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Underdog#Cinderella

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-{{Short description|A competitor who excels despite low expectations}}
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-In [[sport]]s, the terms '''Cinderella''', "'''Cinderella story'''", and '''Cinderella team''' are used to refer to situations in which competitors achieve far greater success than would reasonably have been best expected.<ref>{{cite web|last=Merron|first=Jeff|title=ESPN.com: Page 2 : Who are the greatest Cinderella stories?|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=list/cinderellastories|website=ESPN.com|access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2004/March/26/sports2.asp |title=Cinderella stories: Battling from the bottom up |last1=Kim |first1=Suzie |date=26 March 2004 |publisher=The Gazette |access-date=28 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716232231/http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2004/March/26/sports2.asp |archive-date=16 July 2012}}</ref> Cinderella stories tend to gain much media and fan attention as they move closer to the tournament final game.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/march-madness5.htm |title=How March Madness Works |last1=Bonsor |first1=Kevin |website=HowStuffWorks.com |date=17 March 2003 |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref>
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-The term comes from the well-known European folk tale of ''[[Cinderella]]'', which embodies a myth-element of unjust oppression and triumphant reward, when the title character's life of poverty is suddenly changed to one of remarkable fortune. In a sporting context the term has been used at least since 1939, but came into widespread usage in 1950, when [[Cinderella (1950 film)|the Disney movie]] was released that year, and in reference to [[1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team|City College of New York]], the unexpected winners of the NCAA Men's Basketball championship also that year.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g42TyP-V5C8C&q=Pat+Forde+College+Basketball+Encyclopedia+Cinderella&pg=PR41|title=ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game|author=ESPN|location=New York|publisher=ESPN Books|year=2009|page=28|isbn=9780345513922}}</ref> The term was used by [[Bill Murray]] in the 1980 movie ''[[Caddyshack]]'' where he pretends as the announcer to his own golf fantasy: "Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the [[Masters Tournament|Masters]] champion."<ref>{{cite news |title=Soundclip of Bill Murray in Caddyshack|url=http://www.moviesoundscentral.com/sounds/caddyshack/cinderellastory.wav |work=MovieSoundsCentral |access-date=2007-02-26}}</ref> Referring somewhat inaccurately to the plot details of the classic ''Cinderella'' story, the media will debate whether the given "Cinderella" team or player will "turn into a pumpkin", i.e. fail to win the prize and then return to its former obscurity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/2013/0322/March-Madness-2013-Is-Harvard-the-next-Cinderella|title=March Madness 2013: Is Harvard the next 'Cinderella'?|date=22 March 2013|access-date=10 June 2022|publisher=[[Christian Science Monitor]]}}</ref> In the fairy tale, it was the carriage that turned into a pumpkin at midnight, not Cinderella herself. Another popular term is "strike midnight", when a Cinderella team does finally get beaten.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wric.com/story/4714251/clock-strikes-midnight-for-cinderella-team-george-mason |title=Clock Strikes Midnight for Cinderella Team George Mason - WRIC Richmond News and Weather - |access-date=2013-03-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212181504/http://www.wric.com/story/4714251/clock-strikes-midnight-for-cinderella-team-george-mason |archive-date=2013-12-12}} "Clock Strikes Midnight For Cinderella Team George Mason"</ref>
-Prior to the widespread use of ''Cinderella'' in this way, the more common term for unexpected and dramatic success was ''Miracle'', as in the "Miracle [[Atlanta Braves|Braves]]" of [[1914 Boston Braves season|1914]], the "[[United States v England (1950 FIFA World Cup)|Miracle on Grass]]" in 1950, the "[[Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)|Miracle of Coogan's Bluff]]" in 1951, the "[[1969 World Series|Miracle Mets]]" of 1969, and the "[[Miracle on Ice]]" in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twicetoldarchive.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/miracle-on-ice/|title=Miracle on Ice|first=Elisabeth|last=Gruner|date=4 November 2010|access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>
-Cinderella teams are also referred to as a '''surprise package''' or '''surprise packet''', and their success would be termed a '''fairy-tale run'''. A related concept is the '''giant-killer''', which refers to a lesser competitor who defeats a favorite, reflecting the story of [[David and Goliath]]. In Soviet sport, particularly team sports like football and hockey, there appeared a term '''Thunder to the Dominant [teams]''' ({{lang-ru|Гроза авторитетов}}, Groza avtoritetov) that referred to underdog, often a strong mid-table team, of which the dominant teams were afraid. The title is still in use in the post-Soviet period and sometimes is given to "[[dark horse]]" teams which manage to win a major tournament.<ref>Oleg Koshelev. ''[https://tass.ru/sport/4576567 The Thunder to the Dominant": the main sensations of the Russian Cup in football (Гроза авторитетов: главные сенсации Кубка России по футболу)]''. [[TASS]].</ref> There was an official sports award that was introduced by the Soviet sports weekly "Sportivnaya Moskva" in the 1970s and 1980s for football and hockey top competitions awarded to teams that managed to take away the biggest number of points from the last season top-three placed teams.<ref>[http://www.hsf.narod.ru/awards/bwb.htm Thunder to the Dominant (Гроза авторитетов)]. HSF.narod.ru</ref>
-<!--The following is ONLY AN EXAMPLE LIST. Every case of a Cinderella team does not need to be listed. Please discuss a new example/player on the talk page before adding it.-->
-==References==
-{{Reflist|30em}}
-===Works cited===
-{{refbegin|30em}}
-* {{cite journal |last1=Vogel |first1=Greg |last2=Vieira |first2=Peter |year=2002 |title=IFMAR Electric Worlds: On-Road Upset! Tamiya Takes Touring Worlds |url=https://archive.org/details/Radio_Control_Car_Action_Magazine_2002-08/page/n59/mode/2up |journal=Radio Control Car Action |location=[[Wilton, Connecticut]] |publisher=[[Air Age Media]] |page=138 |access-date=5 June 2020}}<!-- {{sfn|Vogel|Vieira|2002|p=137}} -->
-* {{cite journal |last=Spinner |first=Colin |date=September 2008 |title=Interview with a Legend |journal=Radio Controlled Car Racer }}
-* {{cite journal |last=Haswell |first=Mike |date=August 2002 |title=On-Road Worlds 2002 |url=https://www.efra.ws/2002-1-12th-wc-krugersdorp-south-africa/ |journal=Radio Controlled Car International |access-date=5 June 2020}}
-* {{cite journal |last=Gonzalez |first=George M |date=November 1998 |title=Battle of Britain: IFMAR Electric On-Road World Champs & ISTC World Cups |url=https://archive.org/details/Radio_Control_Car_Action_Magazine_1998-11/page/n37/mode/2up |journal= Radio Control Car Action |location=[[Wilton, Connecticut]] |publisher=[[Air Age Media]] |access-date=5 June 2020}}<!-- {{sfn|Gonzalez|1998|pp=92-104}} -->
-* {{cite journal |last1=Haswell |first1=Mike |last2=McDonagh |first2=Jamie |last3=Emery |first3=Peter |year=1998 |title=Welcome to OnTrack '98 with RCCi |url=https://www.efra.ws/1998-pro-10-wc-south-tyneside-great-britain/ |journal=Radio Controlled Car International (OnTrack Supplement) |access-date=5 June 2020}}<!-- {{sfn|Haswell|McDonagh|Emery|1998|pp=2-14}} -->
-* {{cite journal |last=Buono |first=Derek |date=January 2001 |title=2000 IFMAR Electric On-Road Worlds |url=https://archive.org/details/Radio_Control_Car_Action_Magazine_2001-01/page/n63/mode/2up |journal= Radio Control Car Action |location=[[Wilton, Connecticut]] |publisher=[[Air Age Media]] |access-date=5 June 2020}}<!-- {{sfn|Buono|2001|pp=170-178}} -->
-{{refend}}
-{{Cinderella}}
 [[Category:Cinderella]]
 [[Category:Upsets]]