Foxes are flying ... now get set for the pigs writes Mike Colman

A FEW lucky punters made a small fortune off the back of Leicester City winning the Premier League. Senior sports writer Mike Colman is ready to buy an island in the Bahamas and upgrade the Mercedes.

IT’S the biggest upset in sporting history, and I must say I’m pretty happy about it.

See, what happened was, I was leaving the UK after two years away and was waiting for the Heathrow Express to chug into Paddington Station when I put my hand in the pocket of my overcoat and found 200 quid left over from winning the darts comp at the Elephant and Spotted Dog the previous Wednesday night.

“Allo, allo,” I says to myself (that’s the way they talk over there). “What am I going to do with all this sausage and mash then?”

Which is when I spied the William Hill Bookmakers sign at the end of the platform.

“What’s the longest odds you’ve got?” I asked the lady behind the counter.

“5000-1 Leicester City to win the league.”

I slapped my 200 down on the counter. She nearly dropped her vindaloo.

“You ‘aving a laugh?” she said.

I am now. That’s 200 times 5000 makes one million quid which at today’s rate of $1.91 to the pound gives me a nice little earner of just under two mill which, invested wisely over the next 10 years, should enable me to buy that island in the Bahamas I’ve had my eye on and have enough left over to upgrade the Mercedes.

Leicester City fans celebrate their team becoming the English Premier League champions.

Okay, okay, I made the whole thing up, but after Leicester won the EPL with two matches to spare surely you’ll believe anything.

And while I didn’t put so much as a penny on the Foxes, plenty did.

According to the BBC, 47 true believers snapped up the odds of 5000-1 at the start of the season — and about half of them cashed in their bets before the club clinched the title thanks to Chelsea snatching a late 2-2 draw with Tottenham.

Not that they should be pitied for jumping off early and pocketing a fraction of the windfall they would have collected if they’d held on for a few more weeks.

After all, a fraction of $150,000 or $200,000 is still a lot better than a belt in the eye with a muddy football, and besides, to the real Leicester faithful this win was about more than mere money.

As lifelong Leicester fan John Pryke said after cashing in his $200,000 ticket for $60,000 last month, “the pressure of having the bet was ruining the games for me. Now I can just enjoy watching Leicester win the title.”

No doubt John is a happy man today. As is everyone else in Leicester — and those around the UK and the world who climbed aboard what is arguably the biggest winning longshot of all time.

Leicester City’s Wes Morgan celebrates scoring his team's opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Leicester City at Old Trafford.

Actually, forget the “arguably”. This is the biggest upset win of them all, bar none.

When Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson to win the heavyweight title of the world — often described as history’s greatest upset — you could get odds of 42-1 on the underdog.

Japan beating South Africa in the last Rugby World Cup was a 200-1 shot, Greece winning the 2004 European Cup a mere 150-1.

And that’s just quoting the bookies’ odds, and what would they know? (One betting agency manager wrote the words “Pigs might fly” on the ticket when a Leicester fan put a pound on the Foxes at 5000-1 before the season opener).

Even a rudimentary knowledge of sport would tell you that no other winning underdog has ever had to do what Leicester has done in winning the EPL.

Douglas knocked out a poorly-prepared Tyson in a fight that lasted less than 30 minutes; the

Mike Tyson’s loss James 'Buster' Douglas was another great sporting upset.

Brave Blossoms of Japan beat the South African Springboks over 80 minutes. To win the Euro Cup, Greece played six games over 32 days.

Compare that to Leicester, who clinched the title after playing 36 of the season’s 38 matches over 10 months. Add the pressure of being rank outsiders (they were at 3-1 to be relegated at the start of the season), having a playing roster valued at around $100 million and needing to hold off challenges from the likes of Tottenham (roster $340 million), Arsenal ($450 million) and Manchester City ($820 million).

It is it the sort of achievement that restores ones’ faith in sport.

The kind that makes you realise that despite all the money, marketing and spin doctors, there is still always a chance that the impossible will happen.

I could go on all day, but I’ve got to get to an ATM.

There’s a bookie down the road offering 5000-1 on seeing a flying pig and I don’t want to miss out again.

Originally published as Foxes are flying ... now get set for the pigs writes Mike Colman