Upset?
They said it couldn't be done. They predicted it wouldn't even be a contest. They thought it was all over before it really had begun. They were so sure, they prepared for a celebration of victory. Then, they were wrong.
Whether its politics, sports or your own life, sometimes things don't go as planned. What makes life so beautiful and frustrating at the same time is the imperfect actions of each of us. The reason we watch movies, sporting events and reality shows is the idea that we don't know what will happen next. Sometimes we think we know, but we don't. I love listening to supposed prognosticators and analysts start their conversation with things like, "On paper...". Fortunately, life doesn't happen on paper.
On paper, The Miracle on Ice doesn't happen. On paper, Georgetown beats Villanova. On paper, Buster Douglas doesn't stand a chance. On paper, Harry Truman only serves one term. On paper, The American Revolution is a footnote in our British History class in high school.
2016 has given us a few upsets that shouldn't have happened. Leicester City won the Premiership (Didn't even know that was a team) Curry should be the defending champion and Durant should still be in OKC (or maybe he joins Cleveland?). The 3-1 theme carried over into baseball with the Cubs ending the longest championship drought in professional sports. Being down 3-1 in a 7 game series should be the end, not the beginning. Yet, it wasn't.
This idea that anything can happen is what makes our lives interesting. It is in this framework that hope exists even when things look bleak. We don't win them all. Failure happens, whether it is expected or not. History tells us that if its not over, keep hope and keep working. Let it play out. We can't give up before giving it a chance. That willingness to give it all you got no matter what "they" say is one of the only things that connects all the upsets in history, politics, and sports. Maybe Journey was right in their admonition to the masses, "Don't stop believing".
