When it comes to life, we humans have a tendency to pull for the underdog. We always find ourselves admiring the stories of the little people — the ones who aren’t supposed to achieve great success the way the powerful, pretty and generally more celebrated so often do. There is something about seeing someone defy the odds to surprise us all in doing what nobody thought they could that makes life just a little bit more worthwhile.
The most recent example has news and entertainment media infatuated with her. The quirky, socially awkward Susan Boyle of Scotland appeared on the British television series “Britain’s Got Talent,” a competitive show similar to our own “American Idol” that even features Simon Cowell as a panelist. Boyle is in her late 40s, slightly overweight and never been kissed. She spent most of her adult life caring for her ill mother who had recently passed away prior to her appearance on the show.
As she uncomfortably clunked out onto the stage and gave her introduction, the panelists and much of the crowd laughed and gawked at her. It was as if those in the audience were wondering, “Why is this lady even here?”
As it turns out, she delivered a literally jaw-dropping performance that shocked the panelists and audience alike, drawing a standing ovation and cheers of encouragement before Boyle had even finished the act.
It is quite easy to judge a book by its cover. Even when hearing Boyle perform, one doesn’t expect to see her face singing such a beautiful piece. It just didn’t seem right that this strange woman could have such talent. It also doesn’t seem right that I myself came to that conclusion as I watched the introduction to her performance.
The innocent middle-aged woman from the village in Scotland is now an international phenomenon as she makes appearances on talk shows across the world. She has millions of hits on her video online and a real chance to be a professional singer whether she wins the show or not.
As a global society, we like to celebrate the victories of the doubted. This is not just true in terms of overdone competitive reality shows.
We make movies and write books out of the stories of people who overcame hardships to accomplish some goal or realize some dream. Stories such as the poor man coming from nothing and working up to a happy and healthy life or achieving some goal he wasn’t supposed to be able to achieve. Or the immigrant who comes to another country with the clothes on his back and builds an empire out of some kind of business. And the athlete who comes from violent or troubled backgrounds to success and fame because of his hard work in practice that manifests into his abilities on the field.
What makes us love the underdog even more is the rarity of such occasions. Unfortunately, most people who aren’t supposed to actually don’t. That is why we have problems with issues such as poverty and lack of opportunity. Whatever the reason for those not achieving, it makes for a special occasion when someone does come out on top and defy the odds.
This is particularly true in the sports world. The New York Giants weren’t supposed to beat the undefeated and vaunted New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The historically woeful Tampa Bay Rays weren’t supposed to have a winning season, let alone make it to the World Series last October. Every year in March we hear about the Cinderella teams that weren’t supposed to beat the higher seeds and advance deep into the tournament. Our own Tennessee football team is not supposed to beat Florida in the Swamp next season. But when these things happen, we celebrate wildly and admire in awe of what these teams have accomplished despite the odds.
Perhaps we love the story of the underdog so much because it gives everybody a little bit of hope. As corny as it is, seeing Boyle, who is supposed to be a nobody to everybody except those in her village, earn such merit for her abilities gives us all that fuzzy feeling we don’t like to admit we get. In hectic times, we rely on the feel-good stories to keep us hopeful that we can accomplish things despite our own problems. If others in this world can do so much with so little to accomplish their dreams, why can’t we all?
In fact, Boyle’s performance on “Britain’s Got Talent” was titled “I Dreamed a Dream.” Somehow this doesn’t feel like much of a coincidence.
— Oliver Casey is a junior in enterprise management. He can be reached at [email protected].
