2016 was truly the year of the underdog.
From the green grass of Leicester to the sunny shores of the shire, the year delivered some of the biggest upsets in the sporting world.
Ireland
It's hard to believe that such a staunchly proud rugby nation took so long to record a victory over the All Blacks but they finally did it in 2016 with some real style.
Facing the All Blacks at Chicago's Soldier Field, a team not particularly known for their attacking rugby, piled on the points halting the All Blacks record tier one winning streak in its tracks in an entertaining 40-29 win.
And as the Irish do, they partied well into the Chicago night.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Looking to their homegrown hero in LeBron James to bring them Cleveland's first professional sports title since 1964, the Cavaliers fell heartbreakingly short to the Golden State Warriors in the 2014/15 season.
However they returned bigger and better in the 2015/16 season and despite falling behind 3-1 in the NBA finals against familiar foe the Warriors, James etched himself into Cleveland legend becoming one of only a few that have won NBA rings with two different teams.
Cronulla Sharks
The no-nonsense, glamour-free Cronulla Sharks overcame one of the most decorated NRL clubs in recent times the Melbourne Storm to win their first ever premiership in 2016.
Epitomizing the working-man's club, the Sharks broke the 50 premiership drought and few would begrudge them for it having had the longest drought in the competition.
Iceland
Everyone loves an underdog and Iceland's run at the 2016 Euros was a football fairy-tale the whole world could get on board with.
With just a population of 330,000, Iceland was the smallest country to qualify for a European Championship or a World Cup.
Making the round of 16 by drawing with eventual winners Portugal and Hungary and winning against Austria, Iceland turned the EUROs on its head with a shock 2-1 win over England in the round of 16.
While they didn't progress any further after a big defeat to hosts France in the quarter final, the Iceland team along with their fans and their Viking clap, won the world over.
Leicester
In a league essentially defined by the size of its club's expenditure, Leicester, a team whose members were worth a penny over £52 million ($NZ92m) and an eighth of the most expensive team (Manchester City) did the unthinkable by winning the 2015/16 English Premier League season.
Having only achieved promotion in 2014, the Foxes' feat was made all the more incredible by the fact they maintained their fairy-tale run over the league's lengthy 38 games between August and May.
The victory will go down as one of, if not the biggest upsets in sporting history after starting the season at 5000-1 odds.
All images courtesy of Getty
