National Underdog Day is an annual celebration commemorated on December 17 of this year. Any competition will certainly have only one winner. Most often only the winners or the top dogs are celebrated and cherished.
Underdog is a common term used in competitions and tournaments, and it refers to the person or the team that is not likely to win. Why don’t we celebrate those runner-ups with a Day on the calendar? National Underdog Day celebrates and honors all the underdogs or the second winners.
History of National Underdog Day:
National Underdog Day has been celebrated since 1976. It is celebrated on the third Friday of every December. Peter Moeller has established this Day to honor all the unsung heroes and unlikely winners. There are some people who work very hard, but often they will never get recognized for their hard work.
The day celebrates those underdogs and unacknowledged heroes. The term underdog is popularly used in sports that refers to a person who is popularly expected to lose. The expectation can be based on opinion, statistical data, or overall standings. If the underdog wins, then it’s called an upset.
The first recorded use of the term Underdog occurred in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The first meaning of that term was “the beaten dog in a fight.” Originally, an underdog was a shipbuilder that stood in a dark pit.
The planks of wood can be seen from there. The person who stands on the top of the wooden plank was called the overdog meaning a supervisor. And the person who works at the bottom gets dirty, dark, covered with the sawdust and is named the underdog.
How to Celebrate National Underdog Day:
The best way to celebrate National Underdog Day is by appreciating the unlikely winner for his/her effort and hard work. Encourage those underdogs you know with positive motivational words. Cheer those unsung heroes.
If you are an underdog yourself, then break the expectations of those who think you will likely lose. Make efforts to become a top dog. You can even watch famous underdog movies with your friends to enjoy the Day.
Interesting Facts About Underdog Day:
Few Interesting facts related to Underdog Day!
- Bill Chase’s calendar of the annual event first featured the idea of the Underdog Day
- Bill Chase, the father-in-law of Peter Moeller was also known to announce the Underdog of the year name which received much attention from the media.
- Michael Jordan has nine thousand bad shots credited to him but nothing could stop him from becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
- Some of the sporting teams that were considered as underdogs have re-written history with their success like the 2004 Greece Soccer team and US Hockey team in 1980.
- The Underdog series aired by NBC in the 1960s featured a caped superhero.
- The antonym of the underdog is top dog. An underdog winning the event is termed as an upset in the land of bets and statistics.
