Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.

– William Shakespeare, St Crispin’s Day, Henry V

Who we cheer on is who we feel is more like us. Whether it’s an underdog, or the reigning champion says more about how we see our place in the world than about how we view right and wrong.

Most of our world is a landscape drawn in greyscale. The white of good and the black of evil are the boundaries of the spectrum. Since we’re dealing with uncertainties we tend to fall back on assumptions, generalities, and familiarity.

I know nothing about the man on the bike. I don’t know anything about the specific situation. I automatically cheered on the escape. I did that because I feel like I have more in common with the gentleman fleeing than I do with the bystanders, or the men in their utility green uniforms. I’d like to break that down a bit.

First, I see a mismatched group of anonymous, minimally reactive people seemingly caught by surprise that they were witness to the sudden activity. They are not the focus and have about as much input as the city setting itself. I have nothing to relate to and I ignore them.

Second, I see a group of men overly dressed for the Chicago city streets in September. They are purposefully dressed to create a sense of unity and anonymity. In other words, they all look the same at first glance. They are armed and armored. They would be the threat more than they would be safety. There is very little about them that allows for vulnerability. Whatever happens, I am not going to worry about their survival. They will be fine. Because of these assessments, I have almost nothing in common with them. I am clearly not a member of their group. They would not see me as a member of their group, and that leaves me in the same position as the man on the bike.

Finally, the man on the bike. What do we know about him? He’s neither a bystander, nor is he a member of the olive drab crew. He appears to be on his own with no friends or companions nearby. He’s obviously familiar with the city. He is very comfortable on a bike. I would assume due to the bag on the handle bars that he is a delivery service worker, even before I read the headline. That’s just a regular guy. He’s assuredly not rich. He’s out there working for a few dollars. He’s a bit feisty and he’s definitely in the underdog category.

I have a long standing positive reaction to underdogs. I love seeing someone rise above their limitations and soar beyond expectations. I’m already on his side since the big guys with weapons are the ones with all the funding and all the backers. I’m not rich. I’ve been homeless in the past. I’ve worked those back breaking, low-paying jobs, where if you got paid by sweat stains you’d be a millionaire. He’s out there working, by his own choice, while a whole lot of people are getting the time off.

When the big, tough guys in green decide to go after him, it becomes an us against them situation. I feel more kinship with the man on his bike, all by himself, than with the homogeneous group of uniformed men. The man becomes ‘us’ and the guys in green become ‘them’. Do I smile when he gets away? Yes. Because the little guy won. I’m going to watch this a few more times because it makes me smile. I always did enjoy Wiley E. Coyote and the Roadrunner.