It is always exciting to see people overcome enormous odds to find success no matter what the challenge. The scenario is often played out, created or recreated through movies about sporting events. Most people can't help but pull for the underdog as long as they aren't playing against their favorite team. We have watched the story told in the movies for as long as there has been film. In recent years we have cheered for Rocky, The Karate Kid, The Mighty Ducks, The Bad News Bears, The Titans and Rudy. At the risk of sounding like a "Girlie Man", I have to admit that at the end of Rudy even this 6'2", 250 lb. ex-football player got a bit misty-eyed.
Most of the truly memorable moments and memorable characters of Olympic history involve underdogs. You couldn't help but get chills if you watched the 1980 U.S. Ice Hockey team win the gold medal in what is now known as the "Miracle on Ice."
There are even cases where we cheered not for the performance, but the drive and desire of athletes who would not have won even if hell did freeze over. We instantly became fans of Michael Edwards. The name may not mean anything, but his nickname will help many of you grin. In 1990, Eddie The Eagle was the first ski jumper in history ever to compete in the Olympics on the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team. By any ski jumping standards, he was horrible. He came in last in both the 70M and 90M event. At the closing of the games the president of the Olympic committee brought the 100,000 people attending the ceremony to their feet cheering when he said, "At these Games some competitors have won gold, some have broken records and one has even flown like an eagle." The entire stadium chanted Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.
The past couple of weeks have allowed many of us an opportunity to pull for another underdog during the NCAA Basketball Championship games. Davidson College is a small private school just north of Charlotte, NC with around 1,700 students. Many of us watched and cheered for Davidson College as they beat Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin. The giant killer role ended for Davidson and they missed going to the final four when they lost to Kansas by two points Sunday night.
I have been a long time Davidson fan. Both of my brothers played basketball at Davidson and I am still paying off loans for my daughter's degree from Davidson. Davidson rarely plays basketball on television without the announcers talking about the fact that the students have a laundry service included in their tuition. As the game ended Sunday night, I couldn't help but feel that there were a couple of points of interest missed that were more important than the laundry service or the Davidson and Goliath story.
The academic standards at Davidson College are extremely high. Davidson has always believed that it is possible to be a student and an athlete. At Davidson, off of the court or field you are a student. Unfortunately, there are many collegiate athletic programs that have forgotten this simple concept. Davidson College is a great example of the fact that you can have a strong academic environment and competitive athletics.
Davidson also understands the concept of being a team. In every interview any of the Davidson players and coaches gave, they spoke more about other's contributions than there own. This mentality of family and team isn't something just taught by basketball coach Bob McKillop. The school and the community are a family. The school scrambled to find as many buses as they could gather in 24 hours to send some of the students to Detroit for two games. The Davidson "family" paid for the buses, the tickets and the rooms.
Another lesson taught during the Davidson and Goliath run was one of priorities. One of the players told a reporter after the Georgetown game about a turning point. During a timeout in the second half when they were down 16 points, coach McKillop asked his players if they were having fun. They started smiling a bit and took their focus off the hole they had gotten themselves in. They ended up beating Georgetown 74-70.
I guess that the bottom line is that we must always remember importance of and the power of education, team and family. And let's not leave out, enjoying the moment and grinnin'. I know that the Davidson and Goliath story is a good one, but now you know the rest of the story.