Every make of car my Uncle Murray bought, immediately went out of the automobile business!

I thought they were all beautiful cars, and they all rode smoothly, but the manufacturers were soon gone. His Nash, with the reclining seats that formed a bed, went to sleep. The Hudson also went down the river. His DeSoto did not explore and discover new places and was gone. Somehow, he missed out on the Ford Edsel.

His enthusiasm never waned or wavered. He always staunchly defended his choices until the day he died. He could never afford a Cadillac or a Lincoln but he would never have purchased one. He believed in the underdog, the newcomer, the small guy and the new kid on the block.

I, too, find myself rooting for the underdog. Being a Brooklyn Dodger fan and then siding with our beloved Mets guarantees that you are not a front runner.

The Cinderella story has its roots in almost every world culture. The poor unloved little girl, sitting atop the ashes, who marries the handsome prince tugs at the heartstrings of our entire universe.

Some other classic, famous underdogs, that upset the applecart come to mind:

* David, the shepherd boy, defeated the Philistine Goliath in a real come-from-behind victory. David later went on to become King David and sire a succession of kings.

* In 1776 the upstart American Colonials defeated the mighty British Empire and became a nation. The bookies took a bath on that event.

* In 1948 Harry S. Truman defeated the favorite Thomas E. Dewey even though the Chicago Tribune misprinted the election results.

* In 1951 the Úquot;subway kidsÚquot; of CCNY won both the NCAA and NIT tournaments, over players from all over the USA.

* In 1968 Úquot;BroadwayÚquot; Joe Namath led the NY Jets to a victory over the invincible Baltimore Colts of the NFL.

Rooting for winners is easy. Rooting for the Yankees in baseball or for Duke University in college basketball is no challenge.

The lowly underdogs need your support!

PS. Send more examples of triumphant underdogs to me at shgreenbug@aol.com.