Deep within the American psyche, somewhere in the diluted definition of our national identity, lives the underdog. Born of our roots, with a triumphant revolution and a declaration of equality, the underdog exists in the foundation of American culture.
He lives beneath our bridges, calling out to passing sheep, covered in warts and waiting for a sympathetic ear to lend support for his unfortunate plight.
In sports, the foulest countenance belongs to the Boston Red Sox, each wart and misplaced deformity contoured by years of tantalizing failure, teasing till the very last minute and then watching the ball slowly slip through Bill Buckner’s legs.
Last year demonstrated just how socially important the underdog is. With the country waiting eagerly in anticipation for the Red Sox to face off with their cousin in misery, the Chicago Cubs, it seemed as if the entire country shared a disappointed sigh when Aaron Boone sent an 11th inning Tim Wakefield knuckleball into the seats at Yankee Stadium and when Steve Bartman stuck his clumsy hands in Moises Alou’s way. I remember seeing a nationwide survey on ESPN in which almost 75 percent of the population wanted a Sox-Cubs World Series.
It’s not that a majority of the country is made up of Red Sox and Cubs fans. Watching a World Series in which one perennial loser is guaranteed to win is, simply put, the American Dream.
With the Yankees and their A-Rods, Jeters and Giambis bashing their way to the best record in baseball and the Lakers nearing their fourth championship in five years, the future of the underdog appears to be in question. Both teams are anything and everything except underdogs. Together they’ve amassed more hall of fame talent on one team than many franchises have amassed in their history. They are expected to win and they usually do.
The question arises as to whether baseball and basketball’s big, bad wolves will breathe more life into the underdog or just huff and puff until the whole underdog house falls down.
Inherent in the existence of the underdog is hope. Hope inspired Red Sox fans to think, until the ball left Boone’s bat and hit those blue seats in left field, that their team actually had a chance to win.
How can hope survive while all 350 pounds of Shaquille O’Neal suffocates it? Are the Pistons even an underdog or just unfortunate?
The situation of the underdog may be similar to being trapped in a room on fire. You can hide on the ground, gasping those last breaths of smokeless air, but sooner or later, if the fire keeps burning, the smoke will spread.
The Yankees and Lakers have always been dominant and the additions of Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez as well as Karl Malone and Gary Payton may have been the last latch on a keyless lock.
In the last two years, baseball has provided unexpected champions, the Florida Marlins and Anaheim Angels. Were either of these teams really underdogs? No one ever had any real expectations for them; did they have anything to overcome?
The last true underdog in professional sports was probably the Patriots team that defeated the Rams in 2002. The Rams were overwhelming favorites and the Patriots, led by a rookie quarterback and a timely kicker, eked their way through the playoffs with last-second drives and game-winning field goals guided by destiny. However, football, a game where the average career of most players is less than four seasons, doesn’t lend itself well to perennial winners or losers, limiting the importance of the underdog.
The underdog feeds on anticipation, waiting year after year for the Sox to win, and if the Yankees and Lakers are too good, what will be left to anticipate? Second place? That doesn’t seem very American.
Baseball, driven by financial inequities, and basketball, with a team only needing one or two true superstars, is built around dynasties and the ability of the underdog to overcome. However, with the Yankees payroll climbing without end and the Lakers attracting players willing to sign for a fraction of the money they could get from other teams just to play next to Shaq and Kobe, will the underdog live on or will expectation fall so low that eventually the underdog won’t exist, just the occasional lucky winner and a whole lot of parades in New York and Los Angeles.