Football Still Fun

I was getting crushed financially on hoops and baseball. It took me about two and a half months to drop just over eight thousand dollars. I should have known better. I’m an ignoramus when it comes to baseball and not much better with basketball. But I’m also a compulsive gambler, so reality and good sense are completely out the window. What is understood and planned by the intellect is overruled by the animal; a classic case of survival of the un-fittest.

Finally, it must be four months ago now, I had to call my bookie and cancel my account. And don’t get me wrong: I knew that didn’t mean I was going to quit gambling on sports. But it did mean that I wouldn’t have a line of credit and all too easy access to the drug. Now, if I want to bet on sports, I have to drive all the way to Reno to do it: which, by the way, is something I’m planning on doing very soon. But at least in that scenario I only lose the money I intended on losing, not thousands more than I can reasonably afford.

But it had me worried coming into the football season. Although I was a basketball player in high school, football has always been my favorite sport. It’s the most purely American of the big three, though I know several baseball enthusiasts who will argue vehemently with me over this claim. Anyway, I’ve been betting on football since I was ten years old – I even had a bookie back then, my buddy Nathan’s older brothers’ friend Matt, who took full advantage of our youth and inexperience. For me, football and gambling are practically synonymous.

I wondered if the interest and passion would still be there even when I didn’t have action on the game. I wondered if I would be able to watch without a personal stake. But so far, it’s been great. The first week of college ball had me transfixed, even though my beloved Oregon Ducks looked like pathetic chumps against Boise State. I took in the Steelers/Titans NFL season opener in its entirety and was thoroughly engaged. I just watched the Wisconsin/Fresno State contest and was screaming my support at the Bulldogs through the television. Unfortunately, as was the case last season, they came up just short against the Badgers.

Yeah, I’ve got the itch. That’s something which will never go away. And I’ll get my bets in eventually when I travel to Nevada. But I simply can’t be trusted with a bookie. It’s like having a cocaine Cornucopia in my living room.