Cinderella (sports)

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In United States sports, a Cinderella refers to a team or player who advances much further in a tournament than expected. Cinderellas tend to gain much media and fan attention as they move closer to the championship game at the end of the tournament. The term comes from the end of the fairy tale Cinderella, and its idea is that one can unexpectedly achieve success after a period of obscurity. The usage was popularized by Bill Murray in the 1980 hit 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 champion."^[1] Murray is said to have improvised the scene in one take from two lines of stage direction. This movie quote has been named to AFI's Top 100, one of only a few that are sports related.

In the United Kingdom, by contrast, a Cinderella team is one which usually underachieves (for example the Spanish football team), or is overshadowed by more successful neighbours (for example, Tranmere Rovers by Liverpool and Everton). This refers to the early part of the Cinderella fairy tale, where the heroine is downtrodden. A U.S.-style Cinderella team would be 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. The name reflects such stories as David and Goliath, and Jack the Giant-Killer.

Contents 1 Recent Examples of (North America-style) "Cinderellas" 1.1 Ice hockey 1.2 American football 1.3 College Football 1.4 Basketball 1.4.1 College Basketball 1.4.2 NBA 1.5 Baseball 1.5.1 Major League Baseball 1.5.2 College baseball 1.6 Cricket 1.6.1 Cricket World Cup 1.7 Football (soccer) 1.7.1 FIFA World Cup 1.7.2 European Championship 1.7.3 European Cup / UEFA Champions League 1.7.4 FA Cup 1.8 Tennis 1.9 Short track speed skating 2 References 3 See also

[edit] Recent Examples of (North America-style) "Cinderellas"

[edit] Ice hockey

• Edmonton Oilers (2006)
• Swedish national women's ice hockey team (2006 Olympics)
• Holy Cross 2006 Men's Hockey Team
• Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003)
• Minnesota Wild (2003)
• Carolina Hurricanes (2002)
• Pittsburgh Penguins (2001)
• Washington Capitals (1998)
• Buffalo Sabres (1998, 1999)
• Florida Panthers (1996)
• New Jersey Devils (1995)
• San Jose Sharks (1994)
• Los Angeles Kings (1993)
• Minnesota North Stars (1991)
• Calgary Flames (1986, 2004)
• New York Rangers (1986)
• Vancouver Canucks (1982, 1994)
• 1980 American national men's hockey team

[edit] American football

• Pittsburgh Steelers (2005)
• Carolina Panthers (2003)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1979)
• New England Patriots (1985, 2001)
• New York Giants (2000)
• Tennessee Titans (1999)
• Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1979, 1999)
• Atlanta Falcons (1991, 1998, 2002)
• Denver Broncos (1977, 1997, 2005)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (1996)
• Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (1975, 1995)
• San Diego Chargers (1981, 1994)
• Houston Oilers (1992)
• Detroit Lions (1991)
• Seattle Seahawks (1983)
• San Francisco 49ers (1981)
• Oakland Raiders (1980)
• New York Jets (1968)

[edit] College Football

• Iowa Hawkeyes (1939)
• Northwestern Wildcats (1995) — after years as one of the perennial laughingstocks of college football, won the Big Ten title
• Boise State Broncos (2006) — finished unbeaten after using several trick plays to shock favored Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl
• Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2006) — won Atlantic Coast Conference title after being picked by media to finish last in their division, and after losing their top two quarterbacks, starting running back, and starting left offensive tackle to injuries

[edit] Basketball

• Milan (Indiana) High School (1954; see also Hoosiers, a classic 1986 movie loosely based on this team's story)

[edit] College Basketball

• CCNY (1950)
• Texas Western (1966)
• Indiana State (1979)
• Penn (1979)
• Wichita State (1981)
• Idaho (1981)
• NC State (1983)
• Dayton (1984)
• Villanova (1985)
• Cleveland State (1986)
• LSU (1986)
• Navy (1986)
• Providence (1987)
• Richmond (1988)
• Loyola Marymount (1990)
• Chattanooga (1997)
• Rhode Island (1998)
• Valparaiso (1998)
• Weber State (1995, 1998)
• Gonzaga (1999)
• Indiana (2002)
• Kent State (2002)
• Butler (2003)
• Georgia Tech (2004)
• Milwaukee (2005)
• George Mason (2006)

[edit] NBA

• Phoenix Suns (1976)
• Portland Trail Blazers (1977, 1990)
• Los Angeles Lakers (1980)
• Houston Rockets (1981, 1986, 1995)
• Kansas City Kings (1981)
• Seattle SuperSonics (1987)
• Dallas Mavericks (1988)
• Denver Nuggets (1994)
• New York Knicks (1999)
• Boston Celtics (2002)
• Detroit Pistons (2003)
• Chicago Bulls (2005)
• Los Angeles Clippers (2006)

[edit] Baseball

[edit] Major League Baseball

• 1951 New York Giants
• 1954 New York Giants
• 1967 Boston Red Sox
• 1969 New York Mets
• 1975 Boston Red Sox
• 1979 California Angels
• 1980 Houston Astros
• 1986 Boston Red Sox
• 1987 San Francisco Giants
• 1993 Philadelphia Phillies
• 1993 San Francisco Giants
• 1995 Colorado Rockies
• 1995 Seattle Mariners
• 1997 San Francisco Giants
• 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks
• 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
• 2002 Anaheim Angels
• 2002 San Francisco Giants

• 2005 Houston Astros
• 2006 Detroit Tigers
• 2006 St. Louis Cardinals
• Chicago Cubs (1984, 1989, 2003)
• Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1914, 1982, 1991)
• Cincinnati Reds (1990, 1999)
• Baltimore Orioles (1989)
• Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1955, 1988)
• Florida Marlins (1997, 2003)
• Minnesota Twins (1987, 1991, 2002)
• Kansas City Royals (1985, 2003)
• Toronto Blue Jays (1985, 1989)
• San Diego Padres (1984, 1998, 2005)
• Chicago White Sox (1983, 1990)
• Milwaukee Brewers (1982)
• Oakland Athletics (1981)
• Montreal Expos (1981, 1987)
• Pittsburgh Pirates (1960, 1979, 1990)
• New York Mets (1969, 1973, 1999)
• Detroit Tigers (2006)

[edit] College baseball

• Oregon State (2005 and 2006 College World Series)

[edit] Cricket

[edit] Cricket World Cup

• Kenya (2003; first non-Test nation ever to advance to semifinals)

[edit] Football (soccer)

[edit] FIFA World Cup

• England (1966; champions)
• West Germany (1954; champions)
• Croatia (1998; third place)
• Turkey (2002; third place)
• South Korea (2002; fourth place)
• United States (2002; quarter finalist)
• Germany (2002; second place)
• France (2006; second place)
• Italy (2006; champions)

[edit] European Championship

• Denmark (Euro 92 champions)
• Greece (Euro 2004 champions)

[edit] European Cup / UEFA Champions League

• Steaua Bucharest (1985-86 winners)
• Artmedia Bratislava (2005-06, group stage)
• FC Thun (2005-06, group stage)

[edit] FA Cup

• Blyth Spartans (1977-78 FA Cup fifth round - the furthest an amateur team has ever reached)

[edit] Tennis

• Marcos Baghdatis (2006 Australian Open men singles finalist)
• André Agassi (2006 US Open men singles runner-up, at the age of 36)
• Goran Ivanišević (2001 Wimbledon men singles champion)
• Nicolás Massú (2004 Olympic Games men doubles and men singles gold medalist)
• Fernando González (2004 Olympic Games men doubles gold medalist and men singles bronze medalist)

[edit] Short track speed skating

• Steven Bradbury (2002 Winter Olympics gold medalist, men's 1000 m)

[edit] References

• http://people.howstuffworks.com/march-madness5.htm
• http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2004/March/26/sports2.asp

[edit] See also

• Underdog (competition)
• Dark horse