Playing for the Underdog Moments

Unless you've been living under a rock this week, you've seen her.

Susan Boyle, a 47-year-old woman from Scotland has taken the world by storm with her voice. Walking onto stage to sing on Britain's Got Talent, she was immediately laughed at, scoffed, and just barely humored when she shared her heart of wanting to be a professional singer. However, the second she opened her mouth, eyebrows arched, jaws dropped, and people stood to their feet. Susan's dream to sing for a large audience, be a professional, and to just be heard was happening - and it was a shot heard around the world!

From Oprah to Australia, from Russia to Diane Sawyer - everybody wanted a piece of Susan. This quiet, self proclaimed, virgin has inspired the world with one song. In these days of chaos and uncertainty, Susan has inspired people to hope, and dream their own dreams.

The story of the "underdog" is universal. Rags to riches, or dreams to reality, it is a tale that gives hope to anybody who hears it. And, underdog stories are one of the few things our media, in mass, does not corrupt. Movies like Rudy and Remember The Titans thrived in the box office; American Idol is continually #1 in the United States according to the Nielsen ratings; The phrase "a chip and a chair" has inspired numerous poker players to keep playing, and stay positive, even when the chips were stacked against them.

Largely credited to Jack "Treetop" Straus, this "comeback" story of chance, odds, and possibility has fueled the dreams for many current WSOP players and hopefuls. While the 6'6" man lead an ironically short life, his legend and story have inspired long beyond his life.

So when the odds are stacked against you, "Dream a dream" like Susan Boyle, or think of Treetop Straus; You only need a chip... And a chair.

Who else in poker has an underdog story that inspires you?