We like to play cards every now and then. Poker, blackjack, never for a lot of money but always fun. We’ve also put down a couple of bets on NFL games while in Las Vegas — again, small wagers to make the headache-riddled Sunday much more tolerable. But if you were looking for Exhibit A on why those will always remain small wagers for entertainment only, search no further than yesterday’s Steelers vs. Chargers game. Pittsburgh, a five-point favorite, won 11-10. So if you bet on the Chargers, you were a winner. But hold the phone: Officials from the game also say they messed up by not giving Pittsburgh a touchdown on the game’s final play. So it really should have been a 7 or 8 point victory, and those who bet on the Steelers should have been getting paid. It was, as they say, a great moment in degenerate gambling history. (One of our favorite old SNL bits was the great moments in point spread history, when Dallas used a late touchdown to cover a six-point spread in the Super Bowl against the Steelers but still lost by four). We cannot really fathom how much money changed hands in the wrong direction yesterday because of the gaffe. It has the double-whammy, of course, of having fantasy football implications as well — which we all know is a huge business that adds up. Roughly 20 million Americans play fantasy sports. Let’s say at least 15 million of those play fantasy football, and let’s say the average person invests $100 a year in league fees (undoubtedly some are higher and some are lower). That gets us to $1.5 billion at stake. Now let’s guess that 5 percent of all leagues had outcomes affected by the Steelers’ D not getting a touchdown. That’s $75 million! Mr. President! Mr. President! Can we get a government bailout for fantasy football players impacted by bad officiating?

A couple of points here: 1) It is simply crazy to think of just how much influence an honest mistake can have, and it is equally crazy to think about how tough it is to be an NFL referee. Every little thing is scrutinized and every mistake has the potential to be magnified. 2) It is ridiculous to spend so much time and energy getting worked up about fantasy football when every week and every season ultimately comes down to a series of good or bad breaks. 3) The Hold Steady show was ridiculously good last night. More on that and the Vikings later.

Also, Donovan McNabb’s “really” moment: You thought an NFL game still tied after the first overtime would go into a second overtime? Really? How long have you been in the league? Nearly a decade. Really? Really?

Fasola-link! The kids are alright.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.