5 biggest upsets in American sports history

24 September 2016: An Appalachian State Mountaineers helmet on the sideline prior to the NCAA Football game between the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Akron Zips at Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium in Akron, OH. Appalachian State defeated Akron 45-38. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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The history of sports is littered with great upsets. These are five of the biggest from America’s big four sports.

As sports fans, we crave excitement. We want to be entertained, preferably by close games that go down to the wire. No game is better than the one that ends in an upset.

Upsets come in all shapes and sizes, but sports fans love nothing more than watching the little guy squash the big guy. And with one of the most lopsided NBA Finals matchups in recent memory set to tip off on Thursday, we decided to take a look at some of the biggest upsets in sports history.

The world of sports is a big place, so to keep things manageable, we decided to restrict ourselves to the big four American sports. Sorry Leicester, but you don’t make the cut despite your remarkable 2015-16 Premier League title run.

(Original Caption) 2/12/1990-New York, New York- Just back from Tokyo where he was kayoed by James (Buster) Douglas, Mike Tyson is followed by promoter Don King as they leave King’s office. Boxing officials say it may take two weeks to determine that Douglas did indeed win the heavyweight crown following protests by Tyson and King that Douglas had benefited from a long count after being knocked down by Tyson in the 8th round. Tyson was kayoed in the 10th. /

5. Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson

When Buster Douglas entered his heavyweight title bout with Mike Tyson, no one expected him to win. Tyson entered the fight undefeated and having dispatched of several opponents in the first round. Douglas entered the fight as a 42-1 underdog.

Then the unthinkable happened. One punch changed boxing history. For the first time in his career Tyson was knocked to the canvas, and he failed to answer the 10 count. The lasting image was of Tyson search for his mouth piece on the mat.