After Watching Last Night's Pre-Season Game, I'll Bet You The Bears Make The Super Bowl

From the desk of StevieY19:

From time to time we all feel the need to show how great we are at being sports fans. How dedicated we are to our favorite teams. Sometimes we feel the best way to show our dedication is to connect our fate with the success or failure of our teams and players. Sometimes this is a good idea, such as drafting Geovanni Soto in your fantasy league. Other times though, it goes horribly, and hilariously wrong.

Stormin’ Norman Disciple’s “beard bet” is just the tip of the homer iceberg. Some fans refuse to bet on their teams, fearing the double depression of losing the game and the money/dignity. Others venture in the opposite direction, when in a state akin to religious ecstasy, they boldly bet a case of beer that Derrek Lee will hit .400. And sometime after thinking “man, I hope Cade McNown is the real deal,” it turns into “I’ll bet you twenty bucks McNown throws for 20 touchdowns this season.” While you’re thinking it says “look how great of a fan I am,” others think things like “thanks for the money” and “would you like to make a bet about the Bulls?”

So don’t show your fandom by making outrageous bets; there are much more productive ways to go about it. For instance, one Cubs fan talked me into drafting Jacque Jones a couple years back with an elaborate story about how Jones was a 25 home run guy, citing all kinds of obscure stats and information. It was a triple victory for the Cubs fan: he proves his dedication by knowing something about Jacque Jones other than the fact that he isn’t a white French guy, he actually gets to laugh when I draft Jacque Jones and lose to the Cubs fan in fantasy baseball, and he doesn’t lose any money in the process.



**EDITOR'S NOTE: All of the "examples" in this article refer to actual bets made by Stormin Norman Disciple. You also forgot a few: The Bulls will win 12 games in January; Illinois will cover in the Rose Bowl; That's all I can think of for now.