As Jason Williams stepped to the foul line with Duke University behind by one point and five seconds to go, everyone knew that he would make it and Duke would beat Indiana University in overtime, and go on to win the NCAA championship.
Last year Duke was losing at half-time to the University of Maryland by 22 points when they rallied to win. Duke always wins. It is a foregone conclusion. It is a case of divine intervention.
Jason twirled the basketball and never took his eyes off the basket. Everyone had proclaimed him the best player in the country. Holy Cow! He threw up a brick. It hit the back of the rim and bounced away. Indiana was the winner. Unbelievably enough, Duke had lost!
Duke University haters throughout the USA rejoiced. Those smug, overconfident guys from North Carolina with the blue-faced fans had actually been defeated. Holy Cow!
With Mariano Rivera pitching the last game of the 2001 World Series the NY Yankees were ahead by one run. It was a lock, a snap, a sure thing. Another victory for the Yanks. With Clemens, Jeter, Posada, Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, how could they lose? After all, they were the invincible NY Yanks. They had brought in 26 world championships. This one was in the bag. Arizona! Don't make me laugh!
As that soft humpbacked line drive floated over second base the world was stunned. The vaunted NY Yankees would lose! Holy Cow!
Duke University and the NY Yankees are loved by their fans and hated by everyone else. Call it envy, jealousy or frustration by the masses, not everybody likes the guys who always win. Constantly being obviously tauntingly triumphant is a great way to make enemies. Losers are definitely more cute, cuddly and human. Besides, losing is a character builder. Remember the 1962 New York Mets and the old Brooklyn Dodgers?