The Leicester story was amazing, especially when you consider the coach that they hired, Claudio Ranieri, was fired a year prior from the Greece National Team for losing to the lowly ranked Faroe Islands. That team had some memorable names such as N Golo Kante (who just joined the team at the time), Jamie Vardy (who made his name in non league football playing for teams that offered measly wages), along with their captain Wes Morgan (who I heard was the first Jamaican to win the premier league as captain). I hope there will be another team that does what Leicster does although it seems unlikely given the gap between the big teams and the small teams in the premier league.
What's even funnier is that Vardy and Harry Kane both played for Leicester City in coming up (there's pictures of the two of them together in the Championship in 2013) and if you said one of these guys is going to win a Premier League and FA Cup trophy in the next decade no one would've said Vardy over the still trophyless Kane lol
As a Tottenham fan, can't handle the disrespect that is given to Kane, he is still one of, if not the best strikers in the world, hopefully he wins the champions league with Bayern Munich this year. I also remember seeing that picture too, the world works in crazy mysterious ways sometimes!
Leicester City is THE biggest upset in sports for all the reasons you mention but also because they play a balanced schedule (each team in the Premier League plays each team the same amount of times) and so the team who wins the trophy (remember people, no playoffs) is objectively the best team. The downside of that system, obviously, is years like this year where Arsenal could potentially lose out on winning the league despite going undefeated against the so-called fellow top six (the biggest spending/most high profile) clubs because (again, with no playoffs) it's a "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you" where if you take care of business against all the teams you should beat and the top teams don't, you don't actually have to be a Man City or Tottenham to win the trophy lol
Another great Cinderella run was Fiji at the past 2023 Rugby World Cup where the lost by only six points to Wales and then upset their fellow Oceanic neighbourhood dwellers Australia earning them a spot in the knockout round (despite their loss to Portugal which was another upset in and of itself). They would end up losing by just six points in a hard fought battle against the English.
And speaking of international sports, Afghanistan's recent run at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, knocking of defending champs England and South Asian rivals Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the group stage as well as pushing eventual champion Australia and semifinalist South Africa to the brink in what were down to the wire, palm sweating matchups all while inspirationally (and defiantly) wearing the colours and sporting the flag of the Afghan Republic (which had been toppled a mere two years earlier by the Taliban).
And speaking of World Cups how could I forget Saudi Arabia's 2-1 come from behind win against the eventual champion Argentina in their opening match at the 2022 gulf state World Cup in Qatar?
Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1986. Stay with me on this one. Montreal was a middling team through almost the entire season. It took a bizarre string of upsets for Montreal to be the last team standing. First, in the division, the barely over .500 Hartford Whalers upset a very good Quebec Nordiques team in the first round, giving Montreal home ice advantage in the second round. Then, at the conference level, the NY Rangers upset both the Philadelphia Flyers AND the Washington Capitals, but they were exhausted by the time the reached the conference finals, losing to Montreal in five games. Finally, the SCF, Montreal faced a Calgary team that had already slain its dragon, beating the three-peat seeking Edmonton Oilers in in the division final. Everything had to break exactly right for Montreal to get its second-to-last Stanley Cup title, and it did.
What a wonderful sportscaster you would be! Reading The Replay, I feel as if I am there!
The Leicester story was amazing, especially when you consider the coach that they hired, Claudio Ranieri, was fired a year prior from the Greece National Team for losing to the lowly ranked Faroe Islands. That team had some memorable names such as N Golo Kante (who just joined the team at the time), Jamie Vardy (who made his name in non league football playing for teams that offered measly wages), along with their captain Wes Morgan (who I heard was the first Jamaican to win the premier league as captain). I hope there will be another team that does what Leicster does although it seems unlikely given the gap between the big teams and the small teams in the premier league.
What's even funnier is that Vardy and Harry Kane both played for Leicester City in coming up (there's pictures of the two of them together in the Championship in 2013) and if you said one of these guys is going to win a Premier League and FA Cup trophy in the next decade no one would've said Vardy over the still trophyless Kane lol
As a Tottenham fan, can't handle the disrespect that is given to Kane, he is still one of, if not the best strikers in the world, hopefully he wins the champions league with Bayern Munich this year. I also remember seeing that picture too, the world works in crazy mysterious ways sometimes!
I still feel like "more likely than Leicester" is a useful phrase that should be more common.
Also, similar odds were given for the discovery of the Yeti or Loch Ness Monster, or Elvis being found alive. My favorite part of the story.
Leicester City is THE biggest upset in sports for all the reasons you mention but also because they play a balanced schedule (each team in the Premier League plays each team the same amount of times) and so the team who wins the trophy (remember people, no playoffs) is objectively the best team. The downside of that system, obviously, is years like this year where Arsenal could potentially lose out on winning the league despite going undefeated against the so-called fellow top six (the biggest spending/most high profile) clubs because (again, with no playoffs) it's a "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you" where if you take care of business against all the teams you should beat and the top teams don't, you don't actually have to be a Man City or Tottenham to win the trophy lol
Another great Cinderella run was Fiji at the past 2023 Rugby World Cup where the lost by only six points to Wales and then upset their fellow Oceanic neighbourhood dwellers Australia earning them a spot in the knockout round (despite their loss to Portugal which was another upset in and of itself). They would end up losing by just six points in a hard fought battle against the English.
And speaking of international sports, Afghanistan's recent run at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, knocking of defending champs England and South Asian rivals Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the group stage as well as pushing eventual champion Australia and semifinalist South Africa to the brink in what were down to the wire, palm sweating matchups all while inspirationally (and defiantly) wearing the colours and sporting the flag of the Afghan Republic (which had been toppled a mere two years earlier by the Taliban).
And speaking of World Cups how could I forget Saudi Arabia's 2-1 come from behind win against the eventual champion Argentina in their opening match at the 2022 gulf state World Cup in Qatar?
Sports I know little about; I know a little more
Chris, how can you forget:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obwnbKlbysM
The Kid beats Razor Ramon
or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyt67OuO3jw
Barry Horowitz wins!
Though I know wrestling, especially Greco Roman style, is a niche sport, I think Rulon Gardner’s win is number one.
Villanova over Georgetown in 85?
My nominees:
NC State over Houston.
Villanova over Georgetown.
Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1986. Stay with me on this one. Montreal was a middling team through almost the entire season. It took a bizarre string of upsets for Montreal to be the last team standing. First, in the division, the barely over .500 Hartford Whalers upset a very good Quebec Nordiques team in the first round, giving Montreal home ice advantage in the second round. Then, at the conference level, the NY Rangers upset both the Philadelphia Flyers AND the Washington Capitals, but they were exhausted by the time the reached the conference finals, losing to Montreal in five games. Finally, the SCF, Montreal faced a Calgary team that had already slain its dragon, beating the three-peat seeking Edmonton Oilers in in the division final. Everything had to break exactly right for Montreal to get its second-to-last Stanley Cup title, and it did.