Good morning, and how's everybody doing on this Monday again? My brain hasn't kicked in enough yet to have really coherent thoughts, so I think I'm going to write a little about a few different things. I hope that's alright with you.
First off, like a few other people, we watched the Superbowl yesterday. Sorry, I mean the "big game." Whew, that was close. There are countless websites out there giving in-depth analysis on the game itself and the commercials, so I think I'll avoid those topics. We went to my brother Kevin's house, where a good sized group of us watched the game. It's widely accepted that the Superbowl is the largest gambling day of the year. One might naturally assume that after two weeks of coverage, most people lean toward one team and put money on them to win. But no, my friends, that's but a very minor aspect to wagering on the Superbowl.
The world of proposition bets ("prop bets" to the hip kids) is a fascinating one. These are specific bets that cover all sorts of things that might happen in the game. The coin flip at the beginning is a standard example; for some reason, people around the country wager on whether it will be heads or tails, and millions of dollars are exchanged before the first kickoff. Oh, it gets very specific. My brother and a few of his friends had each put money down on an assortment of these prop bets, and that led to some very interesting cheering and swearing.
For example, on the first play from scrimmage, a quarterback dropped back and fired a pass, but it was knocked down before the receiver could catch it. Kevin's friend Dave jumped up excitedly and started applauding. Why? Because he bet that the quarterback's first pass would either be incomplete or intercepted. One down. Every punt was very exciting, because some had taken the over on how many there would be. Kevin and his friends bet on how many third-down conversions would happen, if the Bears would have a rushing touchdown, how many receivers would catch a pass for one team, if there would be a field goal longer than 33 yards, and much more. All in all, people were rooting for all sorts of things, and that kept it even more interesting than the game itself.
I've done a couple of prop bets myself in the past, and one in particular comes to mind. During one of the Laker championships in the early 0's, my friends and I were in Vegas and watched them play the Spurs in a bar/restaurant. A bunch of us had taken the same bet: that Brian Shaw (not "Brain Shaw," which I accidentally had typed before), a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and now Laker reserve guard, would end up with more than 7.5 points and rebounds combined. We figured that he'd hit a couple of threes and grab a few boards and we'd be set. As the game went on, Shaw got his sixth point we were clapping along with all the other Laker fans in the bar. Then he grabbed a rebound, and we went crazy...alone. Everyone looked over at us, wondering why we were so happy for a rebound, but we were just one point or one rebound away.
I shall switch to the present tense to make this more exciting: It's now in the fourth quarter, and one of the Spurs players misses a shot. Shaw and Shaquille O'Neal both go up for a rebound and have their hands on it, but Shaq rips it away from his teammate. "Noooooo!!!!" we yell. It's ok though, we have a few minutes left and Shaw's still on the court. A few seconds later, another Spurs shot misses hard off the rim. Shaw is the only Laker there, and he takes a couple of steps toward the ball. "Yeah, baby!" we scream, holding up our tickets that we're going to redeem after the game. Then, for really no reason but to fuck with us, he pulls his hands back and watches the ball go out of bounds. What followed was a mixture of feelings that included confusion, despair, anger, and betrayal. Naturally, he didn't remain in the game much longer and didn't get another point or rebound.
I didn't have much money at all on the bet, and I was happy that the Lakers had another big win under their belts, but man that hurt. I usually stick to picking who's going to win against the spread now for my one or two sports bets per Vegas trip, but prop bets sure do add different levels of excitement to watching a big game. Since I didn't get in on any of them for the Superbowl and I didn't really care who won the game, I stuck to rooting for the others' bets, playing with my adorable nephew, and creating a new game with my dad in which Person A puts a mini creampuff in each cheek and Person B hits Person A on both sides of the face. I call it Creampuffing, and yes, it's as awesome as it sounds.
Switching gears, we were at our friend Candice's place Friday evening, and she was showing me how to use one of her Pilates machines. It's pretty cool, and I definitely see how one can get a good workout from it. The most interesting thing I found was the names of some of the moves. In yoga, I'm used to hearing my wife and my mom refer to earthy and spiritual positions, like tree pose, child's pose, downward-facing dog, etc. So when I sat on this machine, I was surprised when Candice told me to "serve the brownies." I did the move, then asked, "Would you like some brownies?" I continued to ask that each time because I didn't want to be an ungracious host. I also learned a move in which I was instructed to "stir the pots." I felt so much like Suzie Homemaker that I was waiting for the next one to be "fix your man a drink" or "have a hot dinner waiting on the table." Alas, no luck. She switched to "hug the tree" and "shave your head," which were obvious disappointments.
Lastly, my friend Scott knows that I'm a big fan of bumper stickers and the like, so he called me on Saturday to tell me about the car in front of him. There was a sticker of a turtle right above the license plate, and the plate read "MOO CAT." I asked if there was a license plate frame that read, "DOG PANTHER RABBIT SNAKE." He said, "No, but let's see here, oh my God, you'll never guess what the frame says: 'My other car is...'" "I don't know," I said, "a horse?" "Yes!" he exclaimed. He then took a picture of it on his camera phone for next time he sees me. Awesome.
First off, like a few other people, we watched the Superbowl yesterday. Sorry, I mean the "big game." Whew, that was close. There are countless websites out there giving in-depth analysis on the game itself and the commercials, so I think I'll avoid those topics. We went to my brother Kevin's house, where a good sized group of us watched the game. It's widely accepted that the Superbowl is the largest gambling day of the year. One might naturally assume that after two weeks of coverage, most people lean toward one team and put money on them to win. But no, my friends, that's but a very minor aspect to wagering on the Superbowl.
The world of proposition bets ("prop bets" to the hip kids) is a fascinating one. These are specific bets that cover all sorts of things that might happen in the game. The coin flip at the beginning is a standard example; for some reason, people around the country wager on whether it will be heads or tails, and millions of dollars are exchanged before the first kickoff. Oh, it gets very specific. My brother and a few of his friends had each put money down on an assortment of these prop bets, and that led to some very interesting cheering and swearing.
For example, on the first play from scrimmage, a quarterback dropped back and fired a pass, but it was knocked down before the receiver could catch it. Kevin's friend Dave jumped up excitedly and started applauding. Why? Because he bet that the quarterback's first pass would either be incomplete or intercepted. One down. Every punt was very exciting, because some had taken the over on how many there would be. Kevin and his friends bet on how many third-down conversions would happen, if the Bears would have a rushing touchdown, how many receivers would catch a pass for one team, if there would be a field goal longer than 33 yards, and much more. All in all, people were rooting for all sorts of things, and that kept it even more interesting than the game itself.
I've done a couple of prop bets myself in the past, and one in particular comes to mind. During one of the Laker championships in the early 0's, my friends and I were in Vegas and watched them play the Spurs in a bar/restaurant. A bunch of us had taken the same bet: that Brian Shaw (not "Brain Shaw," which I accidentally had typed before), a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and now Laker reserve guard, would end up with more than 7.5 points and rebounds combined. We figured that he'd hit a couple of threes and grab a few boards and we'd be set. As the game went on, Shaw got his sixth point we were clapping along with all the other Laker fans in the bar. Then he grabbed a rebound, and we went crazy...alone. Everyone looked over at us, wondering why we were so happy for a rebound, but we were just one point or one rebound away.
I shall switch to the present tense to make this more exciting: It's now in the fourth quarter, and one of the Spurs players misses a shot. Shaw and Shaquille O'Neal both go up for a rebound and have their hands on it, but Shaq rips it away from his teammate. "Noooooo!!!!" we yell. It's ok though, we have a few minutes left and Shaw's still on the court. A few seconds later, another Spurs shot misses hard off the rim. Shaw is the only Laker there, and he takes a couple of steps toward the ball. "Yeah, baby!" we scream, holding up our tickets that we're going to redeem after the game. Then, for really no reason but to fuck with us, he pulls his hands back and watches the ball go out of bounds. What followed was a mixture of feelings that included confusion, despair, anger, and betrayal. Naturally, he didn't remain in the game much longer and didn't get another point or rebound.
I didn't have much money at all on the bet, and I was happy that the Lakers had another big win under their belts, but man that hurt. I usually stick to picking who's going to win against the spread now for my one or two sports bets per Vegas trip, but prop bets sure do add different levels of excitement to watching a big game. Since I didn't get in on any of them for the Superbowl and I didn't really care who won the game, I stuck to rooting for the others' bets, playing with my adorable nephew, and creating a new game with my dad in which Person A puts a mini creampuff in each cheek and Person B hits Person A on both sides of the face. I call it Creampuffing, and yes, it's as awesome as it sounds.
Switching gears, we were at our friend Candice's place Friday evening, and she was showing me how to use one of her Pilates machines. It's pretty cool, and I definitely see how one can get a good workout from it. The most interesting thing I found was the names of some of the moves. In yoga, I'm used to hearing my wife and my mom refer to earthy and spiritual positions, like tree pose, child's pose, downward-facing dog, etc. So when I sat on this machine, I was surprised when Candice told me to "serve the brownies." I did the move, then asked, "Would you like some brownies?" I continued to ask that each time because I didn't want to be an ungracious host. I also learned a move in which I was instructed to "stir the pots." I felt so much like Suzie Homemaker that I was waiting for the next one to be "fix your man a drink" or "have a hot dinner waiting on the table." Alas, no luck. She switched to "hug the tree" and "shave your head," which were obvious disappointments.
Lastly, my friend Scott knows that I'm a big fan of bumper stickers and the like, so he called me on Saturday to tell me about the car in front of him. There was a sticker of a turtle right above the license plate, and the plate read "MOO CAT." I asked if there was a license plate frame that read, "DOG PANTHER RABBIT SNAKE." He said, "No, but let's see here, oh my God, you'll never guess what the frame says: 'My other car is...'" "I don't know," I said, "a horse?" "Yes!" he exclaimed. He then took a picture of it on his camera phone for next time he sees me. Awesome.
And that concludes this session of Peter's weekend recap. Have a great Monday, gentle readers, and if any of you brave souls try Creampuffing today, make sure they're completely thawed out first. Trust me on this.
4 comments:
I must explain. Pilates has many earthy sounding moves (mermaid, elephant, snake, etc.), but I got a real domestic-vibe from you and wanted to keep you in your comfort zone. Next time we pilates, I won't prejudge.
candice
Ok, Candice, thanks for clearing that up. As a thank you, would you care for some lemonade? May I please knit you a sweater? Dust the sill, dust the sill.
Actually, if you're feeling up to it. I can show you how to Pilates with a vacuum cleaner and some dirty dishes. No really, that's how they do it these days. You'll see amazing results after a good couple of cleanings - I mean ... weekends. (Amber: you can thank me later.)
-candice
I think the concept of prop bets should be applied to everyday life.
Perhaps just with oneself.
You know, like I "win" something if Josie meows before my alarm clock rings. I mean, I already lose sleep.
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