Underdogs
Where were you yesterday? Were you out doing something fun on Sunday afternoon, or were you like me, camped out in front of the TV, unable to move?
Too much partying the night before, Eli?
Nope. Nerves.
Unless you've been living under a rock (or just don't care), I'll fill you in. The College World Series has been going on in Omaha, Nebraska. And my alma mater - The Oregon State Beavers and 2006 National Champs - were back to defend their title.
You're probably thinking...hm...what's this got to do with writing? Let me tell you. Everything.
You see, these guys were underdogs. And there's nothing more exciting to read (or watch) than an underdog story. Yes, they were the 2006 National Champs. No one expected them to win last year. They faced six elim
ination games and came through the loser's bracket to win the title. It was only their second trip to the college world series. This year (again) no one expected them to make it back. Even more important, there were questions about whether or not they deserved to go back. They lost all of their starters from last year except for two. They lost almost their whole pitching team. Their star pitcher this year is a freshman from nowhere, Washington with no experience. They had a losing record in the Pac-10 and even those of us who are true Beaver Believers thought there was no way they'd get back to Omaha. And then by some miracle they were selected for the playoffs because of their strength of schedule. They struggled through the Regionals and then have proved everyone wrong, kicking butt in every single game since then. Straight through to the championship series this weekend where they shut out North Carolina. Swept everyone and didn't lose a single game. It was amazing to watch. I had tears in my eyes last night. Total underdogs.
My favorite movies are underdog stories. Lord Of The Rings, Indiana Jones, Pirates of The Caribbean, Rudy, National Treasure, The Rookie. I've posted about this here in the past. But this is just such an awesome example of that in reality, I had to post about it again. It's like the guy
who just won Britain's You've Got Talent and went from being a cell-phone salesman to a now-famous tenor. (That guy is amazing). I like to write (and read) books about everyday people who end up doing extraordinary things. Underdogs. Raise the stakes, gimme a hero (or heroine) who defies all odds to get to the end, and you've got me hooked.
What about you? Do you like the underdogs?
And WAY TO GO BEAVS!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!
Too much partying the night before, Eli?
Nope. Nerves.
Unless you've been living under a rock (or just don't care), I'll fill you in. The College World Series has been going on in Omaha, Nebraska. And my alma mater - The Oregon State Beavers and 2006 National Champs - were back to defend their title.
You're probably thinking...hm...what's this got to do with writing? Let me tell you. Everything.
You see, these guys were underdogs. And there's nothing more exciting to read (or watch) than an underdog story. Yes, they were the 2006 National Champs. No one expected them to win last year. They faced six elim
ination games and came through the loser's bracket to win the title. It was only their second trip to the college world series. This year (again) no one expected them to make it back. Even more important, there were questions about whether or not they deserved to go back. They lost all of their starters from last year except for two. They lost almost their whole pitching team. Their star pitcher this year is a freshman from nowhere, Washington with no experience. They had a losing record in the Pac-10 and even those of us who are true Beaver Believers thought there was no way they'd get back to Omaha. And then by some miracle they were selected for the playoffs because of their strength of schedule. They struggled through the Regionals and then have proved everyone wrong, kicking butt in every single game since then. Straight through to the championship series this weekend where they shut out North Carolina. Swept everyone and didn't lose a single game. It was amazing to watch. I had tears in my eyes last night. Total underdogs.My favorite movies are underdog stories. Lord Of The Rings, Indiana Jones, Pirates of The Caribbean, Rudy, National Treasure, The Rookie. I've posted about this here in the past. But this is just such an awesome example of that in reality, I had to post about it again. It's like the guy
who just won Britain's You've Got Talent and went from being a cell-phone salesman to a now-famous tenor. (That guy is amazing). I like to write (and read) books about everyday people who end up doing extraordinary things. Underdogs. Raise the stakes, gimme a hero (or heroine) who defies all odds to get to the end, and you've got me hooked.What about you? Do you like the underdogs?
And WAY TO GO BEAVS!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!
Labels: Elisabeth's Posts
posted by Elisabeth Naughton at 2:38 PM
4Comments:
Yes, I'm a big underdogs fan, too.
But, I'm having trouble defining what makes a hero/heroine an underdog.
What do you think? Just the odds against them or their flaws that make those odds impossible or ??
Examples?
I think it's a culmination, Joan. Who they are, what their life experiences have been, and the exernal odds against them all add up to create the BEST underdogs.
In The Rookie (a true story), Jimmy Morris faced internal flaws (the fact he'd had his shot and never made it, the fact he'd been injured, the fact he had a family to support and really couldn't afford to take time away from his teaching job to go after his dream of playing in the majors, the fact even his own father didn't believe in him) AND external odds (his age, the likely probablity he'd get injured again or that he simply wasn't good enough to make it even though the whole town was cheering him on and expecting him to succeed). All of that added up to make him an incredible underdog. You couldn't help but root for him there at the end of the movie.
I love underdog stories. My oldest and I watched Invincible a few weeks ago, and we both really enjoyed it--mostly because the main character seemed to have no chance, but he managed to prove everyone wrong.
Elisa, I loved Invincible. Great underdog movie!
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