Rooting for the underdog–UCLA beats USC

I’m not much of a sports fan, but I must say, I really enjoyed the UCLA vs. USC game last night. There’s something about watching an underdog come from behind to win that just makes for a great story. UCLA was a team with several losses, but when they played my team (Notre Dame), I saw a lot of fire and heart in them. We barely managed to beat them. So when I saw that they were up against USC this weekend, a team that everyone predicted would go for the national championship, I was hoping that they would pull off the win.

They did. I felt like I was watching a sports movie where the underdogs get beaten down time and again and finally they beat the champions. In the final minutes of the game, they managed to catch an interception and hang onto the ball long enough to take down the clock. Then when they couldn’t get a first down and were forced to punt, the kicker nailed the bejeezus out of the ball for 67 yards. In less than a minute, UCLA won.

You could see twenty-year-old men crying because they had pulled off a David and Goliath moment. It was truly something to see.

I really enjoy watching sports movies. I’m a big Karate Kid fan, along with Hoosiers and how could we forget “Rudy?” As an aside, both my husband and I are in that movie. They shot the football scene during one of the winter games at Notre Dame in the fall of 1992. The producers had us chanting “Rudy, Rudy.” If you squint, you can probably see me in the student section. I’m pretty sure it was snowing during that game and we were all bundled up. Then again, any game in October, you’ll see snow.

What’s your favorite sports movie?