Underdogs

Why do we root for the underdogs?

The recent play of the Atlanta Hawks has made me ponder that question. I have no reason at all to cheer for them. In fact, deep down I really want the Celtics to win. As a Timberwolves fan, I feel for Kevin Garnett and want him to win it all.

But despite that desire for Boston, I couldn't help the small rush of adrenaline whenever I heard that the Hawks we're winning. Every win that brought Atlanta closer to an almost-unbelievable upset made me giddy.

But why is that? We all know that if a casual fan doesn't have a preference between two teams, he or she is cheering for the underdog. Case in point: My wife definitely has NO preference for any NFL teams. We picked the NFL playoffs together this year. After hearing me explain how the Giants would lose big every week, she summarily picked the Giants each week of the playoffs.

I think we like underdogs because we can connect with them easier. Despite how cool or macho we may like to be, deep down we all are a little insecure. We all feel like the odds are stacked against us.

The biggest underdog of all time was named David. His epic battle with Goliath continues to get referenced time after time when comparing competition. The Bible gives the account of the match in I Samuel 17.

Goliath stood at least seven feet tall and was strong enough to carry over 200 pounds of armor and fighting equipment. David, obviously the challenger, had nothing but plain clothes, five smooth stones, and a sling. This much of the story most people know, but what isn't always told is what gave David the victory.

But David replied to the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”

Talk about boldness. David predicts what he is going to do, and how he is going to do it. (It's the ultimate humiliation, just like getting burned in a game of one-on-one.) But David also knows why he is able to win. God is on his side. And no one with God on their side can ever be an underdog for very long.