Wanna bet?

Yesterday I got my SuperBowl winnings, which prompted DD to comment that she wanted to change her name to mine so she could get my "football money". I did fairly well in the office pool as well, so I figure I'm about $300 up on the year. Not too bad, really. I know a little bit about football, although I'm not at the point (yet) where I can intelligently discourse about West Coast offenses or when to use an I formation. Mostly I play in the pools because it's fun to see how well I do, and how I stack up against others. Plus it gives me reasons to watch games in which I'd otherwise be disinterested.

NCAA basketball is drawing to a close, and the playoff tournament will be starting soon, in what is commonly called "March Madness". And there are always "bracket" pools - starting at the initial field of 64 and picking who progresses on each game, all the way to the final winner. Last year I got in on a bracket pool, and had a shot at a payout through the last game (I needed Georgia Tech to beat UConn, but they didn't.). And I watched basketball for the first time in my life, and learned a few things. I still prefer football and hockey, and I only really pay attention to basketball when it's tournament time, or getting close.

Amazing what having a little "vested interest" can do...

But other than the occasional sports wager, I'm actually not much of a gambler. I sometimes play the lottery when someone's running an office pool because the jackpot got large, and on even rarer occasions I'll sit in on a loose-change poker game. But I avoid casinos and slot machines, and racing holds no interest. I'm not much of a risk-taker, and the thought of wagering large sums doesn't sit well with me.

But there are people who will bet on anything. I heard there were odds on what song Paul McCartney was going to play first at the SuperBowl halftime show, on whether certain players would start, or how long they'd play.

What really got me, though, is that there are actually *odds* on who the next Holy Father will be. There just seems something wrong with that....