In the world of sports, when an underdog is victorious it’s known as an upset. Here is a list of 5 of sport’s biggest upsets.
1) 1980 Olympics-Lake Placid: USA defeats Russia in hockey 4-3. Ragtag group of Americans defeats the Russian team that had dominated the sport for 15 years.
2) 1990 Heavyweight title match-Buster Douglas defeats Mike Tyson: 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas dominates the undefeated Mike Tyson and knocks him out in the 10th round.
3) 2000 Olympics-Sydney: American farm boy Rulan Gardener defeats Russian Alexander Karelin in wrestling 1-0. Karelin hadn’t lost a match in 13 years and no one had scored a point on him in 6 years.
4) 2008-Giants beat Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl 42. Patriots were looking to become the only team to go 19-0. In facing the wildcard Giants, it looked like it was going to happen. In the end, the Patriots had 18 wins and one giant loss.
5) Horse racing- Man-O-War loses his first race. Man-O-War was 20-0. In his 21st race, a 100-1 underdog beat him. The name of the horse that beat him-‘Upset’.
I would guarantee that if you were to ask each of these underdogs, except for Upset the horse, what the secrets to their success were, they would answer conviction, courage and confidence.