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document.write('<h2>Underdog Tales</h2><p><strong><em>by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.parishwebmaster.com/services/authors/bio_');
document.write('ajubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Aaron Jubar</font></a></em></strong></p><p>I couldn\'t sit still all day.  I\'d been u');
document.write('nfocused and half-dazed since breakfast.  I prepared myself for the pre-game, the stretching and the shoot-around before');
document.write(' tip-off.  The time had almost come for the event I\'d been waiting for since the tournament began on March 14th... the nat');
document.write('ional championship game.  </p><p>No, I wasn\'t playing that night.  No, I didn\'t know any of the players personally.  A');
document.write('nd no, I didn\'t have a shred of affiliation with either university.  Yet, like many Americans, I eagerly awaited the mat');
document.write('ch-up. I even felt a pre-game butterfly or two in my stomach.  </p><p>The stage was set -- it all came down to one gam');
document.write('e between two teams: Indiana and Maryland.  One was a storied program with numerous national titles, while the other was');
document.write(' still questing for its first championship.  The Hoosiers versus the Terrapins -- college basketball at its finest.  </p');
document.write('><p>Who was my pre-tournament pick to win it all?  Maryland.<br>Who was I rooting for on this particular night?  India');
document.write('na.<br>Why was I cheering for Indiana?  Simply put, they were the "underdog".</p><h3>Underdoggus americanus</h3><p>A');
document.write('s Americans, we have developed a fascination for the underdog.  Since our declaration as a sovereign nation, we are 11-1');
document.write(' in major skirmishes.  In the majority of these international altercations, we were not the clear favorite. Our reputati');
document.write('on as a scrappy underdog was formed when we were outmatched in the Revolutionary War, but managed to oust the British.  ');
document.write('</p><p>Perhaps we like the underdog because in our capitalist nation the "little guy", through hard work and determina');
document.write('tion, can be successful.  But however it started, our modern society\'s appreciation for underdogs is clearly evident in ');
document.write('our reaction to sporting events.  </p><h3>Hoosier Daddy?</h3><p>A week ago, the men\'s college basketball championshi');
document.write('p game was played in Atlanta.  No one should\'ve been surprised to see Maryland in the final game (except, of course, for');
document.write(' a few Kansas fans).  Maryland had been a top-ranked team all year and they\'d played the highest possible seed all the w');
document.write('ay to the final four.  You couldn\'t take anything away from them.  </p><p>On the other hand, the Indiana Hoosiers had ');
document.write('to battle through a difficult regular season in a much-maligned Big Ten conference.  This was also a program that just t');
document.write('wo years ago experienced the turmoil caused by the departure of the infamous Bobby Knight.  Just like Maryland, Indiana ');
document.write('had earned the right to play in the big game.  Still, Maryland was a heavy favorite.  </p><p>There is a bitter rivalry');
document.write(' between the Hoosiers and the Michigan teams, so most people that I knew normally despise Indiana -- yet even they were ');
document.write('cheering for the red and white.  When asked why they were rooting for the normally despised Indiana, the most frequent r');
document.write('esponse from Michiganders was, "I don\'t know. I\'d just like to see them win."</p><h3>The Best Team Doesn\'t Always Win<');
document.write('/h3><p>I get annoyed with people who lose a game and then follow it up by saying something like, "We are the better te');
document.write('am, we should have won," OR, "The best team didn\'t win today."  I\'ve never understood the rationale for such statements.');
document.write('  </p><p>I believe that if the best team always wins, what\'s the point in playing the game?  Why doesn\'t someone just ');
document.write('announce the better team ahead of time, and spare the underdog the trouble of showing up?  If that\'s the case, why did t');
document.write('he Patriots show up at the Super Bowl?  Why did the Arizona Diamondbacks show up in the World Series?  The best team doe');
document.write('sn\'t always win -- the team that plays best does.</p><h3>All Underdogs Go to Heaven</h3><p>Some of the greatest mome');
document.write('nts in human history have occurred when people or nations prevailed against all odds.  One of the best compilations of t');
document.write('hese underdog victories has to be the Holy Bible.  The good book is full of underdog tales: David versus Goliath, Moses ');
document.write('versus Ramses, Jesus versus the high priests in Jerusalem.  All of these tell great stories of perseverance and poise.  ');
document.write('Those who wrote the Bible decided to chronicle the major upsets, and let\'s face it, they are some of the greatest storie');
document.write('s ever told. </p><p>For many of us, the spirit of the underdog is what drives us on through life.  Getting an "A" on a');
document.write(' test, getting a raise, or getting a promotion are all instances when the chips of life may be stacked against us and we');
document.write(' are essentially an underdog.  As we grow in our understanding of life and the world around us, we begin to realize that');
document.write(' the position of an underdog isn\'t such a bad thing.  After all, underdogs have very little to lose, and everything to g');
document.write('ain.     </p><h3>The Outcome?</h3><p>Despite a valiant effort in a sloppily played game, the Indiana Hoosiers lost l');
document.write('ast Monday\'s national championship game.  There was to be no upset on that night.  Still, they are to be commended for m');
document.write('aking it as far as they did -- and don\'t feel sorry for them.  I\'m sure they\'re looking forward to next season, when the');
document.write('y will have the chance to prove themselves again.  </p><p>There\'s almost always another chance to get it right -- anot');
document.write('her chance to succeed.  Keep that in mind when you come up short and you\'ll be much more likely to get up, brush yoursel');
document.write('f off, and get back to writing your own underdog tale!</p><hr><h3>Life Applications:</h3><p>In what instances in lif');
document.write('e have you found yourself an underdog?<br />How do you conduct yourself when you pull off an upset?  Or when <b>you</b> ');
document.write('are upset?<br />What are hoosiers and terrapins anyways?</p><hr><p>Copyright 2002-2009 <strong><em>by <a target="_blan');
document.write('k" href="http://www.parishwebmaster.com/services/authors/bio_ajubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Aaron Jubar</font></a></e');
document.write('m></strong><A HREF="http://www.ParishWebmaster.com/" STYLE="TEXT-DECORATION: NONE"><font color="#000000"><br>All rights ');
document.write('reserved. </font></a></p><hr>');