This is What’s Trending Today.
The Leicester City soccer players gathered at a teammate’s home Monday evening. They were anticipating the result of another game in the English Premier League.
For the first time in 132 seasons, Leicester City, also known as the Foxes, was positioned to finish the season as the champion of England’s top soccer league.
But the first half of the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea did not look good. If Tottenham won, Leicester’s celebration would have to be put on hold for at least one more week.
At halftime, Tottenham was ahead, 2-0.
Gary Cahill scored to make it 2-1.
Epic reaction in Leicester bar to Chelsea goal pic.twitter.com/UfhkLnePdO
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 2, 2016
Then Eden Hazard got the equalizer with just seven minutes to play.
Eden Hazard!!!!
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) May 2, 2016
When the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game, the Leicester City players went crazy.
CHAMPIONS!!!! pic.twitter.com/pFtvo5XUNx
— Christian Fuchs (@FuchsOfficial) May 2, 2016
Because of the tie score, Tottenham cannot overtake Leicester for first place.
The result set off celebrations in England and beyond.
ICYMI: Here's how Twitter reacted to Leicester City winning the Premier League.https://t.co/HhGxV3HvPU pic.twitter.com/E9MM97wh8r
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 3, 2016
Leicester City. Champions of England. pic.twitter.com/WRwfysTn2N
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 2, 2016
People around the world followed the story of Leicester City this season. Thailand is one place that caught fever for the Foxes.
That is because the owner of the team is from Thailand, and his company, King Power, is the sponsor. Most Thai soccer fans like the famous English teams like Manchester United or Chelsea. But not anymore.
In fact, a Buddhist monk at a temple in Bangkok blessed the team earlier this season and predicted it would win the championship. Now the monk and his temple are considered magical and holy by Leicester City fans.
Thailand Leicester City Temple: Chief monk at the Wat Traimitr Withayaram temple Phra Prommangkalachan smiles as he… https://t.co/tDGuI40EZM
— OKC Breaking News (@okc_news) May 3, 2016
Sports experts say Leicester is one of the most unlikely teams ever to win a major championship. The Foxes played so well, they won the title with two games to go.
Leicester started the season as a 5,000-to-1 underdog. Just seven years ago, the team was in the third division of English soccer.
Leicester City's Jamie Vardy scored 22 goals this season, helping the team to its first-ever English championship in the top division. The Foxes may be the most unlikely championship team ever. This gallery highlights some of the other notable "underdog" teams to have won big games or championships.
Japan's Kensuke Hatakeyama celebrates after his team's stunning victory over South Africa in a pool match in the Rugby World Cup in Brighton, England. Japan's 34-32 victory in September 2015 over the two-time world champion is arguably the biggest shock in rugby history.
Bangladesh's Mohammed Rafique celebrates beating Australia during their One Day Cricket Test at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Saturday June 18, 2005. The victory by Bangladesh is seen as one of the biggest upsets ever in cricket.
Boston Red Sox players celebrate after beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 in Game 4 to sweep the World Series Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2004, in St. Louis. It was the first World Series championship for Boston since 1918.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson (87) tries but fails to get the ball into the end zone as he is tackled by St. Louis Rams' Mike Jones on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2000, in Atlanta. The Rams won 23-16. The year before, the Rams were one of the worst teams in the NFL.
Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett celebrates his 11th inning homerun in Game 6 to tie the World Series against the Atlanta Braves in Minneapolis Oct. 26, 1991. Minnesota went on to win the championship in the next game.
Heavyweight boxer James "Buster" Douglas waves his gloved hand to the cheering crowd as he makes his way to the dressing room following a 10th round knockout victory over Mike Tyson in 1990. It was one of the biggest boxing upsets ever.
The U.S. hockey team pounces on goalie Jim Craig after a 4-3 victory against the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics, as a flag waves from the partisan Lake Placid, N.Y. crowd. The team from the Soviet Union was the dominant international team in the sport. The U.S. went on to win the Olympic gold medal by defeating Finland.
The New York Mets run onto the field to celebrate their World Series win over the Baltimore Orioles at Shea Stadium in New York, Oct. 16, 1969 as the fans cheer in the stands. The Mets were founded in 1962 and had been one of the worst teams in baseball until 1969.
U.S. center forward Joe Gaetjens is carried off by cheering fans after his team beat England 1-0 in the World Cup qualifier match at Belohorizonte, Brazil, June 28, 1950. Gaetjens scored the winning goal in the shock result of the tournament.
Thanks to the play of top goal-scorer Jamie Vardy and the direction of manager Claudio Ranieri, the Foxes took over first place in the league at the end of December 2015.
The Foxes built a 5-point lead in the standings by February and continued to play well late in the season to clinch the title.
And that’s What’s Trending Today.
I’m Dan Friedell.
Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
Have you been following the progress of Leicester City this year? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
Words in This Story
league – n. a group of sports teams that play against each other
title – n. the status or position of being the champion in a sport or other competition
unlikely – adj. used to say that something probably will not happen
clinch – v. to make (something) certain or final
anticipate – v. to think of something that might happen in the future
equalizer – n. a goal in a sport like soccer or hockey that ties the score
comeback – n. a new effort to win or succeed after being close to defeat or failure
