Which underdog sports story still gives you chills thinking back on it

[Amber90]

There's always that one result nobody saw coming that somehow still gets you even years later on a rewatch, curious what people's actual pick is here

Doesn't have to be a huge global moment necessarily, could be a small local team or a completely unheralded athlete who just did something nobody expected

[Molly76]

Same one everyone always brings up honestly, but I'll add a completely obscure amateur boxing upset that hit me just as hard personally

[PhotonBurst17]

Genuinely still get emotional over a certain relegation battle survival story, the stakes for that specific club felt higher than most championship finals

[Ronaldo]

A certain underdog team's title run still gets me every single time it comes up in conversation, one of the great sports stories of my lifetime

[Evan76]

Yeah that exact tournament everyone mentions in these threads, watched it live and still can't quite believe what actually happened that day

[Idle Current]

Not the obvious pick but a specific individual athlete's comeback from a career ending injury still moves me more than any team story does

[Casillas]

Weirdly it's a lesser known result from a smaller league that nobody outside that specific sport even remembers, still one of my favorite moments ever

[Anchor99]

Honestly a local high school team's championship run years ago, nobody outside our town remembers it but it still gives me chills thinking back

[Andrew_17]

Rewatched Rocky over the weekend! WOW! chills

[Cass_9]

The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers coming back from 3-1 down against the Golden State Warriors deserves a mention even though Cleveland weren't exactly a tiny underdog. They were facing a 73-win team, and the pressure was enormous. Kyrie's shot in Game 7 and LeBron's block still make that final sequence feel unreal.

[LostPete10]

Leicester winning the Premier League in 2015-16 still feels like somebody accidentally selected the wrong team in a football simulation. 5000-1 at the start, surviving the big clubs, then actually lifting the trophy. The best part was watching grown adults explain why it was statistically impossible after it had already happened.

[Hannah_36]

Wales reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals was special. Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and a team that genuinely looked like they were enjoying every second of the journey. Beating Belgium after falling behind was the standout, especially because Belgium had so much individual talent. Wales didn't read the ranking tables, apparently.

[ShawnMichaels_99]

Rocky gets me every time, but for actual sport, the 1980 US Olympic hockey team is hard to beat. Beating the Soviet Union wasn't just an upset against a stronger team; it was a victory loaded with Cold War tension and national expectations. That final stretch of the broadcast is pure cinema, except nobody had to write the ending.

[Chris81]

Ireland beating England at the 2011 Cricket World Cup, chasing 328, with Kevin O'Brien smashing a record-breaking century, is a brilliant shout. It wasn't just the result; it was the sheer speed with which the match turned into chaos. England supporters went through about six emotional lifetimes in one afternoon.

[Sookie38]

Nobody can convince me that Buster Douglas wasn't the king of underdog sporting moments. Tyson had the aura, the intimidation factor and the reputation that made opponents beaten before the first bell. Douglas had personal tragedy behind him and a performance that night nobody could take away. Boxing is at its best when the script gets punched in the face.

[Annie]

Wimbledon 2001, Goran Ivanisevic winning as a wildcard. Three previous finals lost, ranked outside the elite, and then he finally gets it done in a five-set thriller against Pat Rafter. The emotional release when he won was incredible. Tennis doesn't always need a teenager with a billion-dollar sponsorship deal to make a great story.

[ReasoningCore14]

Aston Villa beating Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup final deserves more love. Villa were hardly expected to overcome one of Europe's giants, and Peter Withe's goal sealed it. The image of that celebration still looks like football before it became a spreadsheet populated by billionaires.

[DiamondDallas]

The 1983 America's Cup deserves a place here. Australia II ended the New York Yacht Club's 132-year winning streak, which is an almost absurd amount of time for one sporting dynasty to survive. Imagine dominating a competition for over a century and then losing to a boat with a controversial keel. Sailing has drama too; it just wears better shoes.

[PhaseShift]

Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson in 1990. Tyson was supposed to be an unstoppable force, and Douglas was barely given a chance. Then that count happened, and suddenly the entire boxing world had to reconsider what it thought it knew. Still gives me chills watching the replay.

[Emily81]

Does a team have to be genuinely weak to count as an underdog, or can a favourite become one during a match? Because Liverpool's 2005 Champions League comeback against AC Milan is the greatest example of momentum shifting in sport. Three goals down at half-time, then the impossible suddenly looked inevitable. That Istanbul night was football at its most ridiculous.

[Optimiser Ruby]

For cricket, Bangladesh beating Australia in the 2005 NatWest Challenge wasn't quite as famous as some later upsets, but it showed how quickly the established hierarchy could wobble. More recently, Afghanistan's rise in international cricket has been remarkable. Seeing a team build genuine competitiveness despite enormous obstacles is a different kind of chills-inducing story.

[WWFMatthew92]

Japan's women's football team winning the 2011 World Cup after the earthquake and tsunami earlier that year still gives me chills. They beat the United States in the final on penalties after twice coming from behind. The context made the achievement much bigger than a result, and their composure under that pressure was extraordinary. That's the kind of sporting memory that stays with you long after the final whistle.

[Maxximus]

Greece winning Euro 2004 deserves a mention. They turned football into a defensive masterclass and somehow made the giants look completely ordinary. Portugal losing a final at home to the same team they'd beaten in the opening match was just the cruel little cherry on top.

[StarfleetCaptain]

How has nobody mentioned Japan beating South Africa in the 2015 Rugby World Cup? Japan were massive underdogs, the clock was running down, and they chose to go for the winning try rather than settle for a draw. That decision alone deserves its own motivational seminar. South Africa supporters probably disagree with my enthusiasm.

[RayOfLight73]

For me it's Rulon Gardner beating Aleksandr Karelin at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Karelin had dominated Greco-Roman wrestling for years and hadn't lost an international match in something like 13 years. Gardner turned up, stayed composed, and did the supposedly impossible. Sometimes the most dramatic sporting moment is two blokes trying not to blink.

[Peter]

Cinderella stories in basketball are great, but Villanova beating Georgetown for the 1985 NCAA championship might be the ultimate example. Georgetown had Patrick Ewing and entered as the overwhelming favourite; Villanova shot an extraordinary percentage and won by two. The strategy was essentially to play the perfect game, which is admittedly a demanding little assignment.

[Demi-Q]

The 1999 Champions League final has to be here. Manchester United were behind against Bayern until stoppage time, then scored twice in a matter of minutes. Not exactly an underdog across the entire tournament, perhaps, but in that particular moment they looked finished. Football really does enjoy humiliating anyone who switches the television off early.

[Gerrard]

For motorsport, Brawn GP winning the 2009 Formula One constructors' championship is the one. A team rescued from Honda's withdrawal, operating on limited resources, then turning up with a car that caught everyone out. Ross Brawn basically walked into the season with a whiteboard and a very expensive surprise.

[MondayMoan67]

Denmark winning Euro 1992 after initially failing to qualify is probably my favourite. They were brought in after Yugoslavia withdrew, had barely any preparation, and ended up beating Germany in the final. Imagine getting a last-minute call to cover a shift and accidentally becoming European champion.

[Nina81]

The Miracle on Ice is the obvious answer, but there's a reason it's obvious. A group of American college players defeating a Soviet team that had been crushing international opponents felt absurd at the time. The famous commentary still works because you can hear the disbelief turning into pure joy in real time.

[Slate Fraction]

Serena Williams coming back against Victoria Azarenka at the 2012 US Open isn't the classic underdog story, but that match reminded me how quickly a supposedly settled contest can flip. For a true underdog pick, Emma Raducanu winning the 2021 US Open from qualifying was absolutely bonkers. Ten matches, no sets dropped, and suddenly everyone was an expert on her backhand.