America loves the underdog, right?

Ever since the colonies upset the heavily favored British at Lexington and Concord, the little guy has held a special place in the old U S of A. Steve Jobs starting Apple in his parents’ garage? A Cinderella story. Jay-Z goes from the housing projects to billionaire hip-hop mogul? Only in America. The Miracle on Ice kids beating the Russians and then winning the gold medal? You didn’t have to be a sports fan to feel the utter joy from sea to shining sea.

But sports fans in particular eat up the underdog. People with Duke diplomas on their walls were the only ones rooting for the Blue Devils against Butler in the 2010 national championship game. When the Giants beat the 18-0 Patriots, 44 states rejoiced. Hickory High over South Bend Central? Pure magic.

So why is it that your average college football fan is not pulling for Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff against No. 1 Alabama? Sure, Cincinnati has its vocal defenders, but the fact that the Bearcats have even needed defenders is peculiar. There was plenty of backlash when Cincinnati worked its way up the polls, then stayed inside the coveted top four. It seemed the majority of college football fans did not want an imposter crossing the sea and challenging the ruling class. The college football Game of Thrones is not for the commoners.