Paul was libertarian before libertarian meant Tea Party and before Tea Party meant signs of President Obama doing his best Charlie Chaplin impression. Paul might be the most unlikely of founding fathers for an increasingly mainstream movement and it seems odd for a 70 something year old man to be way out in front of a grass roots call for change. For nearly three decades, Paul sat on the wrong end of 434 to 1 votes, refusing to compromise his position. Everything from pork barrel spending, to the Federal Reserve, to the War in Iraq left Paul on the unpopular side of many votes. Rick Reilly would use some hyperbole to handicap his chances at the Presidency like "as likely as wanting to floss a shark with impacted molars" and it would make everyone cringe and wonder what happened to the guy who used to write in the back of Sports Illustrated. Paul really has no chance; he would be 7 years older than the oldest elected President (Reagan) when assuming office and really would never be allowed to lead the party's ticket but he's in the thick of things in his 3rd bid (88, 08, 12) for the Presidency. 
Boise was a mid-major power before there really were mid-major powers. Mid-majors were always in basketball but Boise was successful, albeit a slight after thought, under Dan Hawkins through the middle part of the 2000s, respected but ultimately dismissed. Then they captivated a national audience with trickery as they knocked of Oklahoma in a game they had no business hanging around in. Returning Kellen Moore, their style of football has caught on and helped paved the way along with other supposed mid-majors now routinely in the top 25 and winning bowl games against power conferences. They appear unlikely to ever be able to actually win it all and last year may have been their best chance but like Paul, Boise State has gone from regional player to national acclaim, able to at least hang with the top talent and overcome what was once just marginal attention.
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