SOUTH AFRICA is still riding the wave of elation following the Springboks’ incredible victory over England in last week’s Rugby World Cup final. The win is made even more spectacular by the fact that South Africa went into that final as the clear underdogs, only to absolutely destroy the opposition with a class performance.
But South Africa has always thrived in the role of ‘underdog’, drawing on the country’s ‘gees’ to show the world that we’re more than just the negative headlines. And so it was on that glorious Japanese night that South Africa lifted the golden trophy for a third time in almost a quarter of a century.
Well, let’s keep the positive energy flowing into the weekend by looking over some other inspiring underdog stories in sporting history.
1. Boris Becker wins Wimbledon in 1985
While we love being the underdogs, we have to sometimes accede the title to the better player and on Wimbledon Centre Court in 1985, South Africa’s big-serving Kevin Curren lost the title to a 17-year-old German player, Boris Becker. Unseeded entering the tournament, the legend was cemented in two weeks when he went on to win the first of his three titles at the All-England club 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
2. Leicester City wins 2015-16 Premier League Title
With odds of 5 000-1 against them, Leicester City winning the Premier League was truly the ultimate underdog story. It was a time when the bigger teams – Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal – weren’t performing at their best and the underdogs went in for the big win.
3. Muhammad Ali beats George Foreman in 1974
The heavyweight boxer was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and so his refusal to be drafted resulted in a three-year sports’ exile. When he was finally allowed back in, Ali was defeated by both Joe Frazier and Ken Norton so he didn’t have much backing when he entered the ring for the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in then Zaire. However, the 32-year-old used his ‘rope-a-dope’ tactics to tire out his opponent, knocking him out in the eighth round to win back the heavyweight title.
4. Goran Ivanisevic wins Wimbledon in 2010
Maybe this is more a ‘comeback’ story than an ‘underdog’ story considering the Croatian tennis player was ranked as World Number 2 in 1994, but by the time 2001 came around he was 125th in the world and entered Wimbledon as a wild card. Ivanisevic went on to beat Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Tim Henman before finally defeating Australia’s Patrick Rafter -3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the final.
5. Jamaican Bobsled Team in the 1988 Winter Olympics
Admittedly they didn’t go on to win gold in the Olympics but the Jamaican bobsled team still proved themselves worthy of competing despite a lack of national winter sports. The story, made famous by the 1993 film ‘Cool Runnings’, saw four Jamaicans coached by a former US Olympian heading to the 1988 Winter Olympics. Despite crashing before the finish line, the team won the hearts of audiences, and Jamaica has returned to the Winter Olympics several times since then.
6. Naomi Osaka wins the 2018 US Open
Sometimes the winner in an underdog story continues to seem the underdog, despite the win. And so it was at last year’s US Open where Japanese player, Naomi Osaka, actually apologised to the booing crowd for beating 23 Grand Slam title-holder, Serena Williams, in the final. It was an ugly win which saw Williams rant at the umpire after he docked her a game, with the win made even uglier by the crowd’s reaction. But, at the end of the day, the 20-year-old took on a tennis legend and won, a title she’ll keep with her forever. (Serena did go on to pen an apologetic essay to Osaka, which was warmly received, so all is good now).
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