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Vegas will be coughing up some big bucks to a Draft Sharks staffer after the Super Bowl
Super Bowl XLVI will pit a pair of Draft Sharks staffers against each other. And we’re not talking about boring team allegiances. This is about what really matters: money.
Jared Smola and Matt Schauf were in Las Vegas for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association winter conference in January 2010. In a rare fit of good Vegas decision making, Smola plunked down some money on the Patriots and Schauf the Giants. A little more than a year later, at least 1 will cash a winning ticket
Smola: New England Patriots at 7-1 odds
The Patriots were a pure value play. Last January, they were coming off a 28-21 defeat at the hands of the Jets in the AFC Divisional Round. It was New England’s 3rd-straight playoff loss. There was talk that Bill Belichick had lost his magic. That the Patriots’ championship window had closed. To me, it looked like a perfect betting opportunity.
At 7-1 odds, Vegas was calling the Patriots the 5th-best team in the league heading into the 2011 season. With Tom Brady still at the controls of the offense, Wes Welker returning healthier after his torn ACL in ’09, and a couple young, stud TEs in tow (who, I’ll admit, turned out to be a helluva lot better than I thought they’d be a year ago), New England was being vastly underrated. At least that’s what I told myself as I searched for another way to throw 20 bucks away.
Now, I fully expected New England to do more to solidify its holey D than add a few over-the-hill D-linemen (Albert Haynesworth, Andre Carter, and Shaun Ellis) and a 2nd-round CB (Ras-I Dowling). But this team was always going to live-or-die on the right arm of Brady. And with 1 game to go, they’re still breathing.
I’ll be rooting for the Giants on Super Bowl Sunday. I’m a Boston hater. Plus, I don’t need the money – Draft Sharks pays well! But if Brady does capture his 4th title, I’ll be holding a $140 ticket.
Schauf: New York Giants at 30-1
I’m a little tighter with my money than is young Mr. Smola. I’d like to blame that entirely on the fact that I have kids, but the truth is I’m also kind of a wuss. That’s why I start by looking at teams with somewhat longer odds and then cast my huge sums of betting capital ($5, in this case).
I must admit that I also put $10 on the Eagles at 20-1, basically because I’m a Philly fan. (And, thus, inherently kinda stupid.) My final $5 went to the Bengals at 100-1. Remember, this was back before we knew whether Ochostinko would leave and that Carson Palmer would become the Raiders’ new worst trade. It didn’t make me any money, but I’m rather pleased that Cincinnati at least made the playoffs.
As for the Giants, I actually did believe in them as a contender. Why else would an Eagles fan put money on the enemy? As much as I like to make fun of Eli Manning, the fact is that he’s really good. My favorite team would be in much better shape were he its QB. The Giants also had a lot of existing pieces in a lot of places. The defensive line has been solid for a while, and only got better with Jason Pierre-Paul’s emergence. There were already stars at WR and RB, along with experience on the O-line and in the secondary. Continuity counts for quite a bit in the NFL. Plus, New York was coming off a 10-6 season in which it barely missed the playoffs. I was kind of surprised the team faced such long odds.
So now a pessimist might say that I face the unenviable position of having to root for the Giants to win the Super Bowl. Au contraire. (That’s the only Swedish I know.) While my Eagle-fan brethren would only be further beaten down mentally by a N.Y. win, I’d be $150 richer.
