The sporting underdog rarely picks up the glory. You may sympathize with the guy that always loses, but you don’t really expect them to pick up the prize. That’s what makes these five stories so heartwarming—they’re the times that the little guy fought back and won.

NFL’s Unlikely Linesman, Michael Oher

That Michael Oher managed to get a job is something of a miracle. His upbringing would normally have suggested an unhappy ending for a man like him; his father was delinquent and his mother an abusive junkie.

Somehow, his foster family the Tuohys managed to turn him around—and what a turn around it was. He was the 23rd pick in 2009’s NFL draft and he went on to build a career with the Baltimore Ravens. You rarely see anyone come from so far behind to end up so far ahead.

Goran Ivanisevic, A Tennis Hero

Goran Ivanisevic’s tennis career was considered over in 2000 when he skipped a whole season because he’d damaged his shoulder during play.

In 2001, he only qualified for Wimbledon as a wildcard entry. He was considered to be the 125th ranking tennis player that year—a nobody with no real potential. His wildcard came from the fact that he had been a tournament runner up in his heyday.

He then shocked the world by winning the tournament, beating the world’s top players and picking up the only Grand Slam win of his career.

Jeremy Lin Basketball’s Battler

Jeremy Lin was the guy who proved that Asian-Americans can do basketball. Linsanity was the term coined to describe the rapturous reception that Jeremy Lin received every time he hit the courts during 2012.

He was the first ever basketball player in the NBA to smash down 20 points and seven assists in each of the first five games he played. The New York Knicks had themselves an amazing signing and American basketball had its first Asian hero.

Tom Brady, Quite A Quarterback

When you’re the 199th draft pick of your year, you’re not really expected to go on to great things. In fact, you’ve flown so far under the radar that nobody expects anything but a crash landing from you.

It wasn’t until 2011, 11 years after his draft, that Tom finally got the chance to show his talents to the world—and what talents they were. He now has four Superbowls under his belt, a Lombardi Trophy, three Superbowl MVP titles, and buckets of other achievements.

It might be arguable as to whether Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time, but it would be hard to debate his status as the greatest underdog comeback in the league.

Buster Douglas Beats Boxing Odds

When your opponent in the ring is the world famous (infamous?) Mike Tyson, most people would be preparing themselves for their own funeral. James “Buster” Douglas wasn’t most people, though. He stepped into the ring, stepped up to Tyson, and then knocked him out. It was perhaps the biggest upset in boxing history.

Sure, Douglas would lose his title to Evander Holyfield shortly afterward—but it was his title to lose for a few glorious months.

The post 5 Underdogs In Professional Sports Who Accomplished Great Things appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It may sometimes feel like you’re wasting your time supporting a sports team that hasn’t brought home the silverware in a long while but the truth is, sometimes the underdog turns things around and grabs the glory. Here are 5 times that defied all odds and did just that.

Butler Bulldogs (2010–2011) Basketball Gods

The Butler Bulldogs defied the odds not once, but twice, when they made the championship game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in back-to-back seasons. Most attribute it to the clever touches of Head Coach Brad Stevens and his star player, Gordon Hayward.

Sadly, they didn’t quite get the fairy tale ending and lost both finals—but you can’t deny the qualities that took a mid-major school from nowhere to somewhere, twice.

New York Giants (2007) A Super Superbowl

The Patriots owned the decade and it seemed that in 2007 they were going to make their permanent mark on the record books. They were set to be the first ever team to make 16 games undefeated in one season.

They were not. The New York Giants may have been unfancied by the bookies as they headed into the Super Bowl that year, but they played like they didn’t know it. Eli Manning danced across the line a minute from the end, giving the Giants the game and crushing the Patriots’ dreams of immortality in the record books.

Boston Red Sox (2004) Finally The Bride And Not The Bridesmaid

The Boston Red Sox have often been contenders for the playoffs, but when they finally hit the America League Championship Series playoffs in 2004, it looked like they were going home empty handed and fast.

They lost the first 3 games of the series of seven. The New York Yankees appeared to be a shoe in for the series. Then the Red Sox hit back. They became the only team in history to drop their first three games and win a seven game series. Then they went on to take the World Series from the St. Louis Cardinals—an amazing comeback of epic proportions.

Leicester City (2016) Premier League Minnows Get Mighty

Leicester City’s British Premiership win in 2016 was totally unprecedented. Not only had the team won nothing of note for their entire 132-year history, but they were a cobbled-together low budget side that had nearly been relegated the year before.

Yet, they saw off the big money teams of Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur to land their first ever Premiership and become only the fifth team to do so in the league’s history. It seems unlikely that they will ever repeat this feat.

USA Men’s Hockey Team (1980) Cracking The Cold War

During the Cold War, the Olympics became a very serious business. What made the USA Men’s Hockey Team win so special in 1980 wasn’t the fact that they beat the Russian team 4–3. It was that the entire American squad was made up of real amateur players and college kids, while the Russian team was made of the usual Russian professional sportsmen pretending to be amateurs.

It was a truly thrilling achievement which may never be matched in sports history again.

The post 5 Teams That Proved Underdogs Can Do Amazing Things In Sports appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The sporting underdog rarely picks up the glory. You may sympathize with the guy that always loses, but you don’t really expect them to pick up the prize. That’s what makes these five stories so heartwarming—they’re the times that the little guy fought back and won.

NFL’s Unlikely Linesman, Michael Oher

That Michael Oher managed to get a job is something of a miracle. His upbringing would normally have suggested an unhappy ending for a man like him; his father was delinquent and his mother an abusive junkie.

Somehow, his foster family the Tuohys managed to turn him around—and what a turn around it was. He was the 23rd pick in 2009’s NFL draft and he went on to build a career with the Baltimore Ravens. You rarely see anyone come from so far behind to end up so far ahead.

Goran Ivanisevic, A Tennis Hero

Goran Ivanisevic’s tennis career was considered over in 2000 when he skipped a whole season because he’d damaged his shoulder during play.

In 2001, he only qualified for Wimbledon as a wildcard entry. He was considered to be the 125th ranking tennis player that year—a nobody with no real potential. His wildcard came from the fact that he had been a tournament runner up in his heyday.

He then shocked the world by winning the tournament, beating the world’s top players and picking up the only Grand Slam win of his career.

Jeremy Lin Basketball’s Battler

Jeremy Lin was the guy who proved that Asian-Americans can do basketball. Linsanity was the term coined to describe the rapturous reception that Jeremy Lin received every time he hit the courts during 2012.

He was the first ever basketball player in the NBA to smash down 20 points and seven assists in each of the first five games he played. The New York Knicks had themselves an amazing signing and American basketball had its first Asian hero.

Tom Brady, Quite A Quarterback

When you’re the 199th draft pick of your year, you’re not really expected to go on to great things. In fact, you’ve flown so far under the radar that nobody expects anything but a crash landing from you.

It wasn’t until 2011, 11 years after his draft, that Tom finally got the chance to show his talents to the world—and what talents they were. He now has four Superbowls under his belt, a Lombardi Trophy, three Superbowl MVP titles, and buckets of other achievements.

It might be arguable as to whether Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time, but it would be hard to debate his status as the greatest underdog comeback in the league.

Buster Douglas Beats Boxing Odds

When your opponent in the ring is the world famous (infamous?) Mike Tyson, most people would be preparing themselves for their own funeral. James “Buster” Douglas wasn’t most people, though. He stepped into the ring, stepped up to Tyson, and then knocked him out. It was perhaps the biggest upset in boxing history.

Sure, Douglas would lose his title to Evander Holyfield shortly afterward—but it was his title to lose for a few glorious months.

The post 5 Underdogs In Professional Sports Who Accomplished Great Things appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It may sometimes feel like you’re wasting your time supporting a sports team that hasn’t brought home the silverware in a long while but the truth is, sometimes the underdog turns things around and grabs the glory. Here are 5 times that defied all odds and did just that.

Butler Bulldogs (2010–2011) Basketball Gods

The Butler Bulldogs defied the odds not once, but twice, when they made the championship game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in back-to-back seasons. Most attribute it to the clever touches of Head Coach Brad Stevens and his star player, Gordon Hayward.

Sadly, they didn’t quite get the fairy tale ending and lost both finals—but you can’t deny the qualities that took a mid-major school from nowhere to somewhere, twice.

New York Giants (2007) A Super Superbowl

The Patriots owned the decade and it seemed that in 2007 they were going to make their permanent mark on the record books. They were set to be the first ever team to make 16 games undefeated in one season.

They were not. The New York Giants may have been unfancied by the bookies as they headed into the Super Bowl that year, but they played like they didn’t know it. Eli Manning danced across the line a minute from the end, giving the Giants the game and crushing the Patriots’ dreams of immortality in the record books.

Boston Red Sox (2004) Finally The Bride And Not The Bridesmaid

The Boston Red Sox have often been contenders for the playoffs, but when they finally hit the America League Championship Series playoffs in 2004, it looked like they were going home empty handed and fast.

They lost the first 3 games of the series of seven. The New York Yankees appeared to be a shoe in for the series. Then the Red Sox hit back. They became the only team in history to drop their first three games and win a seven game series. Then they went on to take the World Series from the St. Louis Cardinals—an amazing comeback of epic proportions.

Leicester City (2016) Premier League Minnows Get Mighty

Leicester City’s British Premiership win in 2016 was totally unprecedented. Not only had the team won nothing of note for their entire 132-year history, but they were a cobbled-together low budget side that had nearly been relegated the year before.

Yet, they saw off the big money teams of Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur to land their first ever Premiership and become only the fifth team to do so in the league’s history. It seems unlikely that they will ever repeat this feat.

USA Men’s Hockey Team (1980) Cracking The Cold War

During the Cold War, the Olympics became a very serious business. What made the USA Men’s Hockey Team win so special in 1980 wasn’t the fact that they beat the Russian team 4–3. It was that the entire American squad was made up of real amateur players and college kids, while the Russian team was made of the usual Russian professional sportsmen pretending to be amateurs.

It was a truly thrilling achievement which may never be matched in sports history again.

The post 5 Teams That Proved Underdogs Can Do Amazing Things In Sports appeared first on SportzBonanza.