If you have no association with the teams that are playing in the big game, that your “homer” team didn’t make it and are not in the finals, then know there’s you along with millions of others who are cheering for a certain team to win, and that’s for the underdog.
So if you’re a sports fan getting ready to watch the game, a major championship, and if there’s a team that’s a favorite to win, or has a tradition of winning, such as the New York Yankees or the New England Patriots, you’ll find that most neutral sports fans dislike them.
They’ll place their allegiances on the other team, the underdog to win. This since we as sports fans despise seeing those consistently successful teams do well, those dynasty teams which has a tradition of winning.
What our hearts are drawn to is the team that’s not predicted to win, although our brains will usually bet on the favorites. So why is it that we all collectively feel this disdain towards those teams who always seems to win.
Those Winning Teams Constantly Beat Your Team
Most often, the only reason we’re hoping that the favorite team loses is because they constantly beat your “home” team like a drum, so we’re on a mission towards avenging the constant losing of our beloved team.
Regardless of which sport you follow, waiting yet another year for your team to get another shot at the finals can be torture. What makes us feel better is watching the team that beat you out, experience a bit of defeat themselves.
But that team however, is really good. Most also enjoys watching the fans of the favorite team if they happen to lose, cry in their beer. Then we find solace and commonality, even just for that one game.
The Bandwagon Fans
When it comes to watching sports, there’s nothing worse than bandwagon fans. These are frauds who’ll cling on to the “favorite” team once they sniff out a winner, and then have the audacity to celebrate, pretending that they were diehard fans all along.
This just forces you to dislike the favorites even more. There’s no greater pleasure than seeing someone who’s jumped on the bandwagon once the team gets good, just to see them lose.
Regardless of how big the game is, those bandwagon fans will find their way onto the sidelines of who’s projected to win. They’re not sports fans, they’re drama queens.
The Battle Of Struggle Is Much Sweeter
We cheer for the underdog team because it’s just a better story on how they got there. It’s a storyline much like a movie, and we find their conquest entertaining.
We love it when the underdog team that’s usually not as talented, wins the big game based on pure courage and determination. David beats Goliath.
What it does is forces us to cheer for the incredible feat, the heroics, slaying the dragon, which turns into an epic storyline which will remain forever.
Sticking It To The “Superstar”
There’s nothing better than sticking it to the man, the superstar, seeing he and his predicted winning team, lose, watching the number one ranked team that should win, get upset.
What everyone does is quantify all of the statistics, giving solid reasons why the favorite team is a shoe-in, a no brainer to win, why they’re better than the other team.
Then once the system breaks down, the odds get beat, the underdog team wins, then it restores a sense of power back into what really matters, which is teamwork, dedication, and hard work.
Keeping The Faith
Another reason why neutral sports fans cheer for the underdog is because it keeps their faith alive, that all things are good and restored. That miracles can and do happen, that they’ve just witnessed the unlikely.
What we want to see are the upsets, the colossal crumbling of the favorite team, the improbable comeback. We need to believe that the impossible can happen on any given day.
Then we believe that anything can happen in our own lives, this when we face seemingly daunting unrealistic challenges on a daily basis much like the underdog, we hope that we can overcome the same odds.
We root for the underdog because we’re hoping to witness something that’s magical, a miracle, to see something that’s truly spectacular.
That’s Why They Play The Game
It makes us believe that regardless of the sport, once two opponents face each other in competition, regardless of the handicap, that anything can happen, anyone could win on any given Sunday.
That’s the poetic justice nature when it comes to sports. The appeal of teamwork and hard work, that no one’s bigger than the game itself. The best team on that day wins, and it’s not always the favorite as fate can interject.
Sports is reality TV at its best, and every time that upsets do happen, it restores an universal order, if not just for a short period of time.
We’re All Underdogs
The science that’s behind cheering for the underdog despite the odds, seeing an unlikely hero emerge is because we all see ourselves in the same role. It’s a factor which translates across all attitudes.
We’re all underdogs in life, face the same challenges. We ourselves need to beat the odds, the bullying, the hate of racism, constantly going up against those who are stronger, smarter, faster, wealthier than us.
Then there’s a universal shift, there’s a comeback, as unlikely factors fall into place which wasn’t predicted, and then maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance that we ourselves will get the same type of big break that we weren’t expecting.
We love to cheer for the underdog because we want the winners to have their day, to experience defeat, and the underdog needs all the support they can get.