UNDERDOG UNDERWEAR...!!!!

Well.. Well.. Well… I guess most of you must be curious about the title of this article. People who are reading this article just because of the title are in for big disappointment. That’s because this article is going to stress upon the ‘Underdogs’ rather than the ‘Underwear’.. I had this dubious title just to grab your attention…. All those filthy minds who want to read about underwear can better switch on their television sets. There you can see Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan flaunting their chiseled bodies whilst brandishing Dollar Club, Amul Macho, Macroman, etc etc… Others read on….


India won the cricket World Cup in 1983… When the world cup started, no one in their wildest dreams ever gave a chance to India… But miraculously, India pulled it off… Same was the case with Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup…. And may be, who knows, Netherlands might pull off an upset over a rampaging Spain and be the new World champions in Soccer… I am sure during most of the matches people would have wanted the weaker team to win in their heart of hearts… At least I did… There is a certain sense of romanticism associated with seeing a weaker team pull it off against the stronger team… Everyone wants to see a timid David pull it off against the mighty Goliath….!!!!!


Extrapolating these examples from the sporting field into real life would bring up some interesting observations. What is it with these underdogs that fascinate everyone? What is that extra something which catches the imagination of everyone?? What is it that makes everyone root for the underdog??? Well, the answer is pretty simple. In the heart of hearts, everybody thinks that he/she is an underdog. It can be any field. Some people consider themselves to be underdogs in studies. Some consider it in the sports world. Some consider themselves underdogs as far as financial matters are concerned.. That’s the fact of life.. Some of you may not agree with me forthrightly but I am sure there will be a tiny pulse in the smallest of corners of your heart which would agree with me…!!!! This holds true particularly with us Indians… Most of us are more emotional than practical… Let’s take the example of Bollywood.. Great superstars from Bollywood have something in common… Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan… All the three have one thing common… All the three were underdogs when they entered the industry… And look at where they are right now… Not many would have as much mass appeal as these three great superstars of Bollywood… Even down south, two of the biggest superstars Chiranjeevi and Rajnikanth were underdogs when they entered the industry… Agreed that all these individuals had immense talent but the biggest asset that these five individuals had was the support and goodwill of the masses… If it was not for the fans these superstars would have been anonymous individuals… What made the masses support them? It was the strong desire to see the underdog succeed..!!!


Most of you who are Harry Potter aficionados would appreciate this scene from the second book, The Chamber of Secrets… When Harry Potter goes to meet the Principal of Hogwart’s, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, he sees the mystical phoenix, Fawkes. Before his eyes the phoenix gets burnt and dies… But in a matter of seconds, it rises again from the ashes, ready for a new life…This is exactly how we wish an underdog to be… We always wish someone completely despondent to win against all odds just like the phoenix rose from the ashes…!!!!!


But there is a flip-side to this entire romance for an underdog… What if the Goliath is us? What if it is our team??? Well… honestly in such a scenario all this romance about underdog will go out of the window… I am sure no one will support Bangladesh to win against India in cricket.. That’s the fact of the matter… We would never sympathize with the underdog if we are at the receiving end. We would like to believe in the adage – “Every dog has its day.”. But equally true is the fact that we would never want this dog to have his day against us. So, what we can understand from this whole thing is that this basically depends on the situation. Situation is what dictates terms to us and we become slave to it and change our perceptions accordingly..

Underdog is good as long as we are not the “Overdog”…!!!!!