Underdog Day - The third Friday in December

Respect the anonymous heroes, those who no one expects them to win, those who win against all odds but quietly, without attention. These are the underdogs, the people who always expect them to lose or fail until they prove otherwise.

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The history of the underdog day

The word underdog originally refers to people who worked in shipbuilding in the early 19th century, who stood in a dark pit and helped people upstairs saw planks. The ones above were called overdogs and they would get the credit for the hard work, while those below them, the underdogs, would get sawdust and dirt on their heads.

In 1976 Peter Müller founded the Underdog Day which aims to give respect to all the transparent workers, those who work hard and do not get adequate compensation for their work nor credit or thanks.

Nowadays underdogs have become popular in culture. No one expected Susan Boyle, the singer from Scotland, to reach number one on Britain's Got Talent. Even Forrest Gump, the crippled child with intellectual disabilities, did not expect to run for the American football team, be honored by the president and serve in Vietnam.

We love the Cinderella stories, the stories of the people who started from the bottom and reached the summit. The Voice program for example is based on a competition whose first criterion is only the voice, and the contestants are often people who started from a not so promising place and did not believe they would get far.

These people, the ones the teacher always told them nothing came of, are far more likable to us than the ones who from the moment they were born marked them as supreme talents and invested a fortune in them to live up to expectations. It is easier to identify with the underdogs, the ones who are imperfect, who make mistakes, who have had glorious failures. Among us, who among us does not dream of this moment when we will be glorified and everyone will understand that we are not just nerds, and what stars are we? This moment that we will become stars and show to anyone who has ever despised us from where the fish urinates.

In the world of work it is impossible without the underdogs. Although they are modest and quiet, without them it is impossible. They help behind the scenes for those who get the glory on stage, but how is it possible without them? Imagine Batman without Robin, Sherlock Holmes without Watson, or Robinson Crusoe without six? They will not succeed in life ...

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How to celebrate Underdog Day?

One of the best ways to celebrate Underdog Day is to meet up with friends and watch movies whose star is an underdog, like Karate Kid, Rocky Kid, Sherlock Holmes, Forrest Gump, Kung Fu Panda and more.

It is also possible to make an underdog costume party where the participants dress up as famous underdogs.

Finally, do not forget Michael Jordan's quote - "I've failed over and over again in my life, and that's why I succeed."

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Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who won the "Britain's got talent" competition in 2009