Luck of the Irish
Paddy Public takes a bad line but lives to tell about it.
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The day? January 1st 2014. The time? Mid-afternoon. The situation? I had woken up a bit later than usual due to the previous night’s festivities and had missed placing a bet on UGA/Nebraska under like I wanted too.
As I sat watching the scoreless 1st first quarter roll on and the in-game total drop from 59 to 53 to 49 I was literally pulling my hair out knowing I had missed on what I figured was the biggest lock of New Year’s Day. After UGA kicked a FG to take a 3-0 lead at the start of the 2nd quarter I did what any smart bettor would do (Disclaimer: This is not what any smart bettor would do. In fact it is the exact opposite) and fired on the live in-game under at 44. Yes 44.5. Meaning I had taken a number approximately 17 points less than what it had closed at pre-game. But, the game was nearly a third of the way finished and there were still just three points scored so I figured I was golden.
Of course you all know what happened next. Nebraska promptly scored a TD off of a muffed punt and the two teams combined for three more field goals to leave me with a halftime score of 10-9. Somewhat nervous, I looked to see what the 2H line was as I wanted to get out of my bet because the late flurry of scoring had me uneasy. The line was set at 26, setting the total at 45 for the game. No luck, I was stuck.
The 3rd quarter brought more unwanted points for Paddy Public, highlighted by a 99-yard TD pass for Nebraska on 3rd down and ended with UGA knocking on the door at Nebraska’s 15. UGA promptly scored on the first play of the 4th quarter, leaving me with a score of 24-19 and a measly point to spare for the rest of the game. I was cooked, I was sure of that and at that point I was just praying Nebraska +10 would hold on for a split of my morning bets.
Then the first miracle of the New Year occurred and let me tell you it was glorious. With UGA in the red zone and a little less than five minutes left on the clock and two timeouts, Richt elected to go for it on fourth down instead of cutting the lead to two. They failed, I still had life, but UGA was able to get the ball back and drive down for the potential winning score. On fourth down again, UGA TE Lynch dropped a pass on an open slant route at the 10 and Nebraska held on for the 24-19 win, giving Paddy P the cover.
A number I shouldn’t have taken ended up cashing in a game it had no business in doing so, allowing me to start 2014 2-0. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come, or perhaps it was a fluke start, but even I know that if I continue to take live in-game numbers that are nearly 20 points worse than what they closed at I won’t stay a winner for long. However, as I have said before, sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart.
