As you know, I am an incurable infracaninophile -- lover of the underdog. I just love it when someone who is not supposed to win a race, wins big. When the little guy beats the big guy. Think Minutemen versus Redcoats. Think Joe Namath's Jets versus the Baltimore Colts. Think the U.S. ice hockey team versus the Soviets at the 1980 Olympics ("Do you believe in miracles?").
In the 2018 Boston Marathon, an unknown runner from Japan won the men's race.
At first, the announcers couldn't even pronounce his name correctly. They lambasted him from the start: "He's in the lead only because he's trying to get on camera." But the same commentators who laughed and joked about Yuki Kawauchi's "crazy" move at the start would soon have to eat their own words. Clearly he was the strongest runner that day, and by far. His finisher reaction was so heartfelt. His was a real life Rocky story.
Yours can be too.