes wore their underwear outside their pants, ironically, there was... Underdog.
This show was so old, the theme song wasn't just written in cuneiform... it was cuneiform. They had to chisel it into a clay tablet every week. The original recordings were on wax cylinders, the kind you had to crank with a handle. And, the handle was made of petrified wood.
[A close-up on Underdog's face. He looks slightly cross-eyed.]
Narrator: I saw it in syndication, projected onto the moon, by a giant magnifying glass, powered by hamsters on tiny treadmills. It was a Tuesday. Because Wednesdays were for watching static on the TV. And, I was also knee-high to a... knee. My own knee. Specifically.
Narrator: They say Underdog was a simple shoe-shine boy, transformed by a ray gun, and turned into a super-powered canine. But, the truth is far more mundane. He was just a regular dog who found a red sweater and a cape in the lost and found. The ray gun was actually a broken hairdryer.
Narrator: But despite his humble origins, and questionable fashion sense, Underdog always managed to... save the day! Usually by accident. And, always after a dramatic transformation, one that involved him getting stuck in a phone booth. Remember phone booths? They were like tiny wooden coffins for people who wanted to talk to other people from outside of their house.
[The image of Underdog freezes. The narrator leans closer to the camera.]