{"id":2977,"date":"2016-03-04T01:06:21","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T19:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2026-07-17T20:19:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:49:46","slug":"world-cup-wimbledon-croatia-anderson-underdog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=2977","title":{"rendered":"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/span><\/p>\u2019m not the type you\u2019d expect to find reading holy books, but there is one story from The Bible that has always stuck with me \u2013 the tale of David and Goliath. It\u2019s one of humankind\u2019s earliest underdog stories, and it\u2019s endured for millennia simply because none of us are immune to the appeal of the <\/span>underdog<\/span><\/a>. The brave, young boy who felled a giant with a stone showed us that with grit, hustle, and hard work, even the worst odds can be overcome. The tale of the underdog \u2013 that we all believe we are \u2013 gives us hope that we will prevail.<\/span>\n\nIt\u2019s a comforting fantasy, which is why we love to see it play out over and over. And there are few arenas as well-suited to scripting an underdog story like sports. It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. Our moviemakers seem to have wisened up to this fact, evidenced by how all great sports films are underdog stories, from <\/span>Rocky <\/span><\/i>to <\/span>Lagaan to <\/span><\/i>Chak De! India<\/span><\/i><\/a>. <\/span>\n\nReal life, however, isn\u2019t as kind to sentimentality as fiction, and yesterday\u2019s <\/span>World Cup final<\/span><\/a> was a bitter pill to swallow for anyone who isn\u2019t French.<\/span>\n\n\"\"\n

Luka Modric of Croatia in action<\/p>

\nPhoto by Fred Lee\/Getty Images<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nCroatia<\/span><\/a>, a tiny European nation with a population lower than Mumbai\u2019s, found itself in the midst of a dream run at this year\u2019s World Cup, going all the way to last night\u2019s grand finale. Like David, they felled a giant along the way, <\/span>Leo Messi<\/span><\/a> and his heavily favoured Argentinians, and ended the <\/span>#ItsComingHome<\/span><\/a> trend by sending England home. By the time they took the field in Moscow, they were daring the world to dream with them, to reach for immortality by writing a fairy tale finish to their unlikely success in this campaign.<\/span>\n

It was one of the highest-scoring World Cup finals in recent memory, and probably one of the most exciting ones of all time.<\/blockquote>\nFor those who believe in the impossible, those dreams were already on shaky ground. Earlier in the evening, at another high-profile final, South Africa\u2019s Kevin Anderson had a date with Novak Djokovic on the Wimbledon court. At 32 years of age, Anderson is a late bloomer, but after climbing tennis\u2019 Everest, aka beating Roger Federer, and playing a six-hour slog of a semi-final against Jonathan Isner, he had done enough to raise doubts over Djokovic\u2019s supremacy.<\/span>\n\nSadly, any hopes for a twist in the tale were dashed as Djokovic made short work of Anderson in straight sets. But the Croatian football team held promise. Ninety minutes of football changed that. Despite having the ball for majority of the match, Croatia\u2019s magic seemed to have deserted them.<\/span>\n\n\"\"\n

Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Kevin Anderson of South Africa hold their trophies after the Men’s Singles final<\/p>

\nPhoto by Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nTo their credit, Croatia went down fighting, just like Rocky Balboa. Even as the hands of the clock were sliding shut their window of opportunity, Croatia was dogged in trying to pry something back from the French. It was one of the highest-scoring World Cup finals in recent memory, and probably one of the most exciting ones of all time. When the dust settled, Croatia, whom many thought would not make it past the quarter-finals, could claim silver medals, a runner-up finish, and the Golden Boot for their captain <\/span>Luka Modri\u0107<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\n\nEven though France will go down in history as the winners of the World Cup, for me and many others, this tournament will be remembered for the tale of Davids from a tiny country, who came to world\u2019s biggest stage unafraid of Goliath. And damn near won it all.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[141,5822,5884,5504,396,280,5885,19,5886,353,5887,5525,5888,1274],"class_list":["post-2977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-bollywood","tag-croatia","tag-djokovic","tag-fifa","tag-football","tag-france","tag-hollyood","tag-india","tag-kevin-anderson","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-underdog","tag-wimbledon","tag-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-03T19:36:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T14:49:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531736467-1024x573.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"573\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dushyant Shekhawat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dushyant Shekhawat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\"},\"headline\":\"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-03T19:36:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:49:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977\"},\"wordCount\":650,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1531736467.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"bollywood\",\"Croatia\",\"Djokovic\",\"FIFA\",\"football\",\"france\",\"Hollyood\",\"India\",\"Kevin Anderson\",\"sports\",\"tennis\",\"underdog\",\"Wimbledon\",\"World Cup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977\",\"name\":\"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1531736467.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-03T19:36:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:49:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\"},\"description\":\"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1531736467.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1531736467.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2977#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db\",\"name\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dushyant Shekhawat\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=43\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson","description":"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson","og_description":"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-03-03T19:36:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-17T14:49:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":573,"url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531736467-1024x573.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dushyant Shekhawat","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson","twitter_description":"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dushyant Shekhawat","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977"},"author":{"name":"Dushyant Shekhawat","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db"},"headline":"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson","datePublished":"2016-03-03T19:36:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T14:49:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977"},"wordCount":650,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531736467.jpg","keywords":["bollywood","Croatia","Djokovic","FIFA","football","france","Hollyood","India","Kevin Anderson","sports","tennis","underdog","Wimbledon","World Cup"],"articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977","name":"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531736467.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-03T19:36:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T14:49:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db"},"description":"It doesn\u2019t matter what game is being played, an unlikely upset burns brighter than an easy victory. No wonder then, that anyone who wasn\u2019t French rooted for Croatia at the World Cup.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531736467.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531736467.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2977#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why the World Cheers for Underdogs Like Croatia and Kevin Anderson"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/933099a2338957592f7fff40263742db","name":"Dushyant Shekhawat","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f954968c96ac296f8a855e9f7c24b2da221736e30aceb00a9cb1016fec0291f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dushyant Shekhawat"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=43"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531736467.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2977"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2980,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2977\/revisions\/2980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}