Hail to the Victors!

As you, my beloved readers, must by now know -- Michigan was defeated in football by Appalachian State yesterday, 34-32. Appalachian State, from Boone, NC is the two-time defending 1-AA National Champions. They are an excellent Championship Division (new NCAAese for 1-AA) team. But, were still giant underdogs against Michigan. In my opinion, this was the greatest upset not only in college football, or ever football history, but the history of sports. David slew Goliath yesterday. This got me thinking back to other great upsets, and below is my list of the 5 greatest upsets in history.

1. Appalachian State defeats Michigan, Football, 2007 (see above).
2. Bill Clinton defeats George H.W. Bush, U.S. Presidential Election, 1992. Many of you who are around my age will not think that this was an upset -- especially if you liked Clinton as a president (I did not and I admit it, but this did not color my decision here). Bush had an approval rating of 89% only 18 months before the election. He also left office with an approval rating of 56%. In the time between the Clinton campaign did an unbelievable job, and that along with Ross Perot getting 19% of the popular vote meant that Clinton won 370 electoral votes, compared to Bush's 168. (The popular vote was a much closer 42.9%-37.1%.)
3. Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman, Heavyweight Boxing, 1974. Ali was a 3-1 underdog, way past his prime, and Foreman was the most athletic Boxer between Fraiser and Tyson. Rope-a-dope gets 'em every time.
4. Buster Douglas defeats Mike Tyson, Heavyweight Boxing, 1990. Tyson was the best boxer in the history of boxing. He lost because he gave up. There's not much else to say. Sad story though.
5. NC State defeats Field, 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament. The Wolfpack were a #6 seed in that tournament -- still the lowest to win the title. Coached by Jim Valvano, the 'pack were only 17-10 before winning the ACC tourney, and then the NCAA tourney. Helluva year. Jim Valvano was an amazing person, and his tragic death does not cover the brightness of his life. Please watch this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXlkqkFH6s . This was his speech for accepting the Arthur Ashe award at the 1993 Espy's. I urge you to listen to this speech and take it to heart. It will make you laugh, it will make you think, and it will make you cry (it makes me cry like a baby.) Jimmy V passed away only 8 weeks after this speech.

*Noticeably absent from this list is the 1980 U.S. Hockey team defeating The Soviet Union in the Olympics. I don't care about hockey, and this game has been totally blown out of proportion. Firstly, the U.S. Hockey team was no slouch -- they were the 3rd best team in that Olympic year. Secondly, the only reason this is so famous is that people looked at this contest as so much more than a game. It was a symbolism of the Cold War as a whole. It wasn't -- it was just a damn hockey game.

So there you have it.

If you disagree, or wish to add another one, please post a comment and tell me about it.