Underdog or Favorite?

Today as I lay in the hospital getting checked out, I had nothing better to do than think. LOL. I sure wasn't going anywhere and that's where tonight's blog was born.

There is a town in which horse racing is everything. The people live for the weekend races and they never miss a chance to see their pick in action.

In horse racing, there are some terms that people are familiar with and live by. They base their trips to the track around them and their money on them.

One of them is the favorite, one of them is the underdog and another one is the dark horse.

Now, all of you know what the favorite is. It's the horse that's expected to come out ahead and win the race.

And some of you may know already that the dark horse is a horse about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins.

The underdog is usually the dark horse BEFORE he becomes the dark horse, in that he is thought to have little or no chance of winning. So the underdog starts out this way and if he wins, he is then known as the dark horse.

Anyway, in that town the people had a favorite horse, that week after week they went to see. They took their seats and waited for the beautiful, tall, sleek, black stallion to come out and parade around the track for all to see. As he proudly walked around, it was almost as if he knew all eyes were on him, waiting for him to win. There was an air about the stallion that made him look like a winner. Everyone who loved him knew that he was a winner and he could not lose. Their horse would never let them down. He was celebrated in that town among his fans.

There was also another horse who ran in the races sometimes. He was smaller in stature than the stallion but he was a competitor, nonetheless. He wasn't as beautiful as the stallion he ran with, but some found him to be pretty and some cheered for him as well. He was the underdog among the group. But there were still those who rooted for him, trying to believe in their hearts that he would one day be a winner like the big, black stallion.

When the smaller, light brown horse came out, only a handful of people cheered for him while he walked around once for the crowd. He looked up into the stands and wondered what he could do, if anything, to be a winner one day. He knew he was probably never going to be what the stallion was. He knew he was the underdog and it was an honor for him to just be able to race with the others.

After a few minutes, the horses took their positions with their jockeys atop them. The stallion kept his eyes in front of him and raised his head in pride, as if to snub the others. The bell rang and the gates opened, freeing them suddenly. They all ran as fast as they could toward their goal. Black Stallion and Underdog were side by side. The crowd cheered and Black Stallion pulled ahead for his adoring fans. As he ran, his sleek coat shined in the sunlight. There was not another horse like him, he thought. Underdog did his best to keep up but slowly lost ground as they all moved around the track. Black Stallion was a shoe in to win, and you could see the pride he wore on his face as he neared the finish line.

But wait!!!

Something happened and Black Stallion lost his footing. He stumbled and fell, throwing his jockey into the air as he, himself rolled a couple of times.

The crowd gasped loudly and then fell silent.

What happened to their beloved Black Stallion?

Would he be okay?

The others raced on as help arrived on the track for the injured horse and jockey.

The people in the stands didn't even see who finally won because all eyes were on the favorite as he was loaded up and taken to get medical care.

Over the next several months, Black Stallion's owner and trainer kept a close eye on him as he recuperated. The trainer suggested that he get plenty of rest between his scheduled visits to the doctor before finally getting back on the track to begin his workout, before his big comeback. So under the watchful eye of a team of professionals, the trainer did exactly what he had to do to get his champion back on top.

In the meantime, Underdog's owner and trainer decided now that Black Stallion was out of commission for a while, it would be a good time to work their little fellow a bit harder to see if he had what it took to be a champion as well.

Each day, Underdog was taken to a special workout place where only he and his trainer and jockey were. It was their private time with him to begin fashioning him into a winner.

They worked him hard, harder sometimes than even Underdog thought he could work. But after a while, he started to show progress. His times on the track got faster and faster. His muscles became more defined, even his coat became shinier as he was becoming a different horse.

Word finally came after a few months that Black Stallion was ready for another race and that he was looking better than ever!! And so on race day, everyone gathered to see their champion back in action. Some had on t-shirts with his name written across them, some wore hats and some carried signs, waving them in the air, celebrating the fact that "their" favorite was back to win once more.

The other horses took their places on the field, and so did Underdog. Whispers could be heard in the stands, and questions were being asked about the shiny brown horse. "Who is that?" "Is that the scrawny horse that used to run?" "What happened to him?"

Underdog could feel a change in the air. He sensed that he too was being recognized for what he could possibly do now.

The bell rang and the horses leaped from their gates as fast as ever. They all ran at a steady pace with Underdog doing his best to stay alongside the others. The crowd cheered and stood to their feet as Black Stallion held his own. But suddenly, something happened. Black Stallion started to lose ground. He was slowing down. The crowd quieted some. The other horses ran on ahead, not giving thought to the one who always paraded around like a god in front of them. Underdog began to pull toward the front and the crowd rumbled. Again, questions of who is that horse spread throughout the stands. As Underdog finally ran to the front, taking the lead, the crowd forgot about Black Stallion lagging behind and they cheered the Underdog as he crossed the finish line ahead by a full length to take home the coveted title of race winner!

It was his first one and he had beaten the champion!!

The crowd went wild as did Underdog's owners and trainers. There was a new kid in town.

Black Stallion was taken in and looked at so that they could assess what happened to him to cause him to lose so badly. It was found that Black Stallion had extra large amounts of a performance enhancing drug in his blood and that was not acceptable. Upon further investigation into his winnings, it was determined that he had been given those same enhancing drugs all along and so he was stripped of all his titles and his cups. He was now just another horse on the track.

The next year, when it was time to race again, Black Stallion was tested and brought back out onto the track to race once more. But he had lost his loyal following. The crowd no longer cheered for him. He was, after all, a cheater and a liar and could no longer be trusted. He was no longer favorite. There was a new champion in town. He had gone from Underdog to Dark Horse.

He was the one NO ONE expected to come from behind and be a winner!!

I know that was a long analogy, but the moral of it is this: Never choose a favorite just because he looks good, there could be an underlying reason he keeps winning other than honest racing.

And never dismiss the Underdog because he is smaller and slower at in crossing the finish line. You never know who is working behind the scenes with him to become what he needs to be.

In the end, Black Stallion was taken away, never to race again, while Dark Horse (Underdog) only got better and better, winning more races than even he thought possible.

God hates a proud look (Proverbs 6:17) and He loves an Underdog (1 Samuel 17).

Remember to work hard and Dream Big!!

Much love,

Christy