A term you'll hear in almost any sports is dark horse. In most circumstances, this is a team that begins in relative obscurity and quickly rises to prominance.
Naturally, the term comes from the "sport" of horse racing where a horse that nobody knew much about would be entered into a race, making it difficult to bet on. According to our dear friends at Wikipedia, the first time the term was used occurred in 1831. In his novel The Young Duke, Benjamin Disraeli wrote,
A dark horse which had never been thought of, and which the careless St. James had never even observed in the list, rushed past the grandstand in sweeping triumph.
Many mistakingly use this term to mean the same thing as an underdog. The difference lies in the "obscurity." Just because a team may not be favored to win doesn't mean they're a dark horse. Here are a couple examples:
- In the first round of the 2010 ALDS, the New York Yankees are facing the Minnesota Twins. Now let's say that...obviously hypothetically...the Twins are favored to win. For the simple fact that the Yankees are the Yankees, one of the most well-known brands in sports with a very high media following, I would argue that they can not and will never be able to be labeled as a dark horse. Everyone knows who the Yankees are and they they always have a chance to win.
- In 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays, long time residents of AL East cellar successfully made it to the World Series with a roster devoid of "superstars" and came from a city many people forget even has an MLB team and had minimal media exposure. In my opinion, going into the playoffs that year, the Rays fit the definition of a dark horse.
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