Never Underestimate Your Opponent

God opposes the proud. This is not only taught many times in Scripture (Matthew 23:12 (visual), Proverbs 3:34, 1 Peter 5:5), but is also seen countless times in recent years.

Anytime I’m in or watching competition, I always try to have this mindset because I know no win is guaranteed and I have seen far too many instances to think otherwise. But here are three:

Example 1: The 1980 USA Hockey “Miracle” Team. A very well-known movie to the North American hockey world is the 2004 Disney film “Miracle” about the buildup to and game against the then-Soviet National team. ESPN Films “30-for-30” did a documentary in 2015 called “Of Miracles and Men” interviewing many players from the Soviet team for their perspective on the game. The following is a brief transcript describing their mindset prior to the game starting at 47 minutes 49 seconds of the episode:

Player 1: “We came out onto the ice thinking even in the deepest recess of our souls, we’d beat them no matter what.”
Player 2: “We thought playing the Americans would be like a walk in the park.”
Player 1: “Second of all, everybody was saying – the committee and spectators alike – ‘Oh! You’re going to crush the Americans!’ ‘We should give you your medals right away!’”

Example 2: John Oliver guest hosting “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central underestimating Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign bid in 2013 and a Chicago Cubs World Series title in 2008.
Here is a clip.

Example 3: David vs. Goliath. This is one of the most well-known stories of the Bible. In 1 Samuel 17, young David, a shepherd boy, stands against a literal giant wearing a bronze helmet, “coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels (~125lbs).” Bronze shin guards and bronze javelin on his back. A “spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels (~15lbs) (cite: Goliath’s Spear).”) Moving forward through the chapter Goliath must have taken off his helmet because verse 49 says, “Reaching into [David’s] bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.” Goliath ended up losing his head by his own sword from David (verse 51).
Visual: David vs. Goliath