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Any sports fan with even a glimmer of remembrance from the early 1970’s will never forget the moment. Kingston, Jamaca on Monday January 21, 1973. The seemingly indestructible Frazier a strong 4 to 1 favorite to chop down the towering yet untested challenger from Hayward, California. A Frazier trademark left hook to Foreman’s jaw in the first minute, the challenger pushing Joe off like a child while landing a left hook to the body that seemed to freeze Joe. Then the moment! “Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!”. The electricity and emotion in Cosell’s voice, his defining moment as a broadcaster. Six knockdowns in less than six minutes. The pure definition of an upset.
An upset in any sport provides an instant transfusion of excitement. Namath’s guarantee in the face of universal derision as Broadway Joe’s Jets seemed destined for a brutal beating. The Amazin Met’s utterly throttling the powerful Orioles, Arthur Ash’s dismantling of the 7 to 1 favorite Conners at the 1975 Wimbledon Finals. And the ultimate upset, the USA triumph over the Soviet Red Army Team at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid.
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An upset in any sport provides an instant transfusion of excitement. Namath’s guarantee in the face of universal derision as Broadway Joe’s Jets seemed destined for a brutal beating. The Amazin Met’s utterly throttling the powerful Orioles, Arthur Ash’s dismantling of the 7 to 1 favorite Conners at the 1975 Wimbledon Finals. And the ultimate upset, the USA triumph over the Soviet Red Army Team at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid.
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