On Friday night I was sitting on my couch absolutely disgusted with myself. I had so many thoughts running through my mind. Why did I bet on Maryland? Should I stop gambling? Do I even know anything about sports? Will my future kids love me, maybe I should just pick up knitting? These are the thoughts that keep you awake at night when you make possibly the worst bet of all time.
Why I bet on Maryland
Not only did I take Maryland +6.5 I had the audacity to take them on the money line and they rewarded me with a 59 to 0 loss. I was off on the spread by 52.5 points. I’m still not sure how that’s possible, I really think it was the worst bet of all time. I even watched the whole game and I don’t even know why. Maybe I was trying to subliminally teach myself a lesson or I could just hate myself, who knows.
All I know is that I was almost forced into retirement. It was a terrible loss, maybe I was past my prime. Maybe I had finally lost a step, I was in a bad spot mentally. I decided that there was only one option I had to pull myself up by the bootstraps and bet my way out of this one. So on Saturday afternoon, I called up my buddy and we drove out to Hammond Indiana to visit The Book at Horseshoe Casino.
Back to the Basics
As I walked I knew I had to be all business. There were a lot of distractions trying to bring me down. But like a Belichick coached team, they only made me stronger. I was able to walk right past the blackjack tables calling my name. Then I turned the corner and there was an old friend of mine. There were ten people standing around her having fun and laughing looking like they were having the time of their lives. I was almost sucked in.
But, I had to remain focused and it took everything in me to not take a few spins at the roulette table. I knew I had to wait until halftime of the games. When I saw the screens I knew I had successfully made my way up to the sportsbook. It was a crazy journey but I finally made it.
Redemption
I walked right up to the counter to put in four bets Auburn -8, Ohio State -17, Hawaii Moneyline +115 and Washington State over 56.5. Were the Auburn, Ohio State, and Hawaii bets the greatest bet ever made? Who knows. But that’s not for me to decide. This story isn’t about promoting my gambling prowess. It’s about redemption. I was almost retired less than 24 hours ago and now I was back and better than ever. It was like I was Derrick Rose dropping fifty last year just showing everyone that I still had it.
One day, my grandkids will be sad and want to quit robot fighting or whatever sports they’ll have in the future and I’ll have to tell them the story of my redemption. So they know they can persevere through whatever they are going through. Next time you’re down just remember there’s only one way to get out of a hole, just keep digging until you come out the other side. Just don’t ask why I bet on Maryland.
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