The U.S. Olympic hockey team had no hope of defeating the Soviet Union. Villanova could not possibly stop Georgetown. Buster Douglas was, at best, a 42-to-1 longshot against Mike Tyson. Wrestler Rulon Gardner would not last an Olympic round against Aleksandr Karelin, who hadn’t lost in 13 years. Unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci couldn’t stop Serena Williams’s ride to a calendar-year Grand Slam.
Upsets have captured the sporting public for generations, but most have been one-off shockers, lightning-in-a-bottle moments that paralyze us because of their suddenness.
On Monday, Leicester City — an English soccer club in the same league but historically deep in the shadows of the likes of wealthy Manchester United and Arsenal – won the Premier League with a sustained upset over nine glorious months.