Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for a good underdog story. Rudy, The Natural, The Rookie, Old School, Eight Below – all are underdog stories of one kind or another. This weekend we saw Stranger Than Fiction, which, if you haven’t seen it, I’m telling you to go watch. Writers will get a lot out of it most people won’t, and there were some hilarious situations only a writer could appreciate. But at the heart of this movie, it’s an underdog story – about one man who normally wouldn’t have any reason to do something extraordinary in his life. You root for him, even though most days you probably wouldn’t even notice him if he walked by you in a crowd.

I love underdog stories because they’re inspiring. That’s what most of my books are about – everyday people who are put in unique situations and find a part of themselves they didn’t know existed. And watching underdog movies is always inspiring to me – the writer. Because it reminds me that persistence pays off, that dreams are important, that you can do whatever you want in this life if you work hard enough for it.

While at the theatre I saw the trailer for the new Will Smith movie – The Pursuit of Happyness – another underdog story. I’m looking forward to that one as well.

What are your favorite underdog stories – books or movies?