This year’s Champions League final will be played by two teams, one of which is given as the underdog, Inter, over the other, Manchester City. The reasons given for formulating this choice are many, not the least of which is that it is led by a coach who has been dominant on the world stage since several years such as Pep Guardiola.
In this situation, Inter Milan is part of that category called underdog, defined as a team that is at a disadvantage and is expected to lose. Stories of underdogs are full of mythology, cinema, and sports. So why should we be drawn to David vs. Goliath or Rocky Balboa, Cremonese reaching the final stages of the Coppa Italia or Leicester winning the English championship? Why root for Inter Milan?
First, for identification, this is essentially true for fans of this team, who have a strong pre-existing affiliation. Still others have a less intense connection but will support it as an Italian team. There is, however, a third category of people who will root for Inter because it is the underdog team, one may choose to sympathize, for the underdog team with which one has no prior affiliation. Since the success of underdogs is by definition unexpected, this can increase the excitement of rooting for them. In other words, people may root for Inter for the simple reason that unexpected victories are more emotionally satisfying than expected victories; conversely, expected defeats are not as hard to bear as unexpected defeats. Being on the side of those who might get a less likely outcome is personally more emotional than choosing the opposite side.
However, the first ones who will have to manifest this mentality are the Inter players and staff. They must be their own first supporters. I conclude with a thought from Marcello Lippi upon his arrival at Juventus: “In my career I have never won anything, you have not won anything for ten years. It will be time for things to change. We will be in front of a big set table, where every cup is a dish. No one will be more hungry than we are.”
