So we're in the final stretch of a complex bet I made with a colleague before the NHL and NFL seasons started.
It all started after discussing how terrible the Lions were, and how great the Red Wings were. We live in Montreal, my friend is a Habs fan and so he had a neutral perspective on the whole thing. I was still high off the Red Wings Stanley Cup victory and with the signing of Marian Hossa I thought the 2008-09 season could only be better.
To me, something like 65-13-4 was entirely possible. I even thought 11 or 12 regulation losses was attainable. I then came up with and proposed the infamous bet, subject of much talk thoughout the season. I offered him only (!) 2-1 odds in my favour that the Red Wings would get fewer regulation losses than the Lions in the upcoming season. I'm aware I was a bigger underdog and deserved better odds but I was confident the Wings could pull it off. He thought I was crazy and accepted the bet on the spot, $100 if lose, $200 if I win.
I thought that if the Lions could go 2-14 that I would be in good shape. Amazingly, they exceeded all expections of misery and became the first team to go 0-16. I thought I had a great cushion at that point. During the first half of the NHL season, I was pretty much always on pace to win the bet. Going into the January, I believe they had 7 regulation losses. That pace was destroyed when they had that horrible stretch, something like 0-4-1, that brought up their total losses to 11. When they reached 13 and my colleague started to get excited, there was a misunderstanding on how many losses the Wings needed for me to win/lose the bet. Was it 16 or 17? He said I had said "the Wings need fewer losses than the Lions", while I thought it was "the Lions would have more losses than the Wings". We decided to go with the first option, even though I wasn't fully convinced.
And now, my Hockeytown heroes, we are up against the wall, 15 regulation losses. Every game is a game 7 in overtime. We need to step up and support our troops. After such a great Lions performance and such a great first half of the season for the Wings, one more regulation loss and it all goes to waste. Is it possible? Can we really win our next 11 games? Well, to put it correctly, can we really not lose in regulation for the next 11 games?! Many scenarios are possible: 11-0-0, 10-0-1, 9-0-2, etc. Improbable, but possible. What do you think?
When the Wings had 16 games remaining, another colleague bet with me. I bet him that I would win the bet with our other colleague. Sixteen games left, and I got 20-1 odds so $10 if I lose and $200 if I win. So now, pretty much, I lose $110 if the Wings drop one more, and win $400 if they win them all. Can you imagine how I felt after the Wings blew their 3-goal lead against Calgary. Thank God Cleary saved me!
Just wanted to share a fun Red Wings story. I know I could have said the entire story in 2 or 3 lines. But it's better this way.
Comment. Discuss.
