Cinderella

In American and Canadian sports, a Cinderella or "Cinderella Story" 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 ending of the fairy tale Cinderella, and it implies unexpected 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.

Referring somewhat inaccurately to the plot details of the classic Cinderella story, the media will debate whether the given "Cinderella" team or player will "turn into a pumpkin," i.e. fail to win the prize and then return to its former obscurity. In the fairy tale, it was the carriage that turned into a pumpkin at midnight, not Cinderella herself. Another popular term is "strike midnight," when a Cinderella team does finally get beaten.

Prior to the widespread use of "Cinderella" in this way, the more common term for unexpected and dramatic success was "Miracle," as in the "Miracle Braves" of 1914, the "Miracle of Coogan's Bluff" in 1951, the "Miracle Mets" of 1969, and the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980.

In the United Kingdom, by contrast, a Cinderella team is one which usually underachieves (for example England in the Euro 2008), or is overshadowed by more successful neighbours (for example, Tranmere Rovers and Everton by Liverpool). 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.

Most Cinderellas send one strong message: a team or a player that has not had a good regular season can atone for the struggles with brilliance in a short period of time.

Examples of North American "Cinderellas"

Many teams are considered "Cinderella teams" when they seemingly overachieve. For example, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Cardinals went all the way to their respective leagues' championships in 2008 only to "turn into a pumpkin" at the end. This list is largely confined to "Cinderella teams" that won championships.

American football

• 1968 New York Jets – The AFL Jets, led by quarterback Joe Namath, beat the heavily favored NFL champion Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Namath had shockingly guaranteed a Jets win before the game.
• 1980 Oakland Raiders– The Raiders fell to 2-3 early in the season as Quarterback Dan Pastorini broke his leg. 33-year old Jim Plunkett substituted for him and took the Raiders to finish the season as the wildcard. They went on to the Super Bowl and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10.
• 2001 New England Patriots – The Patriots lost star quarterback Drew Bledsoe in Week 2; the previously-unknown Tom Brady came in and led the Patriots to victory in Super Bowl XXXVI over the 14-point favorite St. Louis Rams.
• 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers became the first sixth-seeded playoff team to win a Super Bowl, defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL by a score of 21-10.
• 2006 Chicago Rush – Despite putting together a 7-9 record in the regular season, the Rush managed to make the 2006 AFL playoffs as the fifth seed in the American Conference. The Rush would go on an improbable run, defeating #4 Nashville, #1 (and defending champion) Colorado, and #2 San Jose to reach ArenaBowl XX, where they defeated National Conference champion Orlando to become the first sports team with a losing regular-season record to win a championship since the 1937-38 Chicago Blackhawks.
• 2007 New York Giants After upsets against the top-seeded Dallas Cowboys and the #2 Green Bay Packers,the Giants overcame extreme odds by defeating previously undefeated 18-0 New England Patriots 17-14 and shocked the world. They thus became the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl.

Baseball

• New York Giants (1954) – The then-New York Giants swept the 111-win Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series in one of the greatest World Series upsets in baseball history.
• New York Mets (1969) – The Mets won their first ever World Series title after beating the heavily favored 109-win Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series; previously, the Mets had finished either last or next-to-last in the National League every year.
• Anaheim Angels (2002) – The Angels won the first World championship in their 41-year history. The Halos finished the regular season in second place in the American League West standings to the Oakland Athletics, making the playoffs as the American League wild card qualifier. Nevertheless, they put together a magical postseason run, upsetting the mighty New York Yankees in the ALDS, besting the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS to win the American League pennant, and going the distance against the San Francisco Giants in the World Series to clinch the title.
• Florida Marlins (2003) – The Marlins used a strong second half to win the World Series, after upsets against the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago Cubs, and the New York Yankees. The NLCS was especially memorable for the Marlins' rally and another Cubs collapse, as it extended the alleged Curse of the Billy Goat.

Basketball

• Golden State Warriors (1975) – The 48-34 Warriors swept the powerhouse Washington Bullets, who went 60-22 during the season, in the 1975 NBA Finals.
• Portland Trail Blazers (1977) – The Blazers, led by Bill Walton, came through the playoffs in their first appearance and beat the highly favored Julius Erving-led Philadelphia 76ers in the 1977 NBA Finals. The 76ers won the first two games, but the Blazers stormed back to win four straight en route to their first (and as of present, only) NBA championship.

Canadian football

• 1986 Hamilton Tiger-Cats – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats who finished the season with a 9-8-1 record, made a third consecutive improbable run to the 73rd Grey Cup, upsetting the heavily favored Edmonton Eskimos 39-15.
• 1989 Saskatchewan Roughriders – The Saskatchewan Roughriders who finished the season with a 9-9 record, made an improbable run to the 77th Grey Cup. The team went into the playoffs on a three game losing streak, upset the 10-8 Calgary Stampeders 33-26 in the West Division Semi-Final before upsetting the heavily favored Edmonton Eskimos, who finished the season with a 16-2 record 32-21. The victory paved the way for the Grey Cup championship which saw the Riders go up against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who finished the season at 12-6. The game came down to Dave Ridgway's 26 yard field goal in the final minute which gave the Riders a 43-40 victory, along with the franchise's first Grey Cup championship since 1966.
• 2000 B.C. Lions – The B.C. Lions finished the season with a 8-10 record and were not expected to compete in the West Divison caught fire late in the season following a coaching change. Led by veteran quarterback Damon Allen, the team marched through the playoffs with upset victories over both Alberta based teams before returning to Calgary to play in the 88th Grey Cup, where they defeated the Montreal Alouettes 28-26. The Lions became the first team in history to have a regular-season losing record to win the Grey Cup.
• 2001 Calgary Stampeders – For the second consecutive season, the team who finished the season with a 8-10 record captured the Grey Cup as the Calgary Stampeders, led by quarterback Marcus Crandell, defeated the heavily favored Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 89th Grey Cup. The Stamps became the second team in history to have a regular-season losing record to win the Grey Cup.

College baseball

• Fresno State (2008) – In one of the more improbable Cinderella stories in American sports history, the Bulldogs surmounted a daunting array of obstacles on their way to the NCAA title:^[2][3]
  • Fresno State had never won an NCAA championship in any men's sport going into the 2008 tournament.
  • The Bulldogs entered the Western Athletic Conference tournament at 33-27; they would likely not have made the NCAA tournament without winning the WAC tournament, which they did.
  • They were the #4 seed in their regional. Since only four teams play in each of 16 regionals, this is the equivalent of a team seeded #13 or lower in the NCAA basketball tournament. No #4 seed had ever advanced to the College World Series. By contrast, no #13 or lower seed has ever made the "Elite 8" of the men's basketball tournament, which is arguably equivalent to the eight-team College World Series.
  • Six times in the NCAA tournament, including three times in the College World Series, they faced elimination with a loss. They won all six times.
  • They won a total of 10 tournament games against six different teams ranked in the top 20. ESPN pointed out that in terms of the NCAA basketball tournament, Fresno State's run would be equivalent to a 13 seed beating a 4 seed in the first round, a 5 seed in the second round, a top seed in the Sweet 16, a second seed in the Elite 8, another top seed in the Final Four, and still another 2 seed for the championship.

College/high school basketball

• Milan (Indiana) High School (1954)
  See also: Hoosiers
• Villanova Wildcats (1985) – Villanova became the lowest seed (#8) to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Furthermore, the Wildcats missed only one field goal in the entire second half of the championship game against the top-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.
• North Carolina State University Wolfpack (1983) – The Wolfpack defeated the heavily-favored "Phi Slama Jama" Houston Cougars, led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, 54-52 to win the NCAA Men's Tournament.

College football

• Georgia Southern Eagles (1985) – In only their fourth year of playing football, Georgia Southern won the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
• Northwestern Wildcats (1995) – After years as one of the perennial laughingstocks of college football, the Wildcats won the Big Ten title.
• Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2006) – Wake Forest won the Atlantic Coast Conference title after being picked by the media to finish last in their division, and after losing their starting quarterback, starting running back, and starting left offensive tackle to injuries.
• Boise State Broncos (2006) – In only their ninth year Division 1-A play, the Broncos upset perennial power house Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Ice hockey

• United States men's national ice hockey team (1980) – The American team, consisting entirely of amateur and collegiate players, won the Olympic gold medal. Along the way, they defeated the Soviet Union, considered the best hockey team in the world at the time, by a score of 4-3 in a medal round game, an event known as the Miracle on Ice and widely considered to be the greatest U.S. sports achievement of the 20th century.^[4]
• New Jersey Devils (1995), The Devils, seeded 5th in the Eastern Conference and without home ice advantage in any of the 4 rounds, upset the the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins, each in 5 games, and the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games to get to the finals where they swept the heavily-favoured Detroit Red Wings.

Examples of Cinderellas that did not win the championship

These Cinderellas made it to the finals in their respective leagues.

American Football

• New England Patriots (1985 NFL season) – The New England Patriots made it into the playoffs as the fifth seed in the AFC, but then became the first team in NFL history to defeat three road teams in the playoffs to make it to the Super Bowl. However, they faced Walter Payton and the Chicago Bears, where they lost 46-10.
• Columbus Destroyers (2007 AFL season) – Columbus entered the Arena Football League Playoffs with a 7-9 record and made Arena Bowl XXII.
• Arizona Cardinals (2008) – A traditionally poor performer since the 1940s, the Cardinals finished the regular season at 9-7 to reach the playoffs. They were underdogs in each of their post-season games against the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles, but survived all three to reach Super Bowl XLIII. Arizona had the lead with less than three minutes to play, but the Pittsburgh Steelers drove 78 yards down the field, culminating in a Santonio Holmes touchdown with 35 seconds remaining and a record sixth Super Bowl win for Pittsburgh.

Baseball

• New York Giants (1951 World Series) – Following their "Miracle at Coogan's Bluff" playoff win over the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Giants' dream season ended when they lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in six games.
• Detroit Tigers (2006 World Series) – Just three years after losing an American League-record 119 games, the Tigers, led by pitchers Justin Verlander (the AL Rookie of the Year) and veteran Kenny Rogers, went 95-67 during the regular season and clinched the AL wild card playoff position. They then defeated the New York Yankees in the ALDS and swept the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS (with Magglio Ordoñez smacking a walk-off home run in Game 4 to clinch the pennant) before finally falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in a five-game World Series.
• Tampa Bay Rays (2008 World Series) – The Rays were the long-time doormats of the American League East, having lost at least 90 games in each of their 10 years of existence. After a 66-96 campaign in 2007, the Rays broke out in 2008, compiling a 97-65 record to clinch the AL East title. They went on to beat the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS and the Boston Red Sox in a seven-game ALCS, but lost the World Series in five games to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Basketball

• New York Knicks (1999 NBA Finals) – The Knicks became the only eighth-seeded team to make it to the NBA Finals, before losing to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs, 4 games to 1.

Canadian football

• 1981 Ottawa Rough Riders – The Ottawa Rough Riders who finished the season with a 5-11 record, made an improbable run to the 69th Grey Cup, only to lose by a field goal, 26-23 to the heavily favored defending Grey Cup champion Edmonton Eskimos.
• 1984 and 1985 Hamilton Tiger-Cats – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats who finished the season with a 6-9-1 record in 1984 and a 8-8 record in 1985, made an improbable run to the 72nd and 73rd, were defeated 47-17 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1984, while losing 37-24 to the B.C. Lions.
• 1997 Saskatchewan Roughriders – The Saskatchewan Roughriders who finished the season with an 8-10 record, made an improbable run to the 85th Grey Cup. The team was led by quarterback Reggie Slack and former 1989 Grey Cup star Mike Saunders on offense, pulled off improbable victories over the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos before falling to the Doug Flutie-led Toronto Argonauts 47-23.

College basketball

• George Mason University (2006) – In 2006, the Patriots became the first true "mid-major" team in over a quarter-century to advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Men's Tournament before losing to the eventual national champion Florida Gators.
• Louisiana State University (1986) – LSU's 1986 team is tied for the lowest-seeded team (#11) to ever make the Final Four (with George Mason's 2006 team).

College football

• Northwestern Wildcats (1995) – After years as one of the perennial laughingstocks of college football, the Wildcats won the Big Ten title. In the 1996 Rose Bowl, they lost to the USC Trojans, 41-32. It was the first Bowl game for the Wildcats since the 1949 Rose Bowl.

Cricket

• Afghanistan national team, 2008–09 — After starting 2008 in the World Cricket League Division Five, they had a fairy-tale year that saw them win Division Five, Division Four, and Division Three, putting them in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, the qualifying tournament for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Although the Afghans did not qualify for the World Cup, their fifth-place finish secured them official One Day International status for the next four years.

Football (soccer)

• South Korea (2002 World Cup) – South Korea became the first Asian team to reach the final four of the World Cup. The South Koreans, who were ranked by FIFA at #40 at the time, advanced by upsetting some very high ranked teams (#5 Portugal, #6 Italy, and #8 Spain) before losing to Germany in the semi-final and to Turkey in the third-place playoff to finish fourth overall.
• Gretna F.C. (2006)– Gretna progressed to the final of the Scottish Cup knocking out Preston Athletic, Cove Rangers, St. Johnstone, Clyde F.C., St. Mirren and Dundee F.C.. They were beaten in the final by Heart of Midlothian on penalties. In their run, Gretna became the first club in the Scottish Second Division to reach the Scottish Cup Final.
• Barnsley F.C. (2008) – Barnsley advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after knocking out Liverpool and Chelsea, two of the top clubs in English football, in the last two rounds. However, they lost the semi-finals to Cardiff City.

Ice Hockey

• Vancouver Canucks (1982 and 1994) – In 1982, despite having a losing record in the regular season, at 30-33-17, the Canucks made it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, sweeping the Calgary Flames and then defeating the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks, each in five games, but were swept by the two-time defending champion New York Islanders in the Finals. In 1994, the Canucks entered the playoffs as the #7 seed in the newly-renamed Western Conference. They upset Calgary in the first round, rallying from a 3-1 series deficit, and the Dallas Stars, seeded #4, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, seeded #3, each in five games. In the Finals against the New York Rangers (who had won the Presidents' Trophy during the season), they once again rallied after being down 3-1, but the rally was unsuccessful; the Canucks lost Game 7, which meant the Rangers would clinch the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years.
• Minnesota North Stars (1991 Stanley Cup Finals) – Despite a losing record in the regular season and being the 16th seeded team in the NHL with only 68 points, the North Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in franchise history. They knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues (the top two teams in the NHL during the regular season) in six games each and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Edmonton Oilers in five games. The team fought hard against the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins, led by Mario Lemieux, winning two out of the first three contests before being obliterated 8-0 in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series.
• Florida Panthers - 1996 - Stanley Cup Finals (CAN SOMEONE PLEASE PROVIDE THE INFO THANKS)
• Carolina Hurricanes (2002 Stanley Cup Finals) – Though the Hurricanes were seeded third as a division winner, having won the Southeast Division, in actuality they had the second-lowest point total (91) for a playoff team not only in the Eastern Conference, but also the whole NHL. However, they defeated the New Jersey Devils, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, each in 6 games to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in 5.
• Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003 Stanley Cup Finals) – The Mighty Ducks entered the playoffs as the #7 seed and surprised many by sweeping the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, who were the #2 seed, in the first round. They followed that series with a six-game series win over the top-seeded Dallas Stars and a four-game sweep over the sixth-ranked Minnesota Wild to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. There, they met the Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Devils, who beat the Ducks in seven games. Both teams won every home game played, but the Devils had home ice advantage and thus had a strong edge going into Game 7.
• Edmonton Oilers (2006 Stanley Cup Finals) – The Oilers entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They upset the Red Wings (who had 124 points, the first time a team had had 120+ points since the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings), and the San Jose Sharks each in six, and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in five to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, where they faced the Carolina Hurricanes. The Oilers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the series before finally losing in Game 7.

References

External Links

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