Underdogs!

Underdogs never go under! Especially, every recession [economic, social and environmental] brings out an “underdog” and catapults them into the league of “top dog”!

Rajasthan Royals started off as the underdogs and went on to win the Indian Premier League (IPL 2008 season). 2008 culminated with two significant achievements from the underdog’s camp. India’s successful moon mission and Barack Obama!

Underdog theme continues to inspire every day. With AR Rehman being crowned as the Hollywood music king and lesser known crew from Slumdog Millionaire winning all the awards ever instituted in the international film circles, the underdogs have added another feather to their cap!

Well, who exactly is an underdog? There are few interesting theories on the phrase derivation of “underdogs” and “top dogs”, dating back to the 19^th century stories on wood-sawing and dog fights. The latest derivation claim in 20^th century relates to an article in the Sports Review on prize hunting or hunting dogs! Where ever it originated from, according to me, an underdog is the “Who’s so what?” and a top dog is the “Who is who”…

The audience loves underdogs in a competition. You know why? There are two reasons, and these reasons have evolved depending on the political, social and economic climate of the time and place.

Reason 1: The audience consider themselves the master and wants to see the underdog succumb to them to satiate their thirst for supremacy.

Remember the ancient Romans and their arena fights? Impoverished slaves used to fight the ultimate roman fighting machine (a knight) or a tiger. The slaves used to muster up even the last ounce of survival instinct to fight a losing battle and eventually succumb to the master!

Reason 2: The audience can actually empathize not just sympathize, with the underdog and roots for it to become the top dog!

The American Presidential election in 2008 is a classic example. People loved Barack Obama the underdog! The son of an African-American immigrant, father of 2 kids, who has struggled hard to be where he is, has no personal business affiliations, not just another candidate who claimed patriotism via war hysteria. The people of America could actually relate to him… because most of them had been there sometime or the other in their lives.

Apart from these reasons as to why any audience loves underdogs in a competition, there is an important element which an underdog brings on board. It is the “Power of possibility”! There is an ever lurking chance that the underdog might win and “upset” the party or as with changing times there is an immense possibility of crowning a new champion.

As it is rightly called the Champions league football tournament is a testimony to the fact that underdogs are interesting! The tournament has a complex structure and one can be rest assured that only a true champion can emerge out of it! The year was 2004, the year of underdogs; the 3 of the final 4 playing for the cup was lesser known clubs. FC Porto, Deportivo La Coruña, AS Monaco. The 4^th club was Chelsea. FC Porto won the cup! It was led by a then unknown man, José Mourinho! This underdog went on to become the top-dog in football circuit. He became a champion in his first season and a double premier league winner with the famous Chelsea football club, brand ambassador for Samsung mobile and the theme of many a best sellers capped by his authorized biography “Made in Portugal”. This champion is an inspiring example of the underdog to top dog story.

There are umpteen number of such stories that have been told so far and all have been massive hits at the box office and they will continue to be! Rocky, The mighty ducks, Waterboy, Dodgeball: A true underdog story, our very own Lagaan, Taare Zamin par, Slumdog Millionaire, just to list a few famous ones. Every movie went on to win Oscars or nominations at the least! In a website for film reviews, Anthony Chatfield a freelance writer notes, “Underdog themed stories will never die. They capture an aspect of everyday life that we all feel at one point or another - that desire to belong and be respected…” It is so true!

We can now understand why people love underdogs and the value addition they bring on board. But who creates these underdogs? I think it is just a state of mind. It is purely a perspective of the “who’s who” about “who’s so what”!

Rajasthan Royals, ISRO, Barack Obama, AR Rehman, the crew of Slumdog Millionaire, José Mourinho listed in this article were extraordinary bunch of people. They always had high quality content! Over a period of time, the “Who’s who” or pro’s become complacent and think that some entities in a competition both do not have the required talent or depth and hence don’t give a chance of winning! What they fail to understand is that it is actually the underdog who filters the ordinary from the extra-ordinary and brings out the true champion.

Given that this is a perspective issue and not an actual problem of being the underdog, is it cool to be an underdog? And importantly, how do you know if, you are an underdog?

In my opinion it is OK to be the underdog at times in a given system. During the process of working your way through the system, as an underdog, you have an advantage which no one has. Your innate talent mixed with the absence of “fear of failure” makes a charming cocktail, which, when served, rocks the system and catapults you to rock star status!

You realize that you are the underdog when people around you consistently say that you have the talent and you don’t have any fear of failure! So, how long do you remain an underdog? Not long… the moment you achieve certain goals within a system and get recognized you are no longer considered an underdog! A fear of failure sets in and inhibits one from experimenting. Then, how do you become a top dog?

Underdogs enhance a competition; they inspire and enable people to aspire, they present unlimited possibilities! The connotation of underdog might not be all that positive, but definitely it is not negative. To become a top dog, you need to shed your fear of failure. Continue to experiment and learn, never underestimate your competition as underdog, for, underdogs are not someone whom you ignore, but someone you watch out for. I love to quote great leaders and opinion makers. One such quote from Mahatma Gandhi is “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” To enhance yourself to be a top dog, draw inspiration from the underdogs!

So, next time you watch a movie or a game of football or if you are listening to sales pitch or evaluating a competition or interviewing prospective employees, look out for the underdog!

You might win yourself a champion!

- Ciao