Five thousand to one odds are things we would say may happen once in a lifetime, or are nearly impossible. In all seriousness, what in your life would be considered a 5,000 to 1 chance to happen in the next year? Maybe it’s becoming a millionaire, or winning a small lottery, maybe it’s landing the job of your dreams after working hard for a year then receiving an offer, maybe it’s paying off that last chunk of student debt because we all know one too many college grads with entry-level jobs with $50,000 in debt.
No matter what it is that seems almost insurmountable, lets compare it to a sports team. The odds of the Cleveland Browns(aka the laughing-stock of the NFL world since we fell in love with the sport) winning the NFL Championship this year is 200 to 1, the odds of the Chicago Bulls who are the lowest NBA lottery team winning the number one pick is 200/1, Appalachian State College Football had the biggest upset ever in the college sport over Michigan with 150/1 odds, and the Miracle on Ice that has been widely known for decades where Team USA Hockey beat the USSR in Olympic Hockey was 1000/1. So really this puts into perspective has insanely impressive Leicester City title run is, basically if Appalachian State fielded all 16-year-old high schoolers against Michigan they still might not come close to the 5000/1 odds.
You would think a team that was almost relegated last year would skim by with one goal leads or have a team of misfits that barely got the wins when needed, but Leicester City had 2 of the top 5 goal scorers in the league, and that’s insane considering the talent of players like Aguero, Kane, Lukaku, Sanchez, Rooney, and more. Jamie Vardy was 2nd with 24, and Mahrez was 5th with 17. These two will surely be sought after by the big giants of the Soccer world come the offseason, but the team as a whole beat these giants which include, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and more as seen in the clip below.
I mean come on… that video gives chills down soccer fans spines. If you missed it at least check out Vardy’s stunning strike at 3:47 in the video. After the turn of the year, LC was in fourth place behind the likes of Manchester City and many of their critics assumed they would fall apart. With a goal like that on a statement victory they were in control of their own destiny no matter what they odds said. This season will go down as the most improbable of any sports team title run ever, but this story really started last season with the departure of Nigel Pearson as manager and the questionable (at the time) hiring of Claudio Ranieri. Ranieri was a former Chelsea manager for a short time, but switched up tactics and players compared to the miserable team that Pearson set out. Ranieri also wasn’t backed by an ultra wealthy group like many of the top clubs are. Millions of dollars are thrown around in the EPL like its ice cream money, but the Foxes produced a club 1/8 the cost of Manchester City, and 1/4 the cost of Manchester United. The clubs of United, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea all have individual players that cost more than the Foxes entire squad, so this goes to show that money doesn’t always buy wins. Really the Foxes had every reason to doubt their chances at being a top 3 team in the EPL, let alone win it, but it goes to show why soccer (Coming from an American who is bombarded with NFL, NBA, and MLB news every day) has some of the most unbelievable stories ever in sports. Here’s to you Leicester City, the Fearless Foxes of the soccer world.
Daily Grind 