So clearly Butler would be the Marines, and Matt Howard (the goofy slow hardworking senior) would play Aaron Eckhert. Shelvin Mack would be Ne-Yo, who is trying to get through the war to finally marry his wife who he is planning a wedding with in the first scenes of the film. In this case Mack is just trying to get out the game unscathed so he can get married to Daniel Stern the NBA commissioner and make millions of dollars hooping alongside other Butler greats like......Gordon Haywerd? Butler somehow is the underdog...let me repeat this. The team who played in this same exact game the year before were again the UNDERDOGS against traditional powerhouse UConn, led by the head alien Jim Calhoun and his lightening fast killer alien general Kemba Walker.
Casual observers, some sports fans, and especially the media love the underdog story. It is apart of our history that dates back to pre-biblical times. We are all raised on the notion that as a community you can raise up greater than your individual parts to accomplish greatness. That the last thing you would do is count little Thomas the train engine out when it comes to pulling a load three times his weight. We are inspired by those stories and they bring us hope. Take America for example, would we be a country if we didn't stand our ground against the English? Forget about the facts in this example. We all know they were just trying to tax us for wars they felt needed to be waged regardless of our feelings about them (cough cough Iraq/Libya/Vietnam). As Americans we stood up and said "We don't want your stinking tea" and "No taxation without Representation" as well as "Give me liberty or give me death". The point is we were the underdogs, the little guys standing up to the giant. The big dumb English giant who wanted to ballroom dance and eat crumpets.
Okay, enough with the history lessons. I am going to get down to it. We are a nation of overachievers. We strive to be the best in everything we do. It is an imprint in the DNA of every inhabitant of the 50 states. With the exception of Maryland and New Jersey where they refuse to become better drivers and to make left turns. Like come on New Jersey, why do I need to make a roundabout right turn? Are you trying to waste my gas so I have to awkwardly sit in my car while some 19 year old freezes his butt of pumping my gas and cleaning my windshield?! Maryland drivers are just the worst, they treat every road like it is the Audubon. That being said Mark Zuckerburg is from New Jersey and his website started a revolution in my country and a Maryland University graduate created Under Armor and opened up a whole new athletic apparel segment that Nike and Addidas are trying to catch up in. So in every state there is a story of a regular Joe or Josephine who make it big and impacts the world in such a major way. We are a nation of underdogs. Proving that hard work can trump talent and privilege any day of the week.
Now I am a Duke basketball fan, I like them and I take a lot of heat for it as well. I don't mind because y'all just hatin (Vince Vaughn from "Be Cool" voice). They are not an underdog they are a powerhouse school in a power conference that everyone loves to hate. The night Arizona beat Duke in the tournament I could have put restraining orders on dozens of my closest friends for harassment. After careful consideration I voted against it because deep down they still had some redeeming qualities. Plus no one wants to explain why they are on http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/. Duke had an early exit, but VCU my Alma mater made their stay a little longer. They beat 5 different teams from 5 different power conferences. As the team that was first 4 in defeated and deflated their opponents in their run to the final four you could also see the wheels on their bandwagon slowly lose air.
No one in the country had really heard of VCU and if they had they probably thought they shouldn't be in the tournament. That being said, VCU was included into the mix and took on the role of David and pounded 5 "Goliaths" to win their region and play in the Final Four. It was a record breaking run to the Final Four, no team had one 5 games to reach the that stage and VCU had never made it that far into the tournament. Some will say that VCU played better than anyone in the tournament and did it with a bit of flare. Their run ended at the hands of Butler another Cinderella story of the tournament. Only fitting that there would be one David commissioned to take on a Goliath coming from the other side of the bracket. So we cheer for the underdog and we pray for the oppressed. It is in our nature, because we all want to feel normal. We all want to know that anything is possible and it isn't just some tag line Disney glossed up in the shape of Hannah Montana. This is real life stuff that drives Americans and it is what makes us unique. We defy social structure, we drive through thunderstorms of adversity and make it out on the other end with our head held high. This is who we are, and quite frankly because of it we have collectively become Goliath. Who really wants a piece of the United States?! We strive to be greater than our individual parts and are united behind ideals of success and prosperity.
We stick up for the little guys (privately) because we know that we can. George Clooney is leading the charge in Darfur, for goodness sake he is a movie star. He uses his influence to bring light to a subject we can hardly get our representatives to take on. We are a machine (sometimes) finely tuned and focused because we have our small parts. Overachieving and thriving under any circumstance and racing harder and faster than any Chinese person.... Well maybe we aren't this anymore. Maybe we rubbed off on everyone in the world. They were inspired by our David's, by our under dogs, and our hard work. We have it in us though. Like we cheer for the most unlikely and pray for those who have less. Like we battle to win social wars for human rights across the globe, we can do it here at home. We are a Giant made of dwarfs. Dwarfs unwilling to feel inferior, unwilling to be brought down and bewildered. It isn't a Napoleon complex, no one likes the French. It is the American way, it is what makes us great and what can launch us to heights we never imagined. I hope you take it to the next level in your life. Love yourself, love your family, appreciate what you are given and make the best use of it. For me it is remembering that God has given me gifts and that I have to graciously receive them and pay him back by being the best person I can.
Have a wonderful week everyone! Make someone smile, do something to make yourself smile, and be positive! You can accomplish anything...well I wont say anything because I can't dunk on a 10ft rim and that probably won't happen ever.
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