The Mighty Ducks, the 2010 and 2011 Butler Bulldogs, Rudy, and a beagle in a cape. What word links all of these together? Underdog. Now there is a new underdog story.

Against practically all odds (5000 to 1, in fact), Leicester City has won the English Premier League, the best division of soccer in England. To put this in perspective, the odds that Bigfoot exists and that Christmas would be the warmest day of the year in England are also 5000 to 1.

After Tottenham, the team in second place, tied against Chelsea, Leicester City secured the first title in the club’s history with two games to spare. Their record through these thirty six games played so far is twenty-two wins, eleven draws, and only three losses.

Personally, I have only followed soccer for about two years, since I got FIFA 14 on my iPhone. I instantly became addicted, not only to the video game, but to the sport itself. However, as much as I claim to know about players and teams, I had no clue that Leicester would have any chance  to win the title. Even as Leicester continued to win, people still doubted that they would finish in the top four.

The real question is, how did a team that finished fourteenth a year before become champions and how did a team, with a budget one-fourth of their competitors, win the league? Perhaps it was their new coach, Claudio Ranieri, a sixty-four year old Italian,whose unorthodox strategies included having his players make hand-tossed pizzas during the season. Or maybe it was the emergence of the sensational talents Riyad Mahrez, Ngolo Kante, and Jamie Vardy. No matter what it was, their tactics worked, and they have a title to show for the fantastic season they had.

Now, from a sports perspective, this win reminds us that money doesn’t necessarily mean success. While many big clubs buy well-known players that have flashy sponsorships, Leicester City took a band of misfits and made them into a championship team. They believed in themselves, never stopped fighting, and came ready to play every week. Leicester City played as a team; never played selfishly, and they enjoyed being around each other.

But doesn’t this translate to life as well? It shows us that doing something for others and working as a team like Leicester City did is just as good as individual success.

Everyone likes rooting for the underdog. Sports fan or not, Leicester City’s story is incredible, and it translates into more than just a good sports story–– it is a reminder that when you stay humble, motivated, and selfless, great things can happen.