“The fact of being an underdog changes people in ways that we often fail to appreciate. It opens doors and creates opportunities and enlightens and permits things that might otherwise have seemed unthinkable.” - Malcolm Gladwell
"My whole career has been one of fighting for the underdog." – Congressman Louis Stokes ‘53
“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” —Mia Hamm, gold-medal soccer player
Oscar González’s 15th-inning walk-off home run against the Tampa Bay Rays set up a clash between the youngest team in Major League Baseball, the Cleveland Guardians, and one of the most experienced playoff teams in the history of baseball, the New York Yankees. The Guardians have become the ultimate underdog this year after so many projections stated that the Guardians would struggle to finish above third place in the division.
America is the story of the underdog. Since the Revolutionary War, our history is marked by inspiring stories of the improbable underdog victorious over the prohibitive favorite, and none are more memorable that those in sports.
The New York Jets defeating the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl III. The U.S. Olympic Hockey Team defeating the four-time defending gold-medal winning Soviet Union team in the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” And, of course, our 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers becoming the first professional basketball team to ever rally from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, thus ending Cleveland’s 52-year, 146-season professional sports championship drought.
I sometimes refer to our law school as “Believeland-Marshall College of Law. The team that wins the Guardian-Yankees series will likely be the team that most believes in itself. Like sports, life and law school is a game of skill and attitude. We are an institution where, in the words of LeBron James, “nothing is given; everything is earned.”
Our students have worked very hard to earn the right to attend a law school of quality and opportunity. We believe in them and we are committed to do everything we can to enable them to believe in themselves, no matter the odds.
Our law school is important to successive generations of young women and men seeking to make a difference. Many of our graduates spend much of their career “defending the land” and advocating for the underdog.
Many of us feel overwhelmed by the negativity, dysfunction, and violence we see around the world. Many of us feel behind in our work and our life. Sometimes we feel like underdogs, stuck in a corner, with no way out or up.
But not a day goes by when we can’t find an Oscar González’ to light a match, lift our spirits, and see a path forward.
Our attitude determines our altitude.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay Committed to Living Justice.
Have a great day. Have a great week.
The views and opinions expressed in my Monday Morning Message are solely my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the law school or the university.
Please join us for our 5th Annual Hall of Fame Celebration on November 4, 2022, 5:30pm honoring our 2022 Hall of Fame Honorees.
Believe in C|M|LAW. Please Give Now.
My best,
Lee
Lee Fisher
Dean, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law | Cleveland State University
Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.