The classic battle of head vs heart played out last night at Wrigley for me. I bet on the Pirates to win; I can’t root against the Cubs. It’s not a fun spot to be in, but… may be necessary at times. In sports gambling, and really life for that matter, decisions must be made. How does this work for you? I’ve typically been all heart, but maybe the head is making some progress; I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Ideally, they’d both be on the same page, but that’s not always the case. I’m glad the head made a smart decision in this case; the Pirates beat the Cubs 5-0.
I don’t think I could bet against my team if I was going to be in attendance; that would be torture. If I was going to Wrigley, it would be a wager on the Cubs or nothing; forget that reverse psychology shit. To feel that uncomfortableness, that internally pulling, of rooting for my team vs rooting to win my bet… no thanks. Can’t do that watching in person; not sure if I’ll ever be able to. Making this decision when I will not be able to watch the game is easiest; I still hate to feel like I want my team to lose, although in some cases, does it really matter? Like for example, if the season was over, what does another loss matter? If the tank is on, and the team actually wants to lose, then why can’t I capitalize on that? After all, I know my teams better than most.
On Tuesday night, I did end up watching some of the game on TV, and listening to more of it on the radio; the battle began. The Cubs loaded the bases in the bottom of the 1st; I told myself I was fine with losing this bet… Go Cubs! Same thing happened in the bottom of the 2nd; the Cubs didn’t score either time. Damn… or was I kind of happy about that? I was listening when the Pirates took a 2-0 lead; was I upset? After all, the Cubs are still in the playoff race… or so we thought. An 0-2 start to September isn’t feeling that great… When I finally checked back in on the game, it was 5-0 Pirates. I felt bad that the Cubs were going to lose this game, but the fact that I won a bet… made it feel a little better…??? Am I a bad fan for this? Have I finally sold my soul to the devil?
Well, I don’t think we’re there… yet. A small wager against my team… mostly harmless, no? I will root for the Cubs and for all my teams forever and a day, but if I feel like they’re going to lose, then… what’s the harm in making a couple bucks to compensate for the heartache I deal with when my teams suck? Am I trying too hard to rationalize this? Who really cares but me? Most guys I talk to would take a winning bet over their team winning in a heartbeat. A regular season game… OK. A postseason game? OK, that’s a whole different story. Like being there in person, I don’t think I can pull the trigger on that one. My heart may not be as strong as it once was, but… can’t go there. The heart will always have more pull than the head; I guess the quicker I understand that, the better off I’ll be. Maybe the best solution is to never bet on my teams either way… On to Wednesday’s slate…
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