Leicester City wins the Premier League

[iandhr]

Source: Washington Post

The U.S. Olympic hockey team had no hope of defeating the Soviet Union. Villanova could not possibly stop Georgetown. Buster Douglas was, at best, a 42-to-1 long shot against Mike Tyson. Wrestler Rulon Gardner would not last an Olympic round against Aleksandr Karelin, who hadn’t lost in 13 years. Unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci couldn’t stop Serena Williams’s ride to a calendar-year Grand Slam.

Upsets have captured the sporting public for generations, but most have been one-off shockers, lightning-in-a-bottle moments that paralyze us because of their suddenness.

On Monday, Leicester City — an English soccer club in the same league but historically deep in the shadows of the likes of wealthy Manchester United and Arsenal – won the Premier League with a sustained upset over nine glorious months. The humble Foxes won their first top-flight championship in 132 seasons and became just the sixth team to win the Premier League in the past 23 years.

They completed the remarkable act without stepping on the field. After missing a chance to clinch the title on their own volition Sunday at Manchester United, they watched their closest pursuer, north London’s Tottenham Hotspur, relinquish a two-goal lead in the second half and settle for a 2-2 draw against southwest London’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soccer-insider/wp/2016/05/02/believe-it-leicester-city-wins-the-premier-league/

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If don't know anything about soccer this is huge news.

[Coventina]

1. Wooooo!!! Let's hear it for the underdogs, er, Foxes!!!!

[sarisataka]

2. To put it in terms Americans

(who think football is a game played with your hands) understand, Leicester City was a 5,000-1 long shot to win the EPL. By comparison, the book on Kim Kardashian winning the 2020 Presidential election is 2,000-1.

WTG Foxes (sorry Spurs but I had to pull for the minnows this year)

[iandhr]

5. Also the barley survived relegation last year.

[dembotoz]

3. damn just damn

[Buzz cook]

4. This is a real thumb in the eye to big time football

Coming after the Hillsborough vindication makes it more sweet.

[HuckleB]

6. One of the greatest sports stories ever!

As a Baggies supporter, I can't tell you how much this makes me smile!

[Ron Obvious]

7. I can't think of an equivalent achievement in this or any other sport.

This is a victory over a 9 month season, not just a few games in a row such as a World Cup or Olympic Tournament. Leicester were outside of the top flight for 10 years and only barely hung on their first year back last year.

Rainieri was top pick for the first manager sacked for the season.

Football, eh? Bloody Hell!

[Earth_First]

8. Yes, but LBN? n/t

[TygrBright]

9. Yup. n/t

[iandhr]

11. The odds of them winning were set a 5,000 to 1.

[HuckleB]

17. Yeah, this is a big story!

This does not happen, er it's not supposed to happen!

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Top story on CNN International website (nt)

[T_i_B]

34. It's huge news over here

[LisaM]

10. Nothing against them but I am a Spurs fan.

I didn't think much of today's match!

[Ron Obvious]

18. Commiserations...

You got a great, young squad and manager and you'll be up there again in the near future.

It was intense today. How the hell did that finish 11 v 11?

[LisaM]

26. it was intense.

I figured Leicester would ultimately win, but I don't like Chelsea.

[Initech]

12. Man and I thought the Cubs suffered from a title drought...

They got nothing on Leicester City! Congrats to them!

And hey if Leicester City can do it, so can the Cubs!

[HuckleB]

14. Unlike Leicester City, the Cubs have the money. So, yeah, they should be able to do it.

[Travis_0004]

13. And to win all they had to do was Tie

I'm glad I dont give a crap about soccer. At least it was a 2-2 tie. Nothing like paying money to watch a game go 0-0.

[HuckleB]

16. Some of the greatest games I've watched were 0-0.

Scoring is a bizarre conceit. Heck, everyone tunes in to see if so and so is going to finish out a perfect game or a no hitter. And it's exciting. So is this.

The draw adds to the season in fantastic ways that sudden death can't match.

[Ron Obvious]

19. I don't know a single fan of the sport who wants to do away with draws.

It adds an extra dimension of possibility to the whole thing, and I've seen many a 0-0 which was a far better spectacle than most high scoring games.

It's not just about the goals in this sport.

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. They needed Spurs, who are in 2nd place, to not win

This is what happens in a league - it's about the performance over 9 months, and not about just winning the right games at the end of the season.

If you want an example of them being able to perform with the pressure on, right the the end of the season, then there's their win over Swansea a week ago - their star striker Vardy had been suspended, but they won 4-0.

It's sad so many Americans don't appreciate a tie in a game, though - it means the game could have been won by either team right up to the end.

[HuckleB]

22. And they had twelve points still on the board.

Six for them to earn, and six for Tottenham to lose.

Winning it today is big, but it wasn't a last minute thing, it's just a clincher. They'll likely win by more than a point at the end.

[Travis_0004]

24. That brings up another point

I never really understood the concept of stoppage time.

They don't want to stop the clock, that would make too much sense. Instead they add extra time to the clock at the end. But they won't tell you how much time. If you want to add 4.5 minutes, then do so, don't tell me 'we are going to add at least 4 minutes. Why is it a secret?

[muriel_volestrangler]

25. Yeah, I'm not a fan of how they do stoppage time

It would indeed make much more sense to have the 'true' amount of time displayed all the time, because they must have it available.

[Ron Obvious]

29. You know what would happen with a stopped clock?

You'd get TV commercials, extended delays, and timeouts during the game. Not worth the risk.

For the past decade or two, the fourth official holds up the board with the minimum number of minutes to be added and that works pretty well.

[Codeine]

28. I've attended great 1-1 draws.

It's part of the sport.

[alfredo]

15. Good to see the little guy prevail

Joe Scarbough is a part owner of Liverpool, but I'm not sure if he still owns a stake.

[OnlinePoker]

23. And my team, Aston Villa, was relegated this year.

I don't know how I'll watch them next year when they're no longer in the Premiership.

[mwooldri]

33. Championship games are on US TV.

Besides if Aston Villa pull their socks up they'll spend a year in the Championship and be back in the Premier League. Or... *shudder* fall to League 1. Let's hope their absence is short... unlike Brighton who stand a chance of promotion if they beat Middlesboro... been out of the top league since 1983.

Until recently the interest has been who's going up, who's going down. How would US sports work if there were a promotion/relegation system here? Imagine the Atlanta Braves going to the minor leagues, to be replaced by a minor league team? Major League Baseball lends itself to a two tier system but have no interchange with minor leagues. Unsure how that would work with NFL or NBA...

[T_i_B]

37. Sadly....

...Aston Villa this year have reminded me of the year Sheffield Wednesday went down. And as we all know, years in the football wilderness followed on from that.

[jakeXT]

27. Leicester players reaction video

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35988673

[Omaha Steve]

30. Locking after a review by forum hosts

Statement of Purpose

Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.

[mwooldri]

32. English national interest definitely.

It takes an awful lot to be the lead news story hour after hour on BBC World Service news. Newsday was Leicester, Leicester, Leicester.

[Omaha Steve]

36. It is still running on the AP news radio!

http://player.streamguys.com/apnews/sgplayer/player.php

[Omaha Steve]

31. Kick for the unlock!

Congrats.

[reflection]

35. I have a friend who is a ridiculous Leicester fan.

Every season he puts 10 pounds on them to win it all and then yuks it up with his pals at the pub (he's a Londoner).

I emailed him last night to ask him how he felt and he wrote back "I feel like a dog with 10 willies!"

[jakeXT]

40. 50000 pounds richer or did he bet it on the champions league ?/nt

[reflection]

42. 50K, he says

Disclaimer: I know as much about soccer as I do about Bavarian folk dancing, but I've known this dude for a couple of decades and he has never truly thought one of those bets would cash in

[jakeXT]

43. It was more likely for Kim Kardashian to become US president at 2000:1

At the start of last August, just weeks after Leicester had escaped demotion from the Premier League where it had spent most of the year 20th out of 20, you would have got better odds on Kim Kardashian becoming president of the U.S by 2020 and Hugh Hefner confessing to being a virgin, than Leicester City winning the title.

Bookmakers were offering odds of 2000-1 on Kardashian becoming leader of the U.S. in four years time, while Hefner's rather unlikely admission was set at odds of 200-1.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/29/sport/leicester-city-premier-league/

[MowCowWhoHow III]

38. Prescient

The bloke I work with genuinely believe Leicester will win the premiership in 3 years AHAHAHAHAHAH
8:29 AM - 17 Aug 2012
https://twitter.com/CalsinhoPHD/status/236364153030320128

[Blue_Tires]

39. The funny part is none of those examples even compare

This is literally a college basketball team who had to win their conference tournament to even make the NCAAs, then win the play-in game as a 16 seed, and then go on to win the whole thing...

[alcibiades_mystery]

41. Kick for the unlock: this is one of the greatest stories in the history of organized sports

Soccer haters can hate, but nobody cares.

This is real deal drama for 9 months and every tense game. It was a miraculous season in the Premiere League that will be remembered by all who watched avidly for the rest of their lives.

Three cheers for the unlock.