Northwestern Syndrome

The technical term for being affected by a loss of confidence and motivation as a result of being bested by an adversary that was thought to be inferior. The term was first used to describe the affliction of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, which lost its final four games by a combined 102 points after a loss to the Northwestern Wildcats on an interception return for a touchdown.

Student: "Man, I was feeling so good after I made it on the Dean's List last semester, but after I got rocked by that vocabulary quiz last week, I think I'm developing Northwestern Syndrome."

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