SE Ohio in the 80s, and yes! I loved the Underdog. Haven’t heard the term in years, though. I miss playing on the swings.
Incidentally, have any of you as adults indulged in a swing session lately? Sigh…you really can’t go back again, you know. Swinging now just makes me sick as a dog - I can’t do it for long. As a kid, I could swing for hours.
SW Ohio '70s. Never heard it.
My dad gave the best underdogs before I was old enough to swing on my own. I suspect it may have been invented by daredevil older siblings, parents, babysitters, etc. to break up the monotony of pushing a little kid on a swing for what seems like hours.
I grew up in the 60’s-70’s in South Texas, and I’ve never heard the term or the practice.
We did, however, try to “tump over” the swingset. My friend’s swingset was very loose.
Why are kids so stupid? 
Also Central Jersey and I never heard of it. I am 42.
Snickers, I have been on swings in the last few years and I’ve had no problems.
Born in 1964. Central Illinois. We called it “wonder under”. Never heard the term underdogging.
I am familiar with the term. Baltimore, 70s.
I had forgotten about them until a couple of years ago when another mom was giving her kid underdogs at the park. Of course my kid wanted them too. Lots of them. We have a rule now: only 3 underdoggies per day.
New Hampshire, '80s. Used “underdog” all the time.
Oh yes. By name.
Southeastern Michigan, 1980s. We did it, but we never used the term as a gerund.
My god, how could I have forgotten about that until this moment? We even called it the same thing.
Yup - we practiced underdogging, just as you describe and called it underdogging. We also shouted “Underdog!” as we passed under.
Central New York State - Finger Lakes Region. Born in 1970, so this would have been late 70s, early 80s.
For us, it was 7-12 year olds. The person on the swing was perfectly capable of swinging by themselves - this was purely a daredevil act on the part of the underdogger and the underdogged.
NE Ohio in the 60’s and 70’s, never heard the term…and I was on the swings a lot!
Southern Virginia in the 50’s & 60’s, and yep, we “underdogged”
SE Rural Indiana, born in 1973. Used to leap out of the seat at it’s highest point and see who could fly the farthest. If you cleared the gravel and landed on the grassy area just beyond the railroad ties you had made a good leap. I remember doing this in the 3rd-4th grade, so 1979-1980.
Also did Underdogs and used the actual term, although I recall it coming into use a couple of years later, around 1984 or so
Same location, same time, same answer.
OK, I think we have enough data points now to construct a map of the US in 3D representing “underdog” usage. The question is, what are the points of the prism thus rendered? From what source did it spring?
Or, did the cartoon by that name ignite a firestorm of usage, more or less at once, all over the place?
Who’s got the plot?
Grew up in Utah in the 60s. Never heard of it until I read this thread.
Grew up in the 90’s, southern Ontario. We’d say “gimme an underdog!”
East central Wisconsin, 70s. I definitely remember performing the action (as both the pusher and pushee). Both “underdog” and “underduck” sound familiar.
Brian