The Fascination with Underdogs

What is it about American culture's fascination with underdogs? I'm not, nor have I ever been, a "root for the underdog" fellows. I'm a pragmatist, a philosophical positivist, and rather risk averse. That whole "root for the underdog" thing just isn't part of my nature.

I started a firm of my own and know what it feels like to be the underdog competing for a contract. I'm not going to lie; I don't like that feeling at all. I much prefer the existential status of "mine to lose." Be that as it is, life doesn't always allow one to be the favorite, so one must discern how to be an underdog and prevail.

Make no mistake, I'm very competitive professionally and I "play" very much by the "rules of the game." I've lost plenty of times when I was the underdog, though rarely to underdog competitors. Similarly, I never let my kids win at games I was teaching them to play or best me, other than by their own efforts, at skills that I was helping them develop by turning it into a contest of sorts. Hell, I don't gamble because casinos throw out card counters (I think that is sooo wrong) and they don't offer gambling opportunities on other games at which I'm fairly good.


So what about you? Do you root for underdogs? Why or why not?

I usually bet on the home underdog during the nfl playoffs.

I would always SAY that I am risk adverse but looking back over my life my actions don’t seem to bear that out, though in my case most the risks I took paid off.

But I don’t see how rooting for the underdog is risky. INVESTING or BETTING ont he underdog is risky. But I think most people root for the underdog because most people view themselves as either currently or previously being an underdog themselves. So they identify more closely with the underdog.

Also, for example with sporting events, it is far more exciting when the underdog wins. When the expected happens it is boring.

I think rooting for the underdog is more fulfilling if they win.Than rooting for the favorite.

I've been an underdog during various periods of my life. Yeah, I oftentimes support the underdog.

Skeptic Bob said:

I would always SAY that I am risk adverse but looking back over my life my actions don’t seem to bear that out, though in my case most the risks I took paid off.

But I don’t see how rooting for the underdog is risky. INVESTING or BETTING ont he underdog is risky. But I think most people root for the underdog because most people view themselves as either currently or previously being an underdog themselves. So they identify more closely with the underdog.

Also, for example with sporting events, it is far more exciting when the underdog wins. When the expected happens it is boring.

Click to expand...

I wasn't specifically meaning sporting events, but sporting events are one instance in which the idea of an underdog applies.

As goes sporting events, I root for my team. If they happen to be the underdog, the just do. Their being the underdog has nothing to do with it. If my sports team isn't involved, however, I'm not rooting for the underdog.

I enjoy and root for 2 teams, the NY Yankees and the NY Jets, one is a perpetual winner, the other, well, not so much. When watching other sports I'll pick a team I have some connection with, I love Mexico/Germany so I will root for them when playing in the world cup.

In politics I vote for the underdog when all else is even.

Xelor said:

What is it about American culture's fascination with underdogs? I'm not, nor have I ever been, a "root for the underdog" fellows. I'm a pragmatist, a philosophical positivist, and rather risk averse. That whole "root for the underdog" thing just isn't part of my nature.

I started a firm of my own and know what it feels like to be the underdog competing for a contract. I'm not going to lie; I don't like that feeling at all. I much prefer the existential status of "mine to lose." Be that as it is, life doesn't always allow one to be the favorite, so one must discern how to be an underdog and prevail.

Make no mistake, I'm very competitive professionally and I "play" very much by the "rules of the game." I've lost plenty of times when I was the underdog, though rarely to underdog competitors. Similarly, I never let my kids win at games I was teaching them to play or best me, other than by their own efforts, at skills that I was helping them develop by turning it into a contest of sorts. Hell, I don't gamble because casinos throw out card counters (I think that is sooo wrong) and they don't offer gambling opportunities on other games at which I'm fairly good.


So what about you? Do you root for underdogs? Why or why not?

Click to expand...

Excellent question.

I wonder if this is a uniquely American phenomenon. We have a strange fascination with comebacks, with rallies-from-behind, with overcoming the odds. The problem is, underdogs are underdogs because they are more likely to lose. The majority of the time, but not every time, the underdog does lose.

When I pick teams, it's because of their location, particular players on that team, or something the team has done on or off the field. But not just because they're the underdogs.

I have been an underdog all of my 57 years.

When I was 21 months of age the doctors told my family to come to the hospital & to say their goodbyes, because the doctors thought I had mere hours to live before I died.
I didn't die.

I fought my condition for many years until which time I overcame it at age 15, ironically when I became active in the drug scene; namely consuming & selling marijuana.
Go figure.

I cheer on the underdog, sometimes, then other times not so much.

The folks streaming across the US/Mexico border are underdogs but I never cheered any of them on UNTIL recently, when their children began to be kidnapped by my government.
Now I cheer them on as much as possible.

Well, I root for the Packers whether they're underdog or favorite.

And I watched in horror as underdog Trump kept knocking out all the people who were running against him who might not have turned the nation into a nightmare.




But probably most often if I don't have a predetermined personal favorite, I lean toward supporting the underdog.

Xelor said:

What is it about American culture's fascination with underdogs? I'm not, nor have I ever been, a "root for the underdog" fellows. I'm a pragmatist, a philosophical positivist, and rather risk averse. That whole "root for the underdog" thing just isn't part of my nature.

I started a firm of my own and know what it feels like to be the underdog competing for a contract. I'm not going to lie; I don't like that feeling at all. I much prefer the existential status of "mine to lose." Be that as it is, life doesn't always allow one to be the favorite, so one must discern how to be an underdog and prevail.

Make no mistake, I'm very competitive professionally and I "play" very much by the "rules of the game." I've lost plenty of times when I was the underdog, though rarely to underdog competitors. Similarly, I never let my kids win at games I was teaching them to play or best me, other than by their own efforts, at skills that I was helping them develop by turning it into a contest of sorts. Hell, I don't gamble because casinos throw out card counters (I think that is sooo wrong) and they don't offer gambling opportunities on other games at which I'm fairly good.


So what about you? Do you root for underdogs? Why or why not?

Click to expand...

my belief is that Americans have an expectation for a level playing field, for fairness, and equality ... at least in principle, if not in deed

that it takes courage to confront a more formidable adversary. that kind of heart is rare

personally, i have never known anyone who would have preferred goliath to have slain David; you may be the first ... but then, i may have carried your preference for the favorite too far

justabubba said:

my belief is that Americans have an expectation for a level playing field, for fairness, and equality ... at least in principle, if not in deed

that it takes courage to confront a more formidable adversary. that kind of heart is rare

personally, i have never known anyone who would have preferred goliath to have slain David; you may be the first ... but then, i may have carried your preference for the favorite too far

Click to expand...

Yep, the David-Goliath thing is "too far." The Goliath-David scenario falls into that category of being rooted for (or not) on account of one or more attributes other than the mere fact that he was an apparent underdog.

Xelor said:

What is it about American culture's fascination with underdogs? I'm not, nor have I ever been, a "root for the underdog" fellows. I'm a pragmatist, a philosophical positivist, and rather risk averse. That whole "root for the underdog" thing just isn't part of my nature.

I started a firm of my own and know what it feels like to be the underdog competing for a contract. I'm not going to lie; I don't like that feeling at all. I much prefer the existential status of "mine to lose." Be that as it is, life doesn't always allow one to be the favorite, so one must discern how to be an underdog and prevail.

Make no mistake, I'm very competitive professionally and I "play" very much by the "rules of the game." I've lost plenty of times when I was the underdog, though rarely to underdog competitors. Similarly, I never let my kids win at games I was teaching them to play or best me, other than by their own efforts, at skills that I was helping them develop by turning it into a contest of sorts. Hell, I don't gamble because casinos throw out card counters (I think that is sooo wrong) and they don't offer gambling opportunities on other games at which I'm fairly good.


So what about you? Do you root for underdogs? Why or why not?

Click to expand...

based on favorite/underdog in general i root for neither . . . . its never really had an impact.

for sports, MAYBE i root for the underdog more depending on the situation if i have no interest in either team

overall though when i am pulling for what may be precieved as the underdog at times it does seem more satisfying when they win

2 guys boxing, one guy 6' tall and 200 + pounds, other guy is 140 pounds and 5'2" tall. Most times the bigger guy will win this, that's why we root for the little guy or the under dog.

Xelor said:

What is it about American culture's fascination with underdogs? I'm not, nor have I ever been, a "root for the underdog" fellows. I'm a pragmatist, a philosophical positivist, and rather risk averse. That whole "root for the underdog" thing just isn't part of my nature.

I started a firm of my own and know what it feels like to be the underdog competing for a contract. I'm not going to lie; I don't like that feeling at all. I much prefer the existential status of "mine to lose." Be that as it is, life doesn't always allow one to be the favorite, so one must discern how to be an underdog and prevail.

Make no mistake, I'm very competitive professionally and I "play" very much by the "rules of the game." I've lost plenty of times when I was the underdog, though rarely to underdog competitors. Similarly, I never let my kids win at games I was teaching them to play or best me, other than by their own efforts, at skills that I was helping them develop by turning it into a contest of sorts. Hell, I don't gamble because casinos throw out card counters (I think that is sooo wrong) and they don't offer gambling opportunities on other games at which I'm fairly good.


So what about you? Do you root for underdogs? Why or why not?

Click to expand...

If the underdog is "right" somehow, and the opponent (or opponents) are not, then I'll root for the underdog even after they lose.

But I'm not sure what my track record of underdog-rooting is.
Probably mainly underdog-supporting.


Now, Sports it's a little more clear - I almost always root for the underdog, because I don't really care which team wins, and I have to decide which one to back somehow.

By the time she was eleven, my oldest grand daughter had quite a few "participation" medals and ribbons displayed on her wall. About that time she switched to competitive gymnastics. At her first competition she finished sixth. On the way home she asked her dad (my oldest son), where was her medal/ribbon. He said only the top three got a medal. She said she always got a medal? He said that was just for playing, not how well you did.

Later that day her little sister came downstairs and told me her big sister had put all her ribbons in the trash can outside. (I was baby sitting them all). I went up and asked her about it. She said we had all lied to her about how good she was, and the medal/ribbons were a lie too.

We went downstairs to the kitchen table for our weekly chess games. With her head down looking at her pieces, and in a voice just audible, she said," Don't let me win." I of course said,"What're you talking about, I don't let you win." She looked up at me and in a firmer voice said,"Don't let me win!" Well, I won four out of four. I asked her if we would be playing next week, and she said,"Same time, same place."

She is still in competitive gymnastics two years later. Highest she's placed so far is fourth.

I've always loved that girl. Now I really like her, too.

So, yeah, sometimes I do root for the underdog.

Waddy said:

By the time she was eleven, my oldest grand daughter had quite a few "participation" medals and ribbons displayed on her wall. About that time she switched to competitive gymnastics. At her first competition she finished sixth. On the way home she asked her dad (my oldest son), where was her medal/ribbon. He said only the top three got a medal. She said she always got a medal? He said that was just for playing, not how well you did.

Later that day her little sister came downstairs and told me her big sister had put all her ribbons in the trash can outside. (I was baby sitting them all). I went up and asked her about it. She said we had all lied to her about how good she was, and the medal/ribbons were a lie too.

We went downstairs to the kitchen table for our weekly chess games. With her head down looking at her pieces, and in a voice just audible, she said," Don't let me win." I of course said,"What're you talking about, I don't let you win." She looked up at me and in a firmer voice said,"Don't let me win!" Well, I won four out of four. I asked her if we would be playing next week, and she said,"Same time, same place."

She is still in competitive gymnastics two years later. Highest she's placed so far is fourth.

I've always loved that girl. Now I really like her, too.

So, yeah, sometimes I do root for the underdog.

Click to expand...

Red:
Yes, the situation you described is another example of what I described in posts 6 and 12.

I have four kids and I always rooted for them, and so long as they weren't on opposing teams, I rooted for their teams. All my kids did crew, and both their schools have strong teams that compete against one another. Fortunately for me, that was the only athletically competitive overlap among them. They all did forensic debate too, but I didn't as often get to see them compete at that.