Monday, January 22, 2007

Da Bears -- and how The Curmudgeon lost a nickel yesterday

Oldest Son would rate a seat at this table.

He may be the most fanatic Bear fan around. And he likes to gamble. I've mentioned how I recently had to deposit a check for him when he closed out his on line poker account.

It's not that I have anything against gambling. If you want to throw your money away in a casino, I figure it's your business. If the casino pays taxes to a jurisdiction in which I live, so much the better.

I don't gamble much because I'm not good at it. I am rational enough to believe that no one is really "good" at gambling: The house wins in the end.

But Oldest Son sees an element of skill in poker -- and in betting on sporting events.

I was having a conversation with him last week, before the game. Our conversations take place on line, via AIM. I type complete sentences and attempt to use proper grammar and spelling. All of my children find this hilarious.

Anyway, he favored me with his prediction for yesterday's game: Bears by at least 10.

Fine, I typed back, I'll take the Saints and 11. Here, I thought, was a chance to show the boy up: Gamble with your heart, be a Superfan, I thought. Maybe I can teach him a lesson.

My jumping at his exuberant prediction did catch Oldest Son a little by surprise: He waffled just a bit -- the Bears were favored by no more than three on any line -- but ultimately gave me the Saints and 9.5.

Then the question was the stake.

Because I am ordinarily an abject failure as a gambler, I have learned that, when I take the plunge, it must be for low stakes. I usually go for a penny.

That's not gambling jargon. That's a coin with Lincoln on it.

But -- in this instance -- where I had trapped Oldest Son into an irrational bet, I went all out. I went up to a nickel.

Again, we are not talking gambling jargon of any sort. This refers to a coin bearing Jefferson's image..

I am quite certain that Oldest Son realized, by my venturing into such high stakes territory, just how serious I was.

And, of course, I lost.

He called to gloat within a few minutes of the end of the game, too. My nickel is in the mail today.

8 comments:

Dr. A said...

Still good stuff! How about DA Colts! HA! Just kidding...

Ben and Bennie said...

At least you didn't bet a dime! Oldest Son just made rent!

Barb said...

Are you betting on the Bowl?

Mother Jones RN said...

Wow, loosing money is tough, but at least your nickel is staying in the family. Better luck next time!

MJ

Anonymous said...

GO BEARS!!
The store has gone crazy, everyone's taking sides. I sincerely hope I'm off the day of the Bowl; I don't think I could handle the strain of remaining neutral on the outside and chanting, "GO BEARS" on the inside...
Anyway; that isn't what I came here to comment about. I don't know how often you check your Technorati "blogs that link here", but you have a new link. Chris has revived his blog, and blogrolled you.
Shel

Lahdeedah said...

I am so stuck.

I'm a Pats fan, and never mind that really, they should have realized that Manning was like a rabid wolf this year, and adjusted early on...

Who do I vote for? The AFC champs, because after all this time, they FINALLY made it, even though emotinonally they are my beloved Brady's nemesis? They do play well mind you.

Or the Bears, who, after all this time finally made it, but whom I have no emotional stake in either way? I mean, the teams I do like in that division are never really in danger of ever making it all the way.

Colts? Bears? I'm soo confused!

Anonymous said...

i know nothing about poker, but let me say you are blessed to have a very friendly relationship with your son :)

may
www.aboutanurse.com

The Curmudgeon said...

Ladeedah, let me make a suggestion drawn from my experience: Most years I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials -- because I have no emotional stake in the outcome and the game itself seldom lives up to expectations. The year before the dot-com bubble burst -- that was a great year for commercials....