Let This Be The Year Of The Underdog

I love the underdog story. So let’s compare last night’s Super Bowl to, say, Barack Obama and his campaign for president.

Okay. The game was pretty dull when you get right down to it until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Despite the Giant’s brief three point lead, there was a continuing understanding that the Giants were eventually going to lose because, well, they were playing against the monster, the titan, the machine, the dynasty. And now we know what happened. Thirty seconds left and, bye-bye Brady.

Can Obama pull off the same stunning upset? He’s been at it for over a year now, stumbling a bit just like the Giants at the beginning of the season, hardly being taken seriously, much like poor Eli. It’s been a slow rise and no one gave his campaign a serious chance of survival. I sure didn’t. I couldn’t understand why this freshman senator with such Washington potential would throw away his political career running for an office he had no chance of winning (cough, Edwards, cough, cough).

Like the Giants, Obama faced (faces) an adversary who started her campaign at the very top, as the one to beat -- the one who couldn’t be beaten. Now, it’s the fourth quarter for Obama and, holy crap, he’s moving, running, gaining speed, on the verge of surpassing, and maybe even toppling, the leader. The polls cannot be clearer or the endorsers more confident (I can just hear the pillow talk last week in the California governor’s mansion – “Um, Arnie, I know you just endorsed McCain and all, but, well, I’m going to go on national TV and endorse Obama like my uncle and cousin did, if you don’t mind. Great. Sweet dreams.”)

Whether it’s the Edwards effect, or Bill’s missteps, the nation, generally, and the Super Tuesday voters, specifically, are giving Obama meteoric (yes I’ll use this word) momentum. Is it too little, too late? It wasn’t for Eli. He pulled the pass of his life (two passes, really) out of his rear and became a champion. I think, in the spirit of the underdog story, Obama has what it takes to manage the same victory.