Monday, February 22, 2021

Hollywood Loves an Underdog - February 22, 2010

 

When the U.S. ice men's hockey team upset the Canadian squad on Sunday, we couldn't help but be reminded that today, February 22, marks the 30th anniversary of what many believe was the greatest upset in sports history, the so-called "Miracle on Ice."

Sportscaster
Al Michaels's call, "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!," entered the pantheon of great sports calls, and put the capper on the American ice hockey team's upset of the heavily-favored Soviet team.

The "Miracle on Ice" was probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, but hardly a season goes by when some underdog doesn't defy the odds and stun fans with an unexpected victory. And don't think that Hollywood doesn't notice, either. Such David-and-Goliath sagas are tailor-made for the movies, where stories that warm the heart can turn into cold, hard cash.

The American hockey victory alone was turned into not one, but
two films, and such unlikely human -- and animal -- champions as James J. Braddock and Seabiscuit gave hope to Americans beaten down by the Great Depression -- to the delight of studio heads seventy years later. Audiences cheered Milan High School's small-town championship in Hoosiers, and, while it's not an "upset," the rags-to-riches story of Michael Oher in last year's The Blind Side may spell Oscar gold for Sandra Bullock.

Whose story will make it to the silver screen next?
Joe Namath's? Kirk Gibson's? Or is the next Rulon Gardner still in hiding, just waiting for a chance?

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