For the love of the game or money?
Recently someone told me that most people who read sports blogs read it mainly for one purpose: to gain info in order to help them win their bets. It made me think, do guys really love sports for the pure love of the game or is it just a tool for gambling?
When you see the fanatics, all decked out in sporting gear with their faces and hair painted in their team colors, are they rooting for the team or are they rooting for a chance to win a hundred bucks?
When you see the fanatics, all decked out in sporting gear with their faces and hair painted in their team colors, are they rooting for the team or are they rooting for a chance to win a hundred bucks?
posted by judy at 2:31 PM
4 Comments:
In Nevada, I'd go with the later, more than the former...you know gambling, its like our nickname...and it stinks! But I don't go with the gambling part...which is evident by my persistent cheering for the Giants :)
Love is a wonderful thing, but it's rarely pure. Especially for guys. There's a lot of desire, ego, self-importance, jealousy, self-deprecation, etc. It's natural that these feelings bleed into folks' love of sports. Gambling is an obvious avenue: you get to prove you know more about sports than the other guy, free money is possible, and, hey, what could make one feel more like a divinity than accurately predicting the future?
There's a big difference between those who gamble on teams they root for, and those who spread their bets across the field. The first group is just looking for an added pump up, a way to put their whole hearts and wallets behind the team they support. Often their love is strong, if not 99.44%. As for the other group, well, I've found myself in it from time to time. I stopped (aside from the occasional autumn trip to vaygoose) because, as much as I studied, charted, followed, etc, i could still do no more than break even. Those dudes who set the lines are smarter than I am, and they're smarter than you too, whoever might be reading this dreaming of free money and predicting the future. Group 2, guys like me, we just love sports so much that we want to extend our love beyond favorite teams. So we learn everything we can about all the teams. We study, we pore over websites and preview mags. And then we are arrogant enough to think that kind of study should be worth something to us financially. Most of the time it just ain't, and that's why they can build a new hotel the size of the imperial city out there in the desert every week or so. Strong, passionate love, but impure. Filled with ego.
Best of luck to all the bettors out there, here's to passionate sports love, pure or otherwise.
i think it's both. ilena, it's probably the opposite btw. in vegas, people gamble in the casinos and watch sports for fun. in socal, people watch sports to bet and go to vegas to gamble...
anyhow, there are hard core fans of their teams. usually, a gambler will not bet on one's "team". it's not a good idea, cuz then you may be rooting against your very own. on the other hand, one can bet on everything else out there. the world isn't two absolutes i suppose. there are probably extremeists on both sides, and a mix of general. also, more than gambling, i think majority of people watch sports for their fantasy teams... (well considering most of those leagues are in it for the money...haha).
but you should be you. stay true to the reason you watch sports, don't mind the rest of the world.
i think it's both. ilena, it's probably the opposite btw. in vegas, people gamble in the casinos and watch sports for fun. in socal, people watch sports to bet and go to vegas to gamble...
anyhow, there are hard core fans of their team. usually, a gambler will not bet on one's "team". it's not a good idea, cuz then you may be rooting against your very own. on the other hand, one can bet on everything else out there. the world isn't two absolutes i suppose. there are probably extremeists on both sides, and a mix of general. also, more than gambling, i think majority of people watch sports for their fantasy teams... (well considering most of those leagues are in it for the money...haha).
but you should be you. stay true to the reason you watch sports, don't mind the rest of the world.
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